When you pay for a room, you expect some basics. You won't get them here. We stayed twice two weeks apart (second time FREE), so we have a good idea of how the place is run. The first time the weather had just gotten to 80 degree for the first time this year. The A/C had not been turned on yet, so the rooms were 80 inside. Windows do not open, so we were stuck inside to sweat in stale air. We complained about that, and asked for another room, but that was just as hot. At that point, they offered to put us in another hotel, but none were available. We stayed and they offered us enough points for two more nights, plus knocked money off the first stay. During the night, we heard a lot of noise in the hallway. We called the desk, and they said not to worry, it was just the fire department. One of the rickety elevators that will scare you for sure, got stuck and stranded someone inside. The second stay happened 2 weeks later, with our points, so it was free. Since it had gotten colder, and the A/C was on, there was no heat. The room was 63 degrees. No problem, except there was no hot water either. Since we were staying 'free' we did not complain, but it was cold in the shower that next morning! Bottom line is that the hotel is old. They only updated what you can see, so the place looks great. They have LCD widescreen TVs and a good digital hookup, so that's nice, but you can't enjoy any of it because the basics are not right. They need to find someone who knows how a hotel works to run the place.

We stayed overnight while attending a Red Wings game. Nice room with beautiful view of the river. I suspect a lot of the negatives in other reviews have been fixed since the renovation. We enjoyed our stay here and will definitely return. Room service got our breakfast order wrong, but other than that everything was perfect.

As we arrived at the hotel we realized that it was not new but was just refurbished. We planned to valet park and the the staff was nice. When we arrived at the front desk the staff was nice and so we checked in and went up to our room. The elevator was very old but worked fine. We walked down to our room and went inside. The room was bright and airy but after opening the shades we noticed a major draft coming from all of the windows. You could even sit on the bed and feel that breeze since it was that strong. Good thing we had independent furnaces in each room so we just put up the heat which made it roasty toasty in the room. The tub in the bathroom was old but clean. Each room had new furniture and was very clean throughout. The first set of sheets did have a small tear in them but the next set looked fine. They do try to conserve on energy by using energy efficient bulbs and asking you to reuse your towels and to not have your sheets changed daily. You do not have to reuse the towels and you can have your sheet changed daily if you want. Overall the stay was fine for a low price. The hotel is located adjacent from Cobo Convention Center so this would be the perfect place to stay. A people mover station is very close so you could us it to take you places. The people mover is a train that takes you around the city. Unfortunately, the exercise room was to hot to use and the pool was closed.

After reading some of the other reviews I was skeptical.I went in expecting a broke down palace. I came out with a respect for the Pontchartrain. The room was clean with a very nice view of the river and Windsor. The staff was very courteous and helpful. The elevator was old and tempermental. The valet parking was full due to reconstruction but a parking ramp was close by. We went to the Bob Seger concert at Cobo and walked back to the Pontch! We had a great time. We Will be back!

"I understand when a hotel is in process of a renovation... but given the condition of the room, they could have offered a dicount or a free dinner to one of their resturants, unbeleiveable!!!!!!!"