The Good: Clean, Great room size, Reasonable rates, Good breakfast, Friendly staff, Everything!
The Bad: Not one that I could find...once one gets into it!
The Basics: Clean with giant rooms and a remarkably friendly staff at all times, the Comfort Suites in Southfield, MI might well be the ideal hotel on the outskirts of Detroit!
As I continue my work to bring quality reviews to my readers on a variety of subjects (though most often entertainment), I often find myself most happy when I am able to enthusiastically recommend something that is both a good value and a quality product. I feel quite fortunate to say that I found both in the Comfort Suites, Southfield, Michigan. Southfield is a suburb of Detroit and for those looking to stay in that area, this offers an affordable and qualitative lodging option.
In my continuing drama of preparing to move to the northern part of the lower peninsula in Michigan, I recently took my first full carload to Roscommon, where I'll be moving. Loathe no not squeeze in any business while on this trip, I scheduled it around my fiance's school break and a screening downstate of The Pink Panther 2 (reviewed here!). And because it was closer, I opted to try a new hotel in Southfield, rather than return to the Comfort Inn in nearby Livonia, MI (reviewed here!). And given how this was the largest room I have ever stayed in and how the service and amenities were, I know it will be a real struggle to pry me out of this Comfort Suites after the move when I make movie runs downstate!
Location
The Comfort Suites Southfield, MI175 in the Choice Hotels numbering system, is located at 24977 Northwest Highway, Southfield, Michigan. This is a simple, three-story building set near an international office building right off the highway. As a result, it does not have grounds to speak of outside the significant parking lot. The only way to get into this Comfort Suites appears to be via Northwest Highway, from the Evergreen Road exit (#15?). I mention this because in the dark, it was problematic to find and backtracking to it, I found myself driving the wrong way on a one-way street. It is likely because Northwest Highway is both Route 10 (from which one exits at 15) and the one-way road one exits onto. Either way, Route 10 is a pretty major road in the Southfield area and it connects with the more major 696, so finding the Comfort Suites is not terribly difficult. The best recommendation I have is to get MapQuest directions TO the hotel and not rely on backtracking from any destinations from the hotel to find it (we had been running late, went to our movie first and had to try to find the hotel by backtracking, so I write from experience).
The Comfort Suites Southfield has only one entrance, from Northwest Highway, which is accessible from Route 10 or Evergreen Road. This Comfort Suites has an expansive parking lot, which may easily hold one hundred trucks and was quite well-plowed in the winter. The Comfort Suites Southfield is set back, but at night, the glowing letters of the hotel's name serve as a beacon for travelers. There are no grounds to speak of coming into the hotel and there was no back yard, either.
Room Size
Upon entering the hotel, I was impressed by the size and style of the building. Inside the Comfort Suites Southfield is a modern, brightly-lit setting that is clean, warm and staffed by a very friendly night manager. There was evidence that we had arrived after an evening cookie time and the idea of fresh, warm cookies at check-in is a nice one.
The hotel staff immediately greets guests and every member of the staff that I interacted with was friendly, kind and knowledgeable about the area. In fact, when I was checking in, the staff was remarkably friendly. As a Choice Privileges Gold member (the loyalty program for the hotel chain), I was granted a room upgrade for free simply by asking and the room being available. Thus, I went from the most discounted suite in the $65.00 online rate to the room that would have been just under three times that simply by asking (it helps to join the loyalty program and stay within the chain!). Visiting in the middle of winter, such an upgrade was not much of a problem and I suspect that most travelers who are members of the program would not have much in the way of problems, though when big events are going on in Detroit, one suspects this hotel gets filled! The desk clerk seemed eager to meet my every need and having stayed at a lot of hotels over the years, this was one of the perkiest and nicest night managers I had ever dealt with.
As for the room itself, this was the largest one I have ever stayed in, at least in the Choice Hotels chain! This is a huge room for a location intended just for sleeping in, though if there were conventions or such going on at the hotel or nearby, this is exactly the type of suite that would be great for room parties! Measuring thirty-five feet deep by sixteen and a half feet wide, the room included a king-sized bed, two person hot tub, bathroom with shower and bathtub, desk, kitchen area and other furniture. This room has the standard closet as well and dresser with the television as well. My fiance and I took a few minutes to allow ourselves to appreciate the size of the room. My partner had quite the running start to jump on this bed!
Cleanliness
From the first moment I opened the door to the room at the Comfort Suites in Southfield, I had a great feeling about it. The entire hotel is now 100% Smoke Free. The nonsmoking room smelled like nothing at all. There was no evidence or trace of scent that would have indicated it had ever had a cigarette smoked in it. Instead, the entire hotel smelled good. In fact, the only scent the hotel had was in the pool area. The pool had a hot tub portion, but given our desire for privacy and the lateness of the hour, we opted to use our room's hot tub instead of the pool.
Every time I enter a new hotel room, I flush the toilet (a test for cleanliness while my fiance does the habitual leaping onto the bed, which tests how fun the room is perceived as, I suppose) and this Comfort Suites easily passed the first flush test with no difficulties. The shower, hot tub and toilet were all clean, as were all of the linens. None of the towels had spots, nor did the sheets or the comforters.
The wallpaper in the room was tasteful and none of the wallpaper or paint was peeling. This was an exceptionally clean hotel. As well, the hot tub was dry and sparkling and had additional towels when we entered the room. The refrigerator and microwave were both spotless.
The common areas were all clean and well-maintained. I cannot speak to the cleanliness of the grounds, as they were entirely covered over in snow during my visit, but the parking lot was well maintained and plowed. The breakfast area was clean as well. The entire atmosphere was warm and inviting and had a very modern feel to it.
Amenities
The Comfort Suites Southfield has a pretty decent package working for it for a hotel in the Choice Hotel system. In every room there were the standard coffee packets, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion, along with an air conditioning unit. There were also two tea bags with the coffee as well, which I am finding now as some of the nicer hotels in the system!
The room I had had a two-person hot tub and I would be remiss if I did not mention this. First, it was extraordinary and easily could have fit three people (for those looking to bathe a bunch of kids at one time). Second, it had very easy-to-use controls in the tub. The press of a button started the jets and another button turned them off. The hot tub was exceptional and operated flawlessly, though it took about fifteen minutes to fill up.
The free continental breakfast at this Comfort Suites was one of the more impressive
I have had from as Choice hotel. Everything seemed fresh, which is always a nice touch. There were two types of cold cereal, milk, cranberry, apple and orange juice from a machine. There were English muffins, plain bagels, danishes (at least four different flavors), white and raisin bread for toast and three varieties of muffins. There was, as well, the trademark waffle maker, which makes up to four smaller waffles, and fresh batter and a lot of syrup. As well, the hotel had hot scrambled eggs, sausage and sausage biscuits and gravy. As well, there were two types of yogurt and fresh oranges, apples and bananas, in the middle of winter! The hot scrambled eggs were a bit dry, but otherwise, breakfast was absolutely ideal.
There is a business center that had free high speed internet on two terminals, which we could have used if not for businessmen monopolizing it the whole time (not the hotel's fault!).
The television has approximately twenty cable television stations and the television was sizable. Our room had a microwave and refrigerator freezer, both of which worked well. I recall there being a desk as well, but I did not use that. This room, in the off season as it is now, would regularly have cost $189.99. According to the door, the maximum price of the same room in the summer was up to $299! That might seem stifling for most travelers and honestly, it seemed pricey to me, but I tend to always recommend shopping around anyway, so there are deals to be found here. Truth be told, there are a lot of options near Detroit, but given that it is a pretty major metropolis, this is both affordable and with deals, ideal for travelers who want to be outside the city proper.
Overall
Easily one of the best in the chain, the Comfort Suites in Southfield, Michigan was wonderful. When a traveler is able to check in with someone who is friendly, be given a great deal on the best rooms in the place and trouble the help for cocoa in the middle of the night without being made to feel like an inconvenience . . . well, there's nothing better than that!
For other hotels in the Choice Hotels chain, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Sleep Inn O'Fallon - O'Fallon, IL
Comfort Suites Lakeside - Houghton Lake, MI
Comfort Inn Independence - Independence, OH
10/10
For other hotel reviews, please visit my Travel Review Index Page for an organized listing of all my travel reviews!
© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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