Shinola Hotel

Sam at the front desk was wonderful.

Will stay there more and give away as gifts to family members.

Great experience overall.

Pros:
- ideal location
- cheerful service at front desk, albeit not very knowledgeable
- elegantly designed room
- separate toilet room
- fantastic dinner at San Morello
Cons:
- no towel racks or hooks in the bathroom or hallway, except for a single one on the door
- only 2 accessible electrical outlets (one by the nightstand, 1 by the feet of the sofa)
- limited choices for breakfasts, most being too greasy

Beautiful hotel with impeccable service and style. In the heart of thriving downtown Detroit with easy access to many activities. Quiet, clean and well designed guest rooms. We hope to come back again in the near future.

I could barely sleep on the weekend. It was so loud outside my window, I was constantly being woken up. The restuarant was also terrible. I had the pastry basket for breakfast at San Morello. First, there was only one pastry, a croissant; the rest were cakes and some focaccia. Second, it was all absolutely disgusting. The croissant wasn't crisp and flaky. Instead, it seemed like the sort of cheap croissant you get at a grocery store, that has been sitting out for a long time. The flat white I had one of the other days was undrinkable. I'm shocked that such an expensive hotel could have such a low-quality breakfast offering.
I would never stay here again and I must say that I've never been so disappointed with a hotel I have paid so much to stay at!

What a great discovery.

We had a beautiful suite, excellent room service, and the San Morello restaurant downstairs was absolutely top-notch in food, service, and atmosphere.

We just spent two nights for a little getaway, and we are very glad we did.

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I discovered a hotel because my favorite belt has their name on it.

My husband and I had a few precious days together without our three kids. We decided on a quick trip to Detroit for food and museums. The city was even better than we thought it would be and we loved Shinola. The location and vibe were tops. We felt so relaxed and cared for. We spent a lot of money on the room, but felt like we could fully relax and enjoy ourselves. We'll worth it!

Location and design

Our experience at Shinola would have been 4.5/5 had it not been for the street noise level, 12/10 all 3 nights until 3 a.m. The sound of muscle cars gunning their engines overpowered the standard hotel windows making it impossible to sleep. Shinola front desk staff expressed indifference. A shame, but their choice I guess.

Champagne I arranged with the concierge was not in the room and I had to go down and ask for it at the front desk. This ended up being comped (which I neither asked for nor expected), which was a nice surprise, but it still was not in the room waiting for us as the surprise I wanted to give my girlfriend.

There was no welcome letter with my name on it when checking in, and they just produced a generic one. Now I know that there is little difference here, but it’s about the small touches that I had hoped would be part of the experience.

Check out was something else. First, the gentlemen at the front desk, in the middle of serving another customer, shouted out and asked my room number, telling me I was all set. I then told him no, I would like a copy of my folio. Eventually, I made it to the desk, where I was not acknowledged for a good minute or two and then finally asked for my room number again, and then presented with the the folio. I noticed on there that, while there was an overage on breakfast beyond the credit, there was no experience credit applied. On the welcome letter, it does NOT make it clear that the experience credit and the breakfast credit do not stack, it just says both can be used on in room dining. I have been at other FHR hotels where they do stack the credit, so I was confused and brought it up to the front desk staff. He rudely brushed me off and said that it was ineligible. I tried explaining and showing him the letter that both said they applied to in room dining. He lied and said the letter states that you cannot use any portion of the experience credit for breakfast. And then he condescendingly offered to read me the letter. I showed him in the letter in my hand that it did not clearly state, whereupon he changed his story and said that breakfast was not in room dining. Eventually I just left. There was no acknowledgement of how it could be confusing, no validation or friendliness.

It’s a shame, really, as I have enjoyed this hotel in the past. If I did not have prepaid stays coming up, I would consider switching all of them over to the Siren, where I have not had this level of condescension or rudeness.

I rarely leave negative hotel reviews, but my recent stay at the Shinola Hotel was one of the most upsetting hotel experiences I have ever had.

Early one morning during my stay, I was awakened by a man violently banging on my door and attempting to force his way into my room. From inside the room, it genuinely sounded like someone was trying to break in. I attempted to call the hotel operator for help, but my initial call did not connect, so I called 911 for help since I feared for my safety.

Hotel security eventually arrived and discovered that the individual was another hotel guest who had become extremely intoxicated and mistakenly thought my room was his. According to security, he was trying to force entry to my room when his key did not work. By the time hotel security arrived, the drunk man appeared to be laying on the floor outside my door (security and hotel staff were standing and talking to him outside my door). Hotel security later informed me that they had told the police they were no longer needed, so in essence they unilaterally chose to cancel my 911 call for help (I never saw the police and do not know if they ever arrived).

What disappointed me most was the Shinola hotel’s response afterward. Security knocked on my door, explained that the drunken guest had been escorted to his room, and suggested I “go back to sleep.” No manager proactively contacted me, and no meaningful effort was made to ensure I felt safe after a frightening experience. Later that morning, I personally had to request a room change because I no longer felt comfortable staying near the guest involved in the incident.

A separate matter but also disappointing, the Shinola hotel failed to provide a scheduled 3:30 AM wake-up call that I specifically arranged with concierge for an early flight. The request had been confirmed with concierge, but apparently never communicated properly to the front desk.

I spoke with management multiple times during my stay. One manager expressed sympathy and acknowledged the seriousness of the incident, but ultimately the Shinola hotel declined to provide any meaningful compensation beyond paying for my ride to DTW airport when I departed. I was told that because I booked through a third-party travel portal using Capital One Venture X, the Shinola hotel could not refund any portion of my stay. I have since contacted Capital One Travel for their assistance, but again the Shinola hotel declined further compensation for my troubled stay.

While I understand the intoxicated guest’s behavior was not the hotel’s fault, I do believe the Shinola hotel is responsible for how it handles guest safety incidents and service failures. Between the inability to initially reach the operator during what I believed was an attempted break-in, the minimal follow-up afterward, the cancellation of my 911 call for help without my input, the need to request my own room relocation, the missed wake-up call, and the refusal to meaningfully resolve the situation, I left extremely disappointed.

This stay at the Shinola hotel fell far short of a luxury experience. I cannot recommend this property.

Great part of town sexy hotel great clientele . San Morello RESTAURANT was excellent within the hotel. It was very convenient. We were there for a medical school graduation. It was fantastic.

After a 12 hour flight shinola told me my reservation is cancelled and sent me to anither hotel. They said i shouldve gotten an email about this i didnt.

The experience was exceptional from check in to the valet bringing me my car when I left. Both bars had great drinks and skilled bartenders. The rooms were perfect.

We were attending a concert at Ford Field and were looking for a hotel nearby. Shinola popped up and as we were familiar with the watch brand thought it would be fun to stay at the hotel … exceeded expectations. From check in to check out, our 20 hour stay was perfect. Staff courteous yet personable .. from the valet to wait staff in the 3 bar areas. The front desk was helpful and went beyond the normal check in and out. Our room was comfortable and clean with space to spread out and relax. The hotel common spaces were interesting and inviting. We will definitely stay again when we are in the area. Will be looking for more reasons to visit!

Shinola is easily our favorite hotel to stay each time we are in Detroit. It has a perfect location and San Morello is always delicious. Free admission to the DIA is an awesome perk and the rooms are super quiet + dog friendly! Their staff makes it an easy choice to pick our stay there each time we visit.

Went to Ford Field for a concert. Easy walk to the venue. Nice hotel, clean and friendly staff. Restaurant was good. Would recommend.

I recently stayed at the Shinola Hotel from Saturday to Sunday and wanted to share honest feedback because the experience did not align with the premium, “residential feel” image the hotel promotes.

Prior to arrival, I appreciated receiving an email asking about my preferences. My requests were simple: not to be on Woodward Avenue and not to be on a low floor. Unfortunately, I was placed on the second floor directly facing Woodward. When I asked about alternatives, I was told there were no other rooms available, and no additional options or accommodations were offered. The interaction itself also felt more lightly condescending than welcoming, which was surprising for a hotel positioning itself as luxury hospitality.

The noise level from Woodward was extremely disruptive throughout the night, including motorcycles and repeated Q-Line horn noise. A “residential feel” should include a sense of comfort and escape from street chaos, especially when guests specifically request quieter accommodations.

There were also several cleanliness and service concerns that stood out:
- The carpet in the room was visibly stained.
- Food trays/plates were left in the hallway near the elevators both the first and second day.
- Some of the wood flooring/common areas appeared stained and dirty rather than naturally worn.
- Throughout Friday, despite five valets sitting outside, no one opened the main doors while guests entered and exited repeatedly.

To be fair, on Saturday there was one staff member who did open the door and provided a noticeably better level of hospitality.

The checkout experience was also disappointing. I specifically asked whether there were any charges and requested a printout of my bill. I was told there were no additional charges, and no receipt was provided. Later, reviewing my American Express statement, I saw charges had in fact been posted. I now have to contact the hotel separately just to obtain a copy of the final bill, despite the hotel already having my email address. A luxury hotel should automatically provide accurate checkout documentation.

Overall, the experience felt inconsistent with the standards and atmosphere the Shinola Hotel markets itself on. There is a difference between a relaxed residential feel and a lack of attentiveness, cleanliness, and hospitality.

Rooms were not ready at check in resulting in having to leave bags at the desk and get ready in public restrooms. All common spaces are very dark, including public restroom. Bags were not in room when I was able to get in. I had to call twice to get them delivered.
The room was beautiful and mostly clean - there were used tissues under the coffee bar cabinet. The bed was extremely comfortable. If not for the overbooking/late check in, it would have been a great stay. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. Please add ice bucket and ability to get ice in the room!!

Amazing location, walking distance to concert, sporting events, restaurants, shopping.
Beautiful rooms and overall hotel was stunning!