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The Atheneum: Traveler Reviews


The Atheneum
Hotel class 4 of 5
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1000 Brush Ave., Greektown, Detroit, MI 48226
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Traveler Reviews

77% Recommend
4.0 of 5 stars 47 reviews
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BEAUTIFUL property - service not the best

The Atheneum

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3 of 5 stars
2Sweet 51 contributions
Dallas, Texas

I had the opportunity to stay at this property as a guest of a convention. It is absolutely beautiful. They are under renovation right now...so ASK for a renovated room. They are gorgeous!!
Very HGTV with LARGE plasma tv's in the living room and the bedroom.

That's about where the great designation stops. They missed the bus with me on service. I had a package delivered to the hotel and security called to let me know it was at the desk. When I went to get it some time later, no one could find it. The manager that got involved tried to say that maybe it never came...Security told me, "I can't find it...so I don't know what to tell you." Seriously? That is an answer from a Four Diamond property??
Both management and security got involved looking for it and security delivered it to my room about 20 minutes later. Five minutes after that the manager called to let me know that it could not be found...she was just about to tell me how maybe it didn't come to the hotel when I stopped her to let her know that it was delivered to me. It was there the whole time...and everyone wanted to take the easy way out by telling me something to get me out of the way. Just a little disconnect in the communication I guess. She was apologetic and sent something to me in the room as a gesture of kindness.

Again I was a part of the convention. Though the hotel touts shuttle service and newspapers, we were denied rides to Cobo Hall and USA Today was delivered 1 day only. If you read reviews or call as well you will hear about a continental breakfast which I guess management decided not to offer with our convention being in town. There is no turn down service and no chocolates.
Seems crazy that a downtown property would make exceptions during a convention when I would think conventions in downtown are common. To be honest, just know that the staff will make up the rules as they go along based on their willingness or desire to accommodate at a given moment. Do not expect the same level of service day to day or person to person!!!

Lastly, I was devastated on my day of check out. I left my room earlier than my roommate and I facilitated the payment of the bill. The staff has a new computer system and asks for your patience but they are not flexible even if they make a mistake on it. I guess when I paid the bill even though I told them that someone was in the room...the desk checked me out. This sent a note to housekeeping to clean the room. My roommate was infringed upon 4 times by housekeeping even though the privacy sign was up. At one point she was fresh out of the shower when the housekeeping lady came in...They shut the air off and the final time the housekeeper basically just told my roommate to get her things and leave...they didn't care what was going on. This ALL happened BEFORE the standard check out of noon. That was really embarrassing and rude.

From the hotel perspective just plan to be in a safe, clean and well decorated place with great tv's....and that's going to have to just be enough.

As far as the area, there are some nice restaurants in which to grab some food in and near Greektown. I live in a city where smoking is not allowed in restaurants so I always took my food to go. GREAT deli...a little pricey though..in Greektown. Fishbones is also really good!!

Happy travels!!!

  • Liked — Renovated rooms are great!!
  • Disliked — Hotel did not offer amenities documented on their website during our convention.
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay July 2008
  • Visit was for Business
  • Traveled with Large group or tour
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since July 07, 2005
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Pet owners
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Other
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Check Rates
Average price*: $189 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Nice Spot

The Atheneum

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4 of 5 stars
GiggaMan 18 contributions
Toledo, OH
0/1 found this review helpful

My stay at The Atheneum in Greektown was a great expierence. The rooms were large and in charge, kinda looked like a room you'd see on Miami Vice. So i guess thats a good thing. The location was stupendous for bumping around the bars, restaurants, and casino in the area. We were there with about seven guys and only paid to have two and no one questioned us or beefed about the noise. So that is a plus for the younger crowd. I would say this is the prime time spot in the Greektown area to stay at.

  • Liked — the location and large room
  • Disliked — nothing
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay May 2008
  • Visit was for Quality time with friends
  • Traveled with Friends
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since February 06, 2006
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Young singles, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, People with disabilities, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Gambling / Casinos, Great food / Wine
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $189 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Spacious Suites and Great Downtown Location

The Atheneum

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5 of 5 stars
ktk623 3 contributions
Chicago, IL

Traveled with a family of 5 to Detroit for baseball games at Comerica park and some sightseeing. Needed a lot of space for all of us, so the Atheneum seemed attractive. Got a great deal on Expedia for a 2 bed queen suite for $195 per night!

Upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised at how spacious the room was. There was a huge living area with a big flat screen tv, couch (not pull out) and desk in the front area. This living area is separated by a door from the sleeping area. The bathroom was large (however, we were in a handicapped accessible suite so the bathroom may have been smaller in regular suites) and the beds were extremely comfortable. There was another large flat screen tv in the sleeping area, along with plenty of closet and drawer space. All decor was EXTREMELY sleek and modern - it looks like we were in a newly renovated room.

There is a free breakfast at the hotel which ends at 9 every morning. We slept too late to take advantage of it, but it was nice to know it was offered. However, the location of the hotel made it super easy to walk to grab a bite to eat at any time. You are around the block from Greektown (which is really just one block long). Its a lively little area. We got pastries each morning from the Astoria Pastry Shop - which were to DIE for. We also got a late night pizza from Pizza Papalis which is right next door to the pastry shop (both on the Greektown block, a 2 minute walk from the hotel). The pizza was AMAZING chicago style pizza, which made us happy being from Chicago :) Fishbone's is a restaurant attached to the hotel. We tried this one night and the atmosphere is very nice (they have bands playing on Friday and Saturday). You can get seafood, steak or sushi here, and the prices are moderate to high (my scallop dinner with $24). The one complaint we have about Fishbone's is that a bug crawled out of my brother's salad. The waitress quickly took the salad away and offered to bring my brother another dish. We waited 20 minutes for his new dish (a hamburger) and when the bill came, only the salad was removed from the bill. I have never had an experience like this happen to me before, and I'm not sure what the standard thing to do is, but we felt that we shouldn't have been charged for that hamburger, which delayed us a good 20 minutes at dinner. therefore, I cannot highly recommend Fishbone's even though everyone else in my party had no problems.

our main reason for staying here was baseball at Comerica park, and the location could not have been more perfect. We walked about 4 blocks and were right at Comerica park - a very delightful and easy walk. The hotel has a free shuttle that will take you anywhere within 5 miles, but we didnt utilize this. The people mover is around the corner as well, but we didn't use it. The other excursion we made was to The Henry Ford, which we HIGHLY recommend. We spent about 3.5 hours there and didnt even see everything. It's kind of expensive, but very worth it in our opinion. Entertaining and educational. We drove about 25 minutes to get to the Henry Ford. Lots of construction happening in Detroit, so make sure you check your route with hotel staff, who were very friendly and accomodating! Hotel is also across from Greektown casino, which we checked out one night. It was crowded for a Wednesday night, but we enjoyed ourselves. It is 2 stories and provided us with a lot of fun, even though we didnt win.

Overall we enjoyed our stay. The hotel was modern and sleek looking on the inside and everyone was friendly. Location was perfect for us. The hotel caters to more of a business crowd - and we did not see one child (except for those in our own party ) the whole time we were there. There is no pool or anything, so younger kids may be a little bored if they were to stay here. However the spacious suites are worth it, in our opinion.

We did not like the $20 fee for valet parking , even though the valets were very friendly and helpful. There are also a lot of one way streets around the hotel, so driving to and from the hotel can get confusing. The breakfast ended too early for us, and there was no pool to entertain the children in our group.

All things considered, we highly recommend the Atheneum for a downtown Detroit hotel choice!

  • Liked — Location, spacious suites, friendly staff
  • Disliked — $20 valet fee
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay June 2008
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family with young children
  • Age group I prefer not to answer
  • Member since August 14, 2007
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Great pool scene
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Sporting event
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $189 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Great Stay!

The Atheneum

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5 of 5 stars
hugokc 2 contributions
MI

I was concerned after reading the reviews on Tripadvisor. We traveled to Detroit for NCAA Tournament and decided to stay at Athenuem regardless due to its proximity to the ball park(s). Our room was spotless and very comfortable. Each and every employee we encountered was helpful and professional. We left something in room, security immediately notified us via cell phone in time to turn around and pick up. A very pleasant experience!

  • Liked — Clean
  • Disliked — $20 parking charge
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay March 2008
  • Visit was for Romantic getaway
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since May 06, 2004
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Great pool scene
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Sporting event
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $189 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Awesome deal for the evening...

The Atheneum

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3 of 5 stars
Martini 425 15 contributions
Michigan
1/1 found this review helpful

We very much enjoyed our stay at this property based on the rate we paid for the room. We stayed one evening here and saw the Rob Zombie concert (awesome) figuring we did not want to drive all the way home after the concert.

My husband booked the room for $139 directly with the hotel and they upgraded us to a suite when we arrived. For the price - very pleased.
Had I paid the rack rates, I would have been dissapointed.

Very nice property, lobby is stunning and the check in service was exceptional. Suite was much larger than I expected with an awesome deep soaking tub, which we very much enjoyed. Room was dated, both in appearance and amenities - but again, very pleased for the price.

Perfect location if it's cold out to be sure. We parked in the Greektown Hotel garage (free) took the walkway across the street to Greektown casion - took the walkway to the hotel. Very nice. Fishbones
restaurant is attached through the hotel lobby. Great place to have a few drinks. Food is average. Agree with other reviews Fishbones has gone very much downhill since the last time I was there.

Overall satisfied with no complaints about the property. No raves either though.

  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay December 2007
  • Member since May 15, 2006
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $189 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
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The Atheneum Also Known As

Address: 1000 Brush Ave., Greektown, Detroit, MI 48226