Priceline Hotel: 3* Detroit (Airport DTW) Metropolitan Hotel

[Shapechanger]

Night of the first of October, bid $55 for 3* for DTW.

Was our first time using Priceline for anything other than a car. We hadn't been sure before but thought that well, we wouldn't know till we tried.

We didn't want to fuss over price, we just wanted something close, quiet, and reasonable so we bid $55.

Comment to Moderator, I am not complaining or asking for assistance, because I surely will not use Priceline for anything but a car again, however I am copying my email to Priceline about our stay, rather than retyping it, to inform other posters about the quality of this supposed 3* hotel.

Dear Priceline,

About a week ago we returned from our vacation, taking our child for her first visit to her grandparents up in TC (after stopping in for the Penn-state game at my Alma Mater, first!) The night we were returning, we booked a 3* room near DTW airport through priceline, since our car rental went fine. We had read up on Priceline beforehand, and were told that car rentals were the surest way to make sure you weren't "Pricelined", so we took a chance on a car rental. It saved us $100 over our Costco discount on a mini-van, minus the extra driver we lost, which Alamo wanted $90 for. Still, that went fine, so we tried a for a hotel seriously, giving something we though would guarantee a winning bid.

We were booked for 1 night at the Detroit Metropolitan hotel. Immediatley after the accepted bid, I called the hotel to reserve a crib, and was called back and a message was left that the crib would be reserved for us.

We drove down to Detroit and checked in, and confirmed that we had a crib. We put our things in our room, and complained that there was a stack of dirty dishes, napkins, and silverware directly outside our room door. We were told it would be moved.

Hotel looked rundown. Carpet frayed at some edges, generations of paint with chips painted over again and again, even hardware such as handles in some areas. Elevator was ultra small, would only fit a small luggage cart, which barely rolled and was rickety and frayed where it still had fabric. The far elevator we had to use was in terrible shape, as a finishing touch it had a linoleum floor that had cracked and bubbled and had curled up edges. Our room was right next to the elevator. Despite the emptiness of the place (just 2 cars in the entire lot) the other guest on the floor was put next to us. Vending machine sized bottled water was the same price as in the airport, $2.

After dropping off our things, we told them we were returning our car and asked for directions to return the car, but none of the ladies at the front desk knew how. There was a waitress who did. After dropping off the car, we were told by the Alamo bus driver that the hotel would pick us up here instead of the airport, but the hotel neglected to mention this.

We went to the airport and called the hotel for a pickup. From call to arrival it took 36 curbside bus-fume breathing minutes, hungry unhappy baby in arms. Van-bus drive drove a bit too fast for my taste, taking late yellows and aggressive corners, but the van had no functional seatbelts for us to fasten to secure ourselves for the ride.

Got back, still dishes with food on them outside the door. We called down for a wake-up call, and to mention the dishes again. Heck, I saw the maintenance man walk by them twice because it took me 15 minutes to get the vending machine to take my two $1 bills. Can't miss them, red napkins and all.

Airliners pass directly overhead to land, and the windows must be single pane, because the roar through them woke me up twice.

Bed was comfortable and nice. Room was small and bathroom *really* small ( just a one person bathroom - the door cleared the toilet by just and inch or two), but it wasn't shoddy and it was clean.

hot water took 10+ minutes to reach us, we assume, because one of us was done with our cold shower and the other person half through theirs before it got hot.

Shuttle left on time that morning for the airport.

Overall experience? Worst than any Motel 6 I have ever stayed at in 30 years of travelling, and I do not exaggerate to make a point. That's the truth of it. There is utterly NO WAY in God's Green Earth the Metropolitan was a 3 star hotel. Yes the place had a big lobby and perhaps once aspired to be grand, and there was a nice wood veneer at the front desk, but with the exception of the bed itself, there was not one single element that was superior to what I'd received at any Motel 6.

This was the first time I've used Priceline for a hotel, and I'm surprised at how deceptive your star-rating system is. If that was a 3 star hotel, then I'm Captain Kirk. Without the babes.

Yes... the dishes were still there when we left.

[mosie]

Sheesh! I have stayed at the Metropolitan numerous times and have consistently found it to be superior to any Motel 6 used here for comparison. It's not the Ritz, but for $45 (what I typically pay on PL) it is completely adequate in all respects. Seems to me that you were looking to quibble, and you found some things to complain about (single pane glass?!? I have always found the place to be well soundproofed, considering that it sits a couple of hundred yards from a DTW runway). You've never seen expensive vending machines in a hotel before? You expect the hotel shuttle come right to your rental car office to pick you up? Travel much?