Hotel and Afterglow Options in Detroit or Ann Arbor

Kprzes · August 2013

Hi ladies! I've spent hours and hours reading posts on here, the information is amazing but I need some specific advice.

I am absolutely at my wits end. My fiancé is English and he has about 15 friends and family coming over for the wedding. I also have many out of town friends, coming to the wedding. We are extremely excited to be getting married on the Infinity Yacht with IOYC in St. Clair Shores. The wedding is going to be July 4, 2014 which is a Friday. Because of $$ we are planning a day wedding with the reception ending at 4. Afterwards, we want to keep the party going and are going to host an afterglow/after party! I envision this as a cocktail reception. We'll provide hors d'oeuvres and such. We want to make sure this is close to accommodations so guests can enjoy themselves and not worry about driving.

This is where we're at a standstill. I live close to Ann Arbor, which is an absolutely adorable place. I know the out of towners will really enjoy it. The city has lots of great restaurants, bars, shops, etc. Ann Arbor summer festival will be going on, so there will be live music every night. There are numerous places where we could hold the afterglow. The only problem is I want people to be able to stay in the city as they'll be in town for a few days. The hotel options in downtown Ann Arbor are extremely limited and I believe overpriced for what they are (Over $200 for a hotel that still has floral bedspreads...) Transportation to and from Ann Arbor would also be more $. The cheaper hotels are a few miles out of town, close to the mall, but who wants to travel to a new and exciting country and stay in a business area!?

Our other option is Detroit, but despite having lived in the area for my whole life, I have absolutely no experience with the city. I've found a venue I think would be great (the top floor of http://www.centaurbar.com/welcome.html) but it is right by the Tigers Stadium and there is definitely a game the same day (traffic could be bad). I'm also not sure if there's enough to do in downtown Detroit for the out of towners or really of a close hotel suitable. Would we be better staying in a casino like the MGM? That's quite $$ as well though. Are guests going to feel unsafe in some of the areas? Transportation and logistics are definitely easier with Detroit as it's only a 25 minute drive to the ceremony as opposed to 1 hour. I really like the idea of Detroit, but I don't really know what to expect.

Please tell me someone has had a similar experience and can provide some insight. I feel like we can't get some major decisions made until we figure this out. I want to impress my out of town guests, and I'm not sure how to do that! Any ideas, thoughts, etc, would be extremely appreciated. I work on cruise ships and have 6 days til I leave for my next contract to get everything sorted.

Sorry for the ramble, and THANK YOU in advance!

Sue-n-Kevin · September 2013

I agree with you that Detroit would be your best bet. And to be honest, anyone who only heard about Detroit from the news is always amazed at how fabulous it is when you are downtown.

The Tigers schedule for next year hasn't been published yet, so there's no guarantee they are having a game at home. They didn't this year, they were in Toronto. (I stay on top of this stuff, I'm a big fan, LOL).

The Freedom Festival fireworks are almost always the last Tuesday or Wednesday in June, so no issue there. However, the Freedom Festival (I think) is still going on that entire week.

Hotels downtown that are reasonably priced: The Hilton Garden Inn, which is walking distance to just about everything downtown: Greektown, Comerica Park, the Fox Theater, etc. It's also walking distance (about 5-6 blocks) from the Centaur bar you mentioned. Centaur is right behind the Fox Theater, about 2 blocks behind Woodward. Across the street there used to be the Town Pump, which is also a cool bar/restaurant, kind of like an old library. And it's on the same street as Hockeytown Cafe, which is on the corner at Woodward. There's also the Hard Rock Cafe at Campus Martius, which is another cool area. Also a Texas Brazil for meat lovers. My husband and I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn for a Lions game once, and it is nice & clean.

The other reasonably priced hotel is the Atheneum in Greektown. When I say reasonably priced, they have suites with double beds and sleeper sofas in the living room. You could have 3-4 "pals" share a room. I've never thought their prices were bad for just the 2 of us. It has nice amenities and is right in Greektown, but also walking distance to the other places I mentioned. Plus, if the Tigers are in town, the visiting teams stay there (at least they used to).

I grew up in Detroit, and we go down for Tiger games and several other events every year. I don't think I have to "knock on wood" to say we have never had any problems. And usually there's just 2 of us, not a big group. With all the "disaster porn" of burned out buildings and vacant structures downtown people tend to have a really bad impression.

I planned my entire honeymoon using www.tripadvisor.com. Go on the site and look for hotels and/or restaurants in downtown Detroit if you don't like any of my suggestions. I can attest to both of the above based on our experiences.

For a rooftop experience, the Opera House started having parties on the roof for Tiger games. Not sure it's only for game days, but this article talks about it:

http://www.freep.com/article/20130712/ent05/307110167/detroit-tigers-skybox-opera-house

The Tiger's schedule usually comes out between December and February. Check their website then (www.tigers.com) and see if there is a home game. If so, I wouldn't worry about traffic or anything like that. Find out if your decided upon hotel has busses or vans, and if not, hire one to get you from the reception to the hotel, then wherever you decide to go afterward. You could ask the hotel to allow for early check-in or leave your bags there before going to the ceremony & reception. That way everyone's car is already there to get them wherever they are going the next morning.

Have fun! Embrace Detroit!

Kprzes · September 2013

Thank you SO much for the response! I've gone up to Detroit now 3 times in the past week and I'm really starting to get a feel for it. I think it was more convincing my parents (I've lived in other big cities for years), so now they feel a lot more comfortable I just told me parents that you feel comfortable walking around in pairs. They still have trouble believing my friends and I are capable adults

We've visited EVERYWHERE I could find downtown. I didn't especially like the interior of the Hard Rock downtown, but the manager was so absolutely amazing I'd consider it for the rehearsal dinner. Detroit Beer Co. was great, with 2 floors to pick from, but not I'm not too keen on the area. Centaur, although I liked it, I think would end up being too pricey... Fountain Bistro was unfriendly. Grand Trunk Pub was too small.

As far as hotels, we really liked the Westin Book, and the option of Holiday Inn across the street, but I'm not the biggest fan of that area as well.

I loved Greektown. And as you mentioned the Atheneum was great! A little dark, but honestly the staff went above and beyond to show us around and they quoted us a great group rate. I really liked Greektown Casino as well but I'm not sure what the prices are going to be like.

And the best part, I can stop panicking...I found the perfect after party venue! For anyone looking for a cocktail or after party place in Detroit, I would like to recommend checking out Firebird Tavern. Just opened. I obviously can't give a real review now but management was extremely friendly and helpful. The bar has been recently restored with the entire upstairs in particular designed for private events. Just a block away from both hotels...wohoo!

Great to hear that the Freedom Festival might still be going on. It'd be nice for the out of towners. Also a relief that this "schedule" we found doesn't mean anything. Really thank you for your response...and if anyone needs any ideas on an "afterglow" in Detroit, I have scoured the city, so shoot me a message!

Sue-n-Kevin · September 2013

Thanks for the info on the Firebird Tavern. I just went to their website and it's a lovely renovation.

Hotel and Afterglow Options in Detroit or Ann Arbor

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