Vicinity of hotels for Motown museum and other attractions

I am hoping to visit in September 09 for a few days and want to take my husband to the Motown museum. Any advice would be most welcome. He has to use a wheelchair although can walk short distances. Any other places to visit on the same theme?

Heather

Vicinity of hotels for Motown museum and other attractions

The Motown Museum is about 4 miles north of the heart of Detroit. If you want to stay in the city, there are several options. The Marriott and Courtyard are across the street from each other and both have views of the river and Canada. There%26#39;s also the Hilton Garden Inn near the stadium; MGM Casino Hotel and Atheneum (all-suite) in Greektown. The Westin and Doubletree Fort Shelby just opened recently. The Greektown Casino Hotel will open in 2009.

Naturally, downtown hotels tend to be a bit more expensive and you%26#39;d have to pay for parking. A good option for outside the city would be Dearborn. There%26#39;s a wide range of choices from Red Roof Inn to the historic Dearborn Inn and Ritz Carlton. Dearborn is about mid-way between the airport and the city center.

The biggest attraction in the area is The Henry Ford complex. It%26#39;s an indoor-outdoor museum complex that has several historic buildings from the US. The indoor museum is noted for its transportation collection and also has decorative arts, machinery, household implements and other items. The Ford Visitor Center is adjacent and offers tours of the nearby Rouge Factory. Check www.hfmgv.org for info.

Vicinity of hotels for Motown museum and other attractions

St Regis hotel is a few blocks from Motown museum. It was once quite fancy hotel maybe a local poster can comment on todays situation

Well, yes, the St. Regis is close to the Motown Museum. Sad to say, it isn%26#39;t in a great neighborhood for very much else (attractions, restaurants, bars, etc.), so you would have to drive or taxi to just about any other place of interest.

Just my personal opinion, but the short time that you will spend at the Motown Museum wouldn%26#39;t persuade me to stay at the St. Regis, considering that you likely will be visiting a lot of other sites in and around Detroit.

The St. Regis also gets decidedly mixed reviews from Trip Advisor posters who have stayed there in the past year. You might want to check out the reviews before making a decision about this hotel.

Beyond the Motown Museum, there%26#39;s very little one can concretely connect with along those lines. However, if its jazz, rock or other types of music you%26#39;re after, you%26#39;re in luck.

Regarding the St. Regis - I wouldn%26#39;t stay there. At night New Center%26#39;s not lively enough. The few things there are to do may or may not appeal. Highly recommend one of the newer hotels downtown, a very short drive - particularly the Westin Book Cadillac or the MGM Grand, or the new Doubletree Suites Fort Shelby, if you%26#39;re looking for something more affordable. However, the Westin and MGM are nice and lively after dark, with the MGM boasting a top-notch, very exclusive spa and pool facility.

Make sure to see the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Henry Ford Museum + Greenfield Village and visit the Eastern Market on Saturday. Please feel free to ask more questions as you do your research - don%26#39;t hesitate to contact me directly, if you like.

This is a great article about finding Motown in Motown today:

freep.com/article/20090111/ENT04/901110361

A couple interesting notes: Martha Reeves (yes, that Martha Reeves) now serves on Detroit City Council, which meets at the Coleman A. Young building at the foot of Woodward Avenue. Reeves is currently floating a proposal to erect statues to Motown greats around the downtown area.

The Fox Theatre was the site of many major Motown shows. Beautiful building on Woodward Avenue, across from the baseball stadium. Try to get in here.

While Motown HQ is now an empty lot at the NW corner of Woodward and the Fisher Freeway (steps from the Fox), it%26#39;s nice to know where it was.

Purely for perspective, it%26#39;s interesting to know that Diana Ross lived in the Brewster-Douglass projects near the former Motown HQ - most people find it a little creepy back there, as it%26#39;s this massive abandoned housing estate. (If you%26#39;re really curious, they%26#39;re roughly around the corner of Beaubien and Winder).

Bottom line: Detroit is kind of disorganized. But, if you approach it with an open mind (it%26#39;s not like other cities, really) and take the time to talk to everyone you meet - some of the nicest people in America live here - you won%26#39;t be disappointed. Tell everyone you talk to that you are interested in Motown history (and have already been to the museum) and see where it leads you.