  Cmubryan Member Username: Cmubryan Post Number: 593 Registered: 11-2003 |
According to a post on tripadvisor.com, the former Sheraton Detroit Riverside lost it's "Sheraton" franchise affiliation. I'm not very surprised. Any time I walked through there, I noticed little things that typical Sheraton's usually wouldn't stand for-lights out, elevators looked run down, etc. This hotel (former Pontchartrain) only had this affiliation for maybe nine months but I know the owners had spent millions to renovate it into a Sheraton. What a shame to not even be able to keep the affiliation. I wonder what the story is or what the future will bring. The Sheraton.com website no longer has this hotel listed and when I called their phone number they answer the phone "Detroit Riverside Hotel." | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 330 Registered: 10-2006 |
There are too many hotel rooms downtown. This is the problem. This is what happens when you force the casinos to add three hotels, and you subsidize hotel renovations that are not viable absent govt. support (Book Cadillac, the other one to the south). | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1546 Registered: 10-2003 |
um, OK. the owners of the former ponchartrain have not been maintaining their hotel and lost their sheraton franchise. therefore there are too many hotel rooms downtown? that's quite a leap in logic crawford. | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 331 Registered: 10-2006 |
RSA, look at the downtown vacancy rate. It's among the lowest in the country. Now double the number of downtown rooms (which is what we're doing), and see what happens... | ||
Xd_brklyn Member Username: Xd_brklyn Post Number: 431 Registered: 10-2003 |
Here's the Crain's link: Ex-Pontchartrain not a Sheraton (Message edited by xD_brklyn on September 02, 2008) | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 5005 Registered: 06-2004 |
I'm sure focus will be shifted to the Book Cadillac since Westin and Sheraton are part of the same corporate group. (edited due to post above) (Message edited by lilpup on September 02, 2008) | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1461 Registered: 11-2003 |
I always had my doubts that the place was truly being renovated to Sheraton standards. So what's the new "national chain" that was supposed to be announced a couple of weeks ago? | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 3440 Registered: 04-2006 |
quote: Wasn't the high vacancy rate attributed to the lack of hotel space downtown? Detroit proper has been hurting for hotel space for a while now. Isn't that the reason Detroit has been getting bypassed by so many conventions, including the big political conventions going on now that are both being hosted in cities half the size of Detroit. | ||
Cmubryan Member Username: Cmubryan Post Number: 594 Registered: 11-2003 |
Maybe it will become a Crowne Plaza again for the third time in 10 years, each time lasted about 8 months. Lets just hope it can get some national chain affiliation and stay afloat with all these "new" hotels coming aboard! The hotel's rooms are decorated just like a typical Sheraton (bed spreads, carpet, etc.) so I wonder how that would go over with a different affiliation. | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 2008 Registered: 11-2003 |
I shot an event there this Sunday night and that hotel is shitty. Windows visible from Jefferson are missing, the elevators are not stainless steel but merely a shitty silver spray paint around a cheap wooden panel for a faux wood look. The whole property is shitty. Standing in line for the Obama speech many people were talking about how bad it looked from our angle on Jefferson. They put lipstick on a pig and it' wearing off. To be honest, I didn't see 35mil worth or renovation in that place the times I have been in there. I would say less than 10 mil after seeing the rooms, fitness center, restaurant, etc. I think they renovated their wallets! (Message edited by viziondetroit on September 02, 2008) | ||
401don Member Username: 401don Post Number: 748 Registered: 11-2007 |
The elevators were scarey. I could not believe they renovated the entire hotel, including putting in an indoor pool, and didn't replace them. Another huge problem is that the hotel garage cannot handle more than about 50% occupancy when guests bring their own cars, as opposed to a convention crowd. The overflow is directed to the Fort St. garage and those guys could give a shit if you ever get your car out. It seems perfectly suited to a Ramada. | ||
Motorcitydave Member Username: Motorcitydave Post Number: 143 Registered: 11-2004 |
Yesterday, I noticed that a huge (10 ft by 6 ft maybe?) outside panel has fallen off on the Jefferson side (maybe 10-15 floors up?)... not sure, how long it has been off, but I would think something like that would be repaired kind of quickly... especially before a couple popular long holiday weekend events like Jazz Fest, and the Grand Prix... | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 3529 Registered: 09-2007 |
Shame, Detroit can't even keep a chain hotel. Next thing you know, we'll be the only major city without a national chain hotel. -Hilton (no garden) -Ramada -Best Western -Sheraton -Days Inn -Crowne Plaza -Holiday Inn (no express) (Message edited by DetroitRise on September 02, 2008) | ||
Wolverine Member Username: Wolverine Post Number: 612 Registered: 04-2004 |
I know few people that would recommend someone to stay there. I recall during one of my college studio projects to replace Cobo Center, the Ponch Riverside was the first building to be leveled and replaced in my project. which brings me to my architectural opinion of the building, it's one of the worst. Nothing like greeting visitors with a podium of concrete on practically all sides. | ||
Sean_of_detroit Member Username: Sean_of_detroit Post Number: 1695 Registered: 03-2008 |
Wolverine, agreed. It's location is otherwise nice though. Detroit has actually been doing a great job filling it's hotel space. I just read an article saying demand actually increased after the year of the Super Bowl. I think another article from Model D mentioned that the film boom is filling a good amount of hotel space as well. | ||
Cmubryan Member Username: Cmubryan Post Number: 595 Registered: 11-2003 |
I don't think the renovation was that awful, it just seemed like they ran out of money. The interior hallways were completely gutted and look a world better, same with the rooms from what I've seen. The top banquet rooms looks elegant. It looks like they ran out of money when it came to the elevators, I'm sure the original plan didn't include spray painting brass with silver paint and just completely closing the terrace level off with walls instead of renovating. Now that additional maintenance issues are creeping up it appears they lack the $$ to fix which is probably why they lost their affiliation. Its a shame because its a vicious cycle and now that they lost their affiliation they will probably even have less $$. The same cycle that Highgate was plagued with just two or so years ago when the hotel was in even worse condition. It's so sad, I have this special Detroit Travel insert from the Detroit Free Press back from the late 70s and so many of the hotels that were highlighted as the 4 diamond hotels of the area are now either gone, abandoned or have gone extremely downhill: Michigan Inn-falling into disrepair but still open, no affiliation Sheraton Southfield-Most recently "Southfield Hotel" after it lost it's Ramada affiliation and is now vacant/abandoned Stouffer's Northland-abandoned and then demolished Pontchartain-can't keep an affiliation/disrepair Hyatt Regency Dearborn-Only hotel that is still 4 diamond and still has the same name, thirty years later Detroit Plaza Hotel-Now the Marriott Ren Cen, not a 4 diamond but still going strong at least Ironically, the Book-Cadillac was mentioned in this insert as an older hotel that is still nice to stay at but not as fancy as the new four diamond properties (to paraphrase). Now the Book-Cadillac will be the shiny "new" hotel creating tough competition for the very same hotels that helped put it out of business. (Message edited by cmubryan on September 02, 2008) |
