I was given a stay at the ritz by my sons for my birthday, seemed to work out okay at first they even upgraded me to the club level. My son surprised me and arrived the following morning to host a birthday dinner for 5 adults and 1 child. The food was horrible and the bill was over $1000 with only 4 acholic drinks and my son and I shared a meal. The bathtub would not hold water and the food on the club level is great if you like caviar. Wouldnt recommend this to my worst enemy.

My boyfriend and I just got back from a one night stay at the Ritz Carlton, Dearborn. We were visiting his family who live in the area so we figured why not check it out since we could get a really good discount. The hotel itself is very nice with beautiful decor in all the public areas and the hotel staff was very nice. Checkin was standard but not too welcoming. We were booked for two double beds but when we checked in (after the standard check in time) we were told that they didn't have the room ready. We could either wait for it to be cleaned or just take a king bed with a rollaway, so we decided just to take the king bed with a rollaway. We got up to the room and it was nice... but pretty standard. I was expecting it to be very elegant but it was just an average room. The bathroom was pretty plain but the Bvlgari amenities were a nice touch. Somehow the
rollaway never made it up to the room, so after waiting six hours we finally called down for it ourselves, and it was brought up promptly.

Dinner was nice. The restaurant, although it has good food, has a disappointing menu. It had the standard filet and lobster tails, but every nice restaurant has that. The menu didn't have any out of the ordinary dishes, but the food and service were good. We wanted to go swimming in the indoor pool at night but didn't because the water was
much too cold. The pool area is nicely kept but don't expect to find any towels down there if you want to go for a late night swim. To get
to the pool area you have to walk through the fitness center which seemed like it had some decent workout machines.

Overall it was a nice stay but I was hoping for a bit more. I had never stayed at a Ritz Carlton before and had very high expectations because of the RC reputation. I would go back, but I would be disappointed if I had payed the rack rate.

I stayed at the Ritz in Dearborn for the long weekend over 4th of July. It was my first visit to the Detroit area, so I already didn't really know what to expect. The Ritz was definitely below average from what you'd expect from a Ritz, but at least it was better than all of the surrounding nothing-ness in the immediate vicinity. The first room that I got reeked like smoke and urine, and so they immediately gave me another room, which was also on the Club Floor. The furnishings were fine -- nothing special, but the large marble bathrooms and the Bulgari toiletries were a nice touch.

The best part of the hotel by far was the Club Floor Lounge, where they served breakfast, lunch (small sandwiches and salads), tea (pastries and such), as well as after-dinner cocktails. It was free with the stay on the club floor, which is nice because there is NOTHING good to eat nearby. The hotel is located near a bunch of Ford Company buildings and a cheesy mall that has your standard middle America food court, but nothing remotely healthy and/or upscale.

If I have to visit the area again (emphasis on the words "have to"), I would probably stay at the Ritz for lack of other better options. At least they have good (free) food there.

Let's start with this: if you are going to rate a stay as "terrible," at least put your money where your mouth is. As in: the experience was so bad, I bailed at 10:15 PM, electing to drive through the night to New Jersey rather than stay another minute. No request for a refund or an upgrade; just get me the heck out of here, and fast.

I booked five days in advance through Amex Platinum travel, the service that pays for itself over the course of a year if you take advantage of the various upgrades and amenities offered by hotels participating in the Amex program. RC Dearborn is on the list. The featured amenity for this hotel is a $100 food and beverage credit during your stay. Generally, you are greeted by the check-in clerk with an "I see you booked through Amex Platinum. Here's a list of what you can expect." Typically that includes complimentary breakfast, late check out (4PM), and a one-level room upgrade where available. At no time during my seven-hour stay did anyone mention my Amex options or amenities.

My check in was cordial, as my clerk handed me the keys to a standard room on the third floor, overlooking a gravel flat roof and a parking lot (ok, the alternative view is a freeway, so perhaps this was actually a grace note.) Getting to the room involved what other posters have referred to as "non-working elevator buttons." I believe this is inaccurate. The buttons work; it's the elevators that are unreliable. One can wait for up to five minutes for an elevator, depending on your route of travel.

Perhaps I should have guessed at what was in store when I saw guys toting cases of cheap beer to their rooms, some of whom were wearing shoes. Their lazier counterparts decorated the lobby. Dude, it's not your living room. Get your feet off the table and stop picking your nose.

The first sound I heard after dropping luggage in my room was what turned out to be the guest next door running bathwater. Loud? I literally checked my own shower to make sure I hadn't been given keys to the wrong room. The TV worked on selected channels. Some of the RC products made it to the bathroom, but a comb and shaving kit were not among them (items I had neglected to pack and I have always found in RC rooms.) The room was cramped, neither dirty nor clean, and (as others have observed), needed a makeover. But for a listed rate of $169/night, I guessed it was going to be the experience one poster referred to, charmingly, as "Ritz Junior."

On a Saturday night, one can anticipate wedding receptions (in this case, two), but that means you have to put extra people on valet. Note to future guests: there is complimentary self-parking adjacent to the hotel that is cheaper and more efficient than valet. Avoid cabs to and from downtown (which is an easy 20 minute drive, provided you understand maps), lest you be enslaved to the whims of drivers and Detroit's pervasive panhandling culture. Comerica Park and Ford Field are easy to find, with plenty of surface parking. And do not rely on the concierge for your map or directions. Like directions to the hotel from its own website, the information is likely to be unhelpful; the local map I was given was simply inaccurate.

I found my way to a ball game downtown. Upon return, knowing I would be leaving early, I found the self-park lot (on the far side of the hotel as you pull in) and attempted to return to my room. At 10:00PM, the parties were in full swing, and it quickly became evident that sleep was frankly not in my future.

15 minutes later (five spent waiting for an elevator), I dropped my keys at the front desk with a check out advisory (not wishing to interrupt the private conversation of the employees at the desk). A head bellman named Marty followed me into the parking lot, earnestly asking if there was anything he could do to alleviate any problems with my stay. It took me another five minutes to shake him off (he was very well intentioned, but persistence has its limits, which is sometimes referred to as stalking.) He told me hoped he could make it up to me on my next stay. Marty, thanks for the effort, but don't hold your breath.