We came to Detroit for a quick, overnight trip, for the primary purpose of viewing the Caravaggio painting, “Martha and Mary Magdalene” at the Detroit Institute of Arts. This gave us the perfect opportunity to stay at a hotel that I’ve been wanting to check out for a while – the Shinola Hotel. Shinola is a high-end watch and leather goods brand based out of Detroit, and they have brought a lot of attention to the city. I think this is their first, and only hotel. It was pouring rain when we were there, so we didn’t really have the opportunity to walk around the area much, but it was clear that Detroit is trying to clean up its act and the central downtown area where the hotel is located was cute with lots of newer shops and restaurants.

We arrived at the Shinola Hotel around 4pm, and our room was ready. I booked a Den King room, which is not the smallest room, but definitely not the biggest or most fancy. They have a whole bunch of super cool-looking suites at this hotel that I would love to check out on a different trip. Our room was $315 per night on December 30, which I think is pretty reasonable for the location and the level of fanciness. Our room was quite large, with a low-profile king sized bed, along with a sitting area with a velvet couch and leather chair. Our windows faced out towards Woodward Ave. so we could see a few shops and tourists walking around. Every room is equipped with Shinola Bluetooth speakers, which were super nice, and we loved being able to play some music in the room. Some of the suites even feature a Shinola turntable and they have a record selection you can use. How cool is that?

The bathroom was small, but the shower was large and super good. They provide large, navy blue robes with “DETROIT” embroidered on the back which was cute, and the robes were large and super comfortable too. The toilet was in a separate room, which is always nice. The lights in the bathroom were extremely bright, and we realized later on that there was a dimming mechanism on the switch – so be sure to use that when you stay here! The color scheme was creamy white and very dark navy blue which was a nice contrast and very hip. The floors were wooden and there was a large, soft rug under the bed. The only strange thing about the room was that there was absolutely gobs of wall space but almost no art on the walls. This was in extreme contrast to the lobby, whose walls are completely covered with very cool art. The bed was seriously one of the most comfortable hotel beds I have ever slept in. The only other one I can think of that was similar was at Chicago’s Peninsula Hotel. Both of these beds were so comfortable you didn’t want to get out of them ever. My husband probably had the best night of sleep of his life.

The hotel’s vibe was moody and dark, but that was probably partially due to the rainy weather outside, and we were mainly there during the night. The decor is decidedly mid-century modern with lots of angular couches and chairs, as well as curved wooden tables. Behind the check in desk hang a bunch of leather tassels – giving it an old-school hotel feel making you think there are a bunch of keys back there hanging, but it’s just decorative.

The lobby is a huge highlight of this hotel. There are a ton of comfy couches and chairs all over the place with lots of tables. Every inch of wall space is covered with art that is contemporary and interesting. You can’t miss the giant Nick Cave piece, “Tondo” hanging opposite the entrance.

I wanted to experience as much as the hotel had to offer in our short, 18 hour window there, so I booked a table at their restaurant, San Morello. I plan on doing a more in-depth review of the restaurant, and I’ll link it here when it’s published. Overall, the restaurant was very good. The ambiance was like a bistro mixed with a more relaxed Italian kitchen (complete with wood-burning oven for pizzas) and there were tiles everywhere, on the floor and on the walls, which made this restaurant very loud.

The food here was excellent (we stuck with pasta) and the desserts were really super. The service was good. The only strange thing about this place was that they had an extremely extensive wine list, but when it came to dessert, they had nary a single dessert wine – no fortified wines like port or sherry, no late harvest anything. What on earth do people drink with dessert here? This is a glaring gap in their otherwise gorgeous wine list. It was nice to eat here and not have to go out into the elements, although in my research there are a ton of new, very good and well-reviewed restaurants popping up all over Detroit, so next time we visit, I’ll probably venture out and check out what else they have to offer.

The Shinola Hotel also has a bar called “Evening Bar” which, on their website, is described as a “comfortable, classic American bar” serving seasonal cocktails and bar bites. I was expecting a chill, classy, jazzy kind of place where you can relax in an intimate setting with a delicious hand made cocktail. OH MY GOODNESS this was not that at all. I’m not sure what Evening Bar is like on other nights, but this Friday night, it was more like a club without the dancing. The music was at level 13 out of 10 and they were playing really really terrible rap music. (I actually really like a lot of rap music, but not whatever the heck they were playing!) The place was pitch dark and I actually had to get my phone out to use the flashlight to read the cocktail menu. We were not the oldest people in there, but I have never felt so old in my life! We waited about 30 minutes for our drinks, because the place was jam packed, even at 7:45pm, but the drinks were super delicious and, I might even say, worth the wait. We were so uncomfortable there, though, and couldn’t even chat without yelling, even though we were only two feet apart, so we left after one drink.

Luckily, even though there is absolutely no information about it in your room, nor on the hotel’s website, you can sit in the gorgeous, much more quiet, much more well lit, and much more comfortable lobby, and enjoy whatever drinks you want, as well as the same bar bites that are offered in Evening Bar. We heaved a sigh of relief when we sat down in a pair of comfortable leather chairs. While you could still hear the pounding bass from Evening Bar, this was a much more pleasant way to spend an hour or two. Our server was amazing, and we got our drinks and food more quickly than in the Evening Bar itself. I loved sitting in this lobby admiring the gorgeous art and being able to talk to my husband using an inside voice, rather than screaming.

The next morning, we skipped breakfast since we found the bed to be way too comfortable to get out of. They do not offer any complimentary coffee in the rooms, so we had to order room service, which came within 15 minutes. They serve Madcap coffee out of Grand Rapids, MI, which is a very light but bitter and acidic style, which I don’t love, but a lot of folks seem to really like it.

Check out was a breeze and valet was quick (you simply text to get your car). It was still raining when we left, so no chance to walk around more to explore the area, so I can’t say much about the location of this hotel, but it seems pretty central with a lot of nice shops and restaurants around. This hotel was easily one of the nicest we stayed at this year – every single person we interacted with was super nice, funny, and extremely personable. The bed was out of this world comfortable. The vibe was hip and cool, but also super classic and I loved the mid-century decor and all of the art. I would most definitely recommend this hotel if you find yourself in Detroit!