The nice thing about the Westin hotel at DTW is that it’s connected directly to the terminal. Unfortunately, the bad thing is that it can be an outrageously expensive place to stay (even the standard rooms are a bit steep). Is it worth it?
Spoiler alert: I’ve stayed at this property several times over the past few years, and I can tell you that without a doubt it has been worth it every time. Here’s why:
A full review of my ‘standard room’ experience at the Westin DTW
Before going any further, it’s important to note that this is one of my favorite airport hotels in the entire world. Not necessarily because of the way it looks, but because of how convenient it is.
The location
The Westin at the Detroit Metropolitan in Airport is extremely easy to reach. It’s attached directly to the McNamara (Delta) Terminal, and there is an entrance to it from within the airport terminal itself. You won’t have to exit into the arrivals area to reach it.
Good news: the main entrance to the Westin DTW is located near the center of the McNamara Terminal. You don’t even have to go outside to reach it! You do, however, have to resist the urge to pick up a huge box of chicken McNuggets before checking in.
If you’re coming from the North Terminal, there’s a complementary Westin shuttle bus that runs between that terminal and the exterior entrance of the hotel every 15 minutes or so.
If you arrive at the North Terminal (concourse D), a ride on the shuttle bus is required since the Westin at DTW is connected to the McNamara Terminal.
Normally that’s not a problem, but when it’s cold out, and you didn’t bring a warm jacket, the wait for the shuttle bus will seem like years (as opposed to minutes). Ask me how I know this…
I’ve never been so happy to see a shuttle bus in all my life. It was freezing out there!
Trying to look cool on a hotel shuttle bus ain’t easy.
We meet again, Westin DTW!
The main entrance is a bit inconspicuous from the outside, but it’s welcoming nonetheless.
Checking in
Checking in at the Westin DTW is a deceptively weird experience. Sure, the hotel staff is amazing, but…the lobby is a dark and dreary place. Apparently there isn’t a “Westin Standard” for this sort of thing, because my recent stay at the Westin in downtown Phoenix was so much nicer in this regard.
As you’re about to see, the check in desk isn’t any more gloomy than the rest of the lobby. I think it would behoove the management team to speak to the designers of the Westin St Francis on Union Square (San Francisco). Just sayin’.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. From certain angles, the lobby doesn’t actually look like a sketchy back alley.
Yeah, the lobby is nice and all, but it just feels like they forgot to pay the electricity bill or something. Turn on the dang lights!
In regards to the “dark and moody” thing”” thing, it worth mentioning that the vibe of this lobby is very similar to the vibe of the lobby you saw in my review of the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Singapore Changi Airport. Maybe it’s a popular aesthetic that I just don’t get? Probably.
Getting to my room
There are two options for getting to your room after checking in: the elevators, or the stairs. I recommend the elevator. It’s much more scenic, and you’re less likely to die of a heart attack on the way up.
I do have to say that the overall design of the lobby is nice though. It’s dark, but not creepy dark.
The glass elevators are a nice touch (as long as you aren’t afraid of heights). Keep scrolling if this is giving you sweaty palms…
Keep scrolling! If the last pic didn’t give you sweaty palms, this view from the 8th floor looking down on the main lobby surely will.
Just when you thought you were safe from things that make you queasy, the carpet here in the guest room hallways probably isn’t going to help much. Personally, I like it.
Room 855 is mine for the night (I’m just happy I haven’t puked yet).
What the standard rooms are like
Westin hotel rooms definitely have a “vibe” to them that is a bit hard to describe. They’re basically always dark with lots of wood accents in my experience, and I’ve never come across one yet that I don’t like. I liked the one here at DTW – a lot more than some other Westins I’ve stayed at recently (such as The Westin Grand Munich).
Walking into a hotel room for the first time is exciting, isn’t it? As long as I don’t think about the possibility of being ambushed by a chainsaw murderer, it’s an experience I quite like.
This is the Westin DTW standard room. And it looks pretty much like the deluxe room I had the first time I stayed here.
The bed (which I’m going to test the **** out of tonight as I try and catch up on my broken sleep schedule).
Every little detail was exactly like I remembered it from my stay in the deluxe room. It’s not fancy, but it’s still giving me flashbacks.
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Dang it. Sometimes I wish I didn’t think about all the nasty things that have happened on the furniture of every hotel that I stay at.
Do you suppose anyone has done the nasty on this desk?
In a desperate attempt to get my mind out of the gutter…here’s a view looking towards the door. For those of you paying attention, that’s the exact same door color you saw in my Westin DTW Hospitality Suite review.
If you want my opinion, refrigerators in hotel rooms should be made mandatory by federal law.
Yes, there is complimentary bottled water (sitting in a little nook where you know at least something nasty has happened – at least once).
Here’s an alternate view of the bed. She thicc.
Why is this bedside table giving me Star Trek vibes?
Say what you will about Mr Coffee, but at least there’s coffee. Right?
Floor plan of the Westin DTW. It’s basically a large box glued to the side of the airport terminal.
I’d also like to point out that the room that I had on my most recent stay smelled exactly like the room I had at the Comfort Suites near the Anchorage Airport. You know…kind of a musty smell, mixed with the scent of bleach and cheap perfumy cleaning products. Yuck.
The view
It would seem logical to think that there would be excellent views of the terminal from the rooms facing the airport. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Every airport facing room I’ve had at the Westin DTW had a thick layer of condensation and fog on it which made plane spotting extremely difficult.
What good is a hotel attached to the airport (with rooms facing the terminals) that have windows you can’t see out of?
Nope, it’s not any better during the day. C’mon man!
This is what the view is like from an interior-facing room. Closing my eyes and desperately trying to remember the view I had from my room at the Westin Maui didn’t help.
The bathroom
The bathrooms here in the standard rooms are nothing special. At least they are clean, so you won’t feel worried about catching an STD by touching anything. That’s a good thing, right?
The toilet. At the very least, it seems inviting (which is exactly what you want in a toilet).
The bathrooms are typical “Westin” IMHO. And they do look like a decent place to puke your guts out if the glass elevator and trippy carpet got to you on the way in.
The bathroom vanity. It’s nice, but…the toilet is more inviting IMHO.
The shower (a decent place to cleanse the dirty thoughts I have about the nasty things that have happened in this room before me that are racing around my brain).
I loves me a good shower head.
Westin DTW bathroom amenities. There’s not a lot to choose from, but they are still very much appreciated.
The restaurant / food situation
The restaurant located in the main lobby of the Westin DTW is quite good. It’s also quite expensive, so it’s basically a mistake I only made once.
Not only does this hotel offer room service, there’s also a security checkpoint for Westin guests only that will be allow you quick and easy access to the airport terminal. There are many great restaurants within the McNamara terminal a DTW, so I’d recommend taking advantage of that if you’re hungry.
That’s the restaurant down there. And this is about as far as I ever want to get to it considering how expensive the food is.
One very overpriced bowl of tomato soup from the onsite restaurant. Easily the most expensive bowl of soup I’ve ever had (and no, it wasn’t worth the cost).
This spinach salad was good. Not good enough for me to forget how much I paid for it though!
Seared ahi tuna main entree. If you thought the salad was expensive…holy ****.
The dedicated security checkpoint
I assume most travelers stay at this Westin because they have an early flight the next morning, but the dedicated security lane doesn’t open until after 7am (making it useless for those early-bird travelers). I’ve stayed at this hotel several times now, and each time my departing flights were early enough that I couldn’t take advantage of this little perk.
This is the dedicated security lane for Westin DTW hotel guests – which is convenient and all, but it never seems to be open whenever I’m here. Which is inconvenient.
Final thoughts
A standard room at the Westin Hotel at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) is a really good and convenient option IMHO. I highly recommend it if you don’t mind paying a premium to stay here. It’s not cheap, but for me, the convenience easily makes it worth the price.
