Downtown Detroit in December

The Element by Westin

Detroit is a beautiful city. Despite outside opinion, I found the downtown area to be magnificent. The streets were cleans. The buildings and services were immaculate and the weather was absolutely perfect.

I stayed at The Element by Westin which ended up being a great find. The room was amazing with a full kitchen and a nice view. Large windows faced the busy street that ran in front of the boutique hotel. The beautifully decorated lobby was adorned with quaint Christmas trees and bright decoration. The staff were warm and inviting with lots of suggestions on where to visit, eat, and how to easily get over to Canada.

Breakfast was provided at their restaurant on the mezzanine floor. Why was this called a “continental breakfast” I will never know! This was far from that. There was a personal chef who made fresh omelets, breakfast sandwiches, etc at your request. I can do nothing but speak highly of the service that I received while visiting this establishment.

This Marriot property truly exceeded my expectations. I was less than a mile from The Little Ceasar Arena and Ford Field. There were lots of restaurants ($-$$$$) to choose from. I ate at Buddy’s which had a great lunch menu and amazing service. Rayne was my waitress and suggested great spots for drinks after 9pm. I went ventured into The Brakeman which was a drinking hole (not even close) across the street from the hotel. They had signature drinks with an array of dressings (chiles, grapefruit, blueberries, etc). You buy tokens as you walk in and use them to purchase your beer or cocktails.

I went to a Pistons’ game, ice skating at Campus Martius Parc, punched Joe Lewis fist, and saw Spiderman: No Way Home on the 8 Mile. What an experience! Can’t wait to return.