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Amway Grand Plaza Hotel
Categories: Event Planning & Services Hotels Hotels & Travel Hotels Restaurants Hotels, Restaurants [Edit]
187 Monroe Ave NWGrand Rapids, MI 49503
(616) 774-2000
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
33 reviews for Amway Grand Plaza Hotel
Review Highlights
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"I heart GR, and I now heart the Amway." In 5 reviews -
"but the fitness center." In 6 reviews -
"I highly recommend the tower portion for lodging simply..." In 10 reviews
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33 reviews in English
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Review from Tom D.
Bradenton, FL
12/4/2011
Stayed at this hotel over Thanksgiving Weekend visiting Family. Hotel was nice and
room was clean. We went to the rooftop restaurant/bar for drinks at night which had a great view. My wife left her wedding ring in the room and when I called back the housekeeper had already turned the ring in to security. I was in my car and called them after we had checked out and they promptly sent the ring to my home in Florida
via UPS. Great knowing that a hotel can handle these situations properly. -
Review from Chadd M.
Rancho Cordova, CA
9/13/2011
We stayed here for a wedding nearby. We got a group rate of $134 instead of $149/night. At that price, we expected a good hotel. Here's what we got:
The good
- Nice view of river from our room
- Big flat screen tv (who cares)
- Central location
- Free WiFi
- Nice conference center
- Decent restaurants. Sunday brunch at Cygnus ($35) was excellent, but pricey.
- Courteous staff
The bad
- All printed hotel documentation indicates there is an airport shuttle. However, if you call, they insist they don't.
- $5/day to use the fitness center / pool. Really?
- At least $16/day for parking (non-valet). Many big hotels do this; so it wasn't apocalyptic.
- The bathroom needs an upgrade. Industrial toilet flush lever you would see in most public restrooms. Should I use my foot to flush it? Also you have to flush it a couple times.
- Tub drain stopper didn't work (wouldn't allow water to drain). Had to completely remove it.
- Hottest water out of shower was *almost* comfortably warm.
- You want complimentary coffee? Ha! No coffee maker in room, and complimentary coffee in the lobby ends at 6:30 AM.
- No safe in the room.
- Soda machine was broken (but they got me my money back).
Should we have to stay in this area again, we'll check out one of the many other hotels nearby. -
Review from Michael D.
Battle Creek, MI
10/12/2011
I stayed here for a convention in early October 2011. When I travel to a convention, I often have to do business in my hotel room on the internet. Yes, there is free WiFi in this hotel, and that is nice. The bad thing however is that it is a weak signal, and so I found even with connecting with a cable the internet was too poor of a bandwidth to be able to do work that normally takes me 5 minutes anywhere else. Very stone age.
Even attending classes in the convention at this hotel and the nearby DeVos place was equally difficult for those speakers that were depending on the internet for any part of their presentation.
The room was nice, and comfortable, and the space was clean. I just found the lack of internet service to be too much trouble for me, so I would never stay there again.
Additionally, the cell service in the hotel was noticably bad in some of the common areas, although I did not have too much trouble with this, many of my colleagues who attended the convention did.
The catered food at the convention that was provided by the hotel was nice. However, I did have a room reservation where I was supposed to be able to have my room at 4:00pm, and it was not made available to me until almost 4:45pm. I was told the room would be just about 10 minutes late, and they would call my cell. I finally confronted a lady at the counter at 4:35 and was told it was available, even though no one had called me. The result was that I missed an opening presentation at the convention. So I did not find the staff to be very helpful in this regard.
If you are planning a major convention at this hotel, you might consider looking at some of the other major hotels in Grand Rapids. This one does not really seem to have it together to service business people and professionals. -
Review from Lindsay K.
San Diego, CA
9/17/2011
I visited Amway Grand Plaza for a conference in which my husband's company footed for the bill. With that said:
I thought this hotel was very beautiful. We had the choice of a room in the modern tower section or the more Victorian style original section of the hotel. We opted for the classic section. The room, was on the 11th floor, was very clean and decent in size and overlooked the city.
Customer Service - The entire staff here was super friendly & accommodating. Everyone greeted us with a smile and made conversation during our stay. The maids were super sweet and made conversation too. They definitely deserve their tip! I love Midwestern work ethic. People here are trained the right way in customer service and it's so refreshing compared to the crap service I get in San Diego.
Value - Our room rate must have been a conference rate at $119/night. What a STEAL!! You can't get a beautiful room like this in a beautiful hotel like this in a great downtown location like this in San Diego. This would have cost in the $225-$300/night easy!
Extras - The wifi is really slow. I did not visit the spa. The shops, bars, restaurants here were also very nice. It was colder here than what we had packed for, so I purchased a great coat in the boutique downstairs at what my skewed San Diegan perception thought was a great bargain...$99 for a white pea-coat that fit me perfectly and I can still wear it out when I get back home - yes please! -
Review from M K.
Muskegon, MI
3/4/2012 3 Check-ins Here
Upscale hotel in downtown Grand Rapids. Lots of history here with very nice surroundings. Restaurants inside have very good food. Pool and workout area are top-notch also.
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Review from Brenda M.
4/5/2011
Nice location, incredible lobby, and a Starbucks. What more could you ask for? I'll tell ya:
I love historic hotel lobbies. I like to sit around, drink an iced tea, and pretend that I am there for some crazy get-away, or super luxe vacay. On that note, the Amway delivers. There is a lot of history there, and cool chandeliers and fountains to take pictures of.
Our room was just average. It didn't differ from any Best Western or Holiday Inn that I've been to. That's the disappointing part. If you are going to have the fancy hotel experience, it should carry over to the room.
While it was clean, and nice, it was very generic. When I checked in and saw the grand surroundings, I really thought the room was going to be much nicer. There are different price levels, and I'm sure a lot of rooms and suites are spectacular, I think that every room should be something special. I feel like I could have stayed somewhere less expensive, and just walked over to the Amway to drink my tea in the lobby. -
Review from Annette J.
Dearborn Heights, MI
11/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
A truly decadent weekend was had here at the Amway Grand Plaza. It was definitely a "treat yo self" weekend done right!
I knew it was Grand Rapids Restaurant Week so I figured what better time to stay at this fancy hotel that I've had my sights on than then? Reserve GR next door is one of my fave eateries so I booked a reservation there for 8pm and then promptly booked a room at the Amway. When you're planning on eating a ton of charcuterie and drinking a crap load of wine it's pretty swell to just cross the street and roll into bed, right? Right! So that's what we did.
We splurged on one of their packages which came with a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine, truffles, access to the pool/fitness room, free valet, late check out (2pm!) and a $50 gift card to any eatery in the hotel, including room service. Woop woop!
And so began a wonderful overnight of time in the hot tub, getting tipsy on sparkling wine, walking next door to Reserve, cabbing up to Founder's to see a friend play, then collapsing into bed for a late wake up followed by a decadent room service breakfast. SUPER RELAXING.
The hotel is gorgeous. The lobby is stunning. There is plenty to see and do between the number of restaurants and bars in the complex and all the shops. The staff was incredibly nice and friendly, I couldn't have asked for better service. The room was clean and comfortable and the beds were heaven. I slept sooooo good! The room service for breakfast was quite tasty to boot, and pretty reasonable for hotel room service. Most dishes were around $8-13. We actually had to order more food than we could eat to use up our gift card!
Just a couple of complaints that I'm not the first to address. First off: the elevators. We stayed in the older end of the hotel and getting up and down was a breeze. However, the pool was in the 27 story tower, on the 4th floor. Getting there wasn't a problem but getting back? Holy hell! It took us FOREVER. Soaking wet, dripping with a towel wrapped around me is not the way I want to spent 20 minutes, I can tell you that. 4 elevators and only 3 were in service. The floor was packed too because a group of young folks there for what I think was a convention were also waiting. The stairwell wasn't internal--it went down to 3 and then outside. Again, I was soaking wet so that wasn't an option. Finally a car going up came by and we packed on...all the way up from the 4th floor to 27, then back down again...stopping. at. every. single. floor. I felt bad for the other folks waiting but there wasn't any more room to let anyone else on! Oh well. Yeah, not the ideal situation. Also, I understand people's complaints that there weren't coffee makers in the room or that you had to pay for access to the fitness center. Now, I don't drink coffee regularly and my package had access to the pool so that didn't impact me directly but I can understand how that would be upsetting when you're already paying for a room.
So, while I had a WONDERFUL experience and sincerely look forward to visiting again, I couldn't quite give the place 5 stars. But still, a solid 4. I'll just make sure to bring a robe for the pool next time! -
Review from Mike S.
Plymouth, MI
11/30/2010
Great location. Across the river from Ford Museum, Grand Rapids Museum, and walking distance (10-20 minutes) to dozens of great restaurants.
Location makes it important to consider. The history, ellegence, and charm is great.
It was amazing the number of wifi access points on the 7th floor of the old building. There were two in the hallway that our room was on. Old hotels can have plumbing, hot water or network limitations and none of these three were a problem at the Away.
Many resteraunts in the hotel and the area are closed on Sunday night and that was a shame. -
Review from BJ J.
Haslett, MI
5/10/2011
Stayed here for a conference so my experience reflects this rather than as an individual visitor. Really wonderful. I do agree with others about the nickel & dining to death but most high end hotels I've been to do this because, well, they can. I think the Amway figures if you don't want to pay it, go somewhere else because there is someone behind you willing to pay. And they are VERY busy with guests. I still think it's wonderful despite this. But you will end up paying a lot.
We stayed in the Pantlind end--these are the older rooms. Very quaint, kind of Victorian-like in atmosphere but also immaculate. There are also more contemporary rooms in the Tower end of the hotel, which are also very nice from what I heard. I didn't hear too much outside noise which you sometimes get in less expensive places. The staff at the desk, valets, bellhops--all very attentive.
Our conference had meals there as well. For conference food, it was very good to excellent and since I was one of the co-chairs of the conference, I can say that we went about as cheap as you can go and it was still very good. My only personal issue is that the Caesar salad with grilled chicken could have been dressed up a bit with some color. I know, a Caesar salad is mainly Romaine lettuce. But a little garnish as color would have made the appearance pleasing. But I can't complain about the taste. All meals were good.
I'd definitely choose this place again if I ever plan a conference in Grand Rapids. I'd also stay here for a special occasion--but obviously not a spur of the moment trip as for most people, it probably requires some financial savings.
Also, WiFi is free in the guest rooms. Nice touch for a high end place. -
Review from Colleen C.
Chicago, IL
3/15/2008
I think it is safe to say that the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is the nicest hotel in Grand Rapids, MI. It's truly impressive.
However, the elevators make me want to sprint the 23 floors to my room. They are painfully slow, and then once one does arrive, 49 people pile into it and I want to crawl up the wall. For a place with so many rooms/guests, they really gotta work this out. It seems trivial, but I spent about half my day waiting for elevators.
Now onto the rest of the show....
It's beautiful, well decorated, expansive, and easily holds very large convention. I got the pleasure of landing here the same weekend as the HS geek competition (some sort of young aspiring, business, Donald Trump wannabe shindig I gathered from one of my long elevator rides with an entire team of 15 year old boys, their walkie talkies and their AV cart).
The location is excellent in downtown GR, there are 2 coffee shops in the lobby, and a multitude of amenities. We have (yes I am writing this from the actual hotel hallway, as my travel companions snore mercilessly) a beautiful room overlooking the river. It's not a large room, but well decorated and lots of space to put things. The beds are really comfortable, and I'd love to be sleeping right now, but that's apparently not in the cards.
If you are coming to Grand Rapids for any reason, try to stay here. Valet parking is $16. -
Review from Matt P.
Chicago, IL
8/4/2009
I'm disappointed that "zero" is not an option, because that is certainly what I would give this hotel.
I attended the same wedding that Jeanine S did a few reviews down, and in fact, we were sharing the same room. One of our friends had a little too much to drink at the wedding, and caused a bit of a disruption. We all apologized profusely, and offered to pay for the additional guest in the room, to which Cameron the security guard responded "absolutely not". Apparently there were complaints on our floor before we even returned to the hotel, and we just happened to reap the ill benefits.
So, not wanting to turn my friend drunk upon the street (as he was in no condition to drive home), I made the decision to check us out of the Amway, which the staff said wouldn't be a problem, and that we wouldn't be charged for the night, as we left early.
Well, we were charged, and then black listed from all the other hotels in the greater downtown area of Grand Rapids, because the Amway owns those as well. It's quite the monopoly, if you ask me. Luckily, we found a Motel 6 about 8 miles outside of Grand Rapids that was very accommodating.
I will NEVER stay in this pyramid scheming hotel, EVER again, and caution everyone else to do likewise. -
Review from Leanne A.
4/15/2009
I'm not a snob, I promise. But when I heard this hotel was five star, I was expecting....I don't know....something else? I can't really decide how I feel about it, so I'll make a list.
Pros:
-super friendly service (though totally expected at a five star hotel)
-starbucks
-big comfy bed
-nice location
-big towels
-tons of amenities in the lobby. Like, five stores and a couple restaurants, and a huge fountain. I didn't have time to wander, but there were seriously lots of different areas to the lobby.
-zip zippy elevators. They literally flew. My friend actually couldn't stand how her stomach dropped. I loved it.
Cons
-shampoo/conditioner in ONE bottle. Again, I don't think I'm a snob, but any female knows that separating the two is just better. I probably should have brought my own, but this stuff did not do the trick for conditioner....not at all
-baaaaaaaaaaad TV. I could barely change the channels. The remote had to be pushed like ten times for it to work. The audio was all fuzzy, and the picture was pretty blurry. Not fun.
-small tub. idk, a five star hotel should have a big tub....like big for two people big.
-barely any outlets. I had trouble plugging in all my electronics. I wouldn't give a crap if I were there for leisure. But I was there for work, and had lots of thing that needed plugging in.
Overall, I understand the place is old. It had a nice "grand" feeling to it, and I was certainly comfortable. I don't even know how much it cost, because it was for work, but the cons I have listed caused me to subtract a star. Maybe I"m wrong about it being a five star hotel??
If you can get a good price here, it's definitely comfortable and pleasant. -
Review from Jessa B.
6/20/2011
Always a win. Hands down. From the rooms, to the staff, to the food, the atmosphere. You can never go wrong with Amway!
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Review from Melissa B.
Chicago, IL
10/5/2011
For weddings, Grace Hill is amazing! She is efficient, organized, and has been extremely helpful during the wedding planning process!!
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Review from Hannah L.
Chicago, IL
1/8/2011
My husband and I stayed at the Amway for two nights in June. Our reservation was for a room in the tower portion of the hotel. When we arrived in the early evening, we were pleasantly surprised to receive an upgrade to a large 17th floor suite, which had a nice 180 degree views of the river and city.
We were so impressed with the personal service we received and how the staff went out of their way to make our stay so excellent. We will definitely be back!! -
Review from Meghan B.
Bloomington, IL
9/12/2008
We did room blocks here for our wedding guests, and we also stayed two nights for the wedding in one of the Tower Luxury Suites.
It's a great hotel. Rooms were comfortable and clean, with excellent views of the city and the river. The staff were nothing but friendly and helpful. And the hotel has plenty of amenities.
Grace K. was nothing but professional and helpful for us as we made arrangements for our guests. She made the whole process easy and everyone was very happy.
Typical things that irk me at most hotels also irked me here: Extra fee for the fitness center and for internet --which is especially frustrating when ya have such an expensive and nice room! But hey, I guess I'm used to that sort of thing by now.
All in all a great, historic hotel with a great staff in a great location. I heart GR, and I now heart the Amway. -
Review from Chris D.
Centreville, VA
9/1/2010 2 Check-ins Here
Probably the best hotel in Grand Rapids and perhaps the entire surrounding area. The original historic hotel portion is amazing and provides some excellent spaces for conferences and weddings. I highly recommend the tower portion for lodging simply because of the view it affords of the Grand River.
Only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is that it's wireless internet is only free in public spaces. -
Review from S L.
Chicago, IL
6/1/2011
meh. this place is very fancy and beautiful but it should be called the nickel and dime hotel. I swear, you can't do anything except sleep without paying extra money. despite the expensive price of a 1 night stay, they make you pay extra to use the gym! shouldn't that be included? my room didn't even have a coffee maker! even best western has a coffee maker! parking is not included, it's just stupid. good view though. I'm sure that if they could figure out a way to charge for looking at it, they would.
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Review from Corry M.
Grand Rapids, MI
7/27/2011
Stayed here for new years once and had slow service at the bar (it's new years man get me drunk). And then I had to run up to the room using the stairs, came back down one floor too far and found myself going outside....... I had no warm clothes on and the people working that area wouldn't let me back in even though I walked out the door right in front of them and was like, ooops, this isn't right. Thanks for making me walk around outside in a short sleeved shirt and thin pants on December 31st....... The hotel itself was pretty bland trying to be too classy. Having combined parties with JW Marriott, I realized we should have stayed there instead due to the parties and restaurants being better and more stylish.
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Review from Rebecca W.
Ypsilanti, MI
6/21/2010
We were here for a wedding reception in (one of) the ballroom(s) and it was absofrickinglutely gorgeous--like, movies and martha stewart style. Much of this had to do with the impeccable taste of the bride and her mother, I think, but it's the hotel and their staff that actually pulls it off, and it was GORGEOUS.
The groom's family (my relatives) also hosted a dessert reception in the lobby the night before the wedding and this, too, was very nice (except not enough places to put our coats!). Coffee, punch, rich, rich rich desserts, in a cozy, lounge-like area. Lovely.
The only weird thing about this place was the sheer number of ballrooms--and thus, weddings that can take place on any given day. I'm not joking when I say there were four weddings in *addition* to the one we were attending and I can't lie, it was a little awkward when they were all vying to take pictures in the same spot--eyeing each other, and pretending they weren't, and each wanting to be the *only* bride of the hour--but really being one of five. Yee. Every time I turned around I saw a different color palette of bridesmaids, and throughout the reception people were wandering into and out of the wrong ballrooms--a little bit crashing/peeking, but just as much, it seems, wedding overload and confusion.
It was a gorgeous location and I'm sure each wedding was spectacular in and of itself, but in the interim, photo taking/mingling time, you sure felt like you were in a (super dooper classy) Vegas wedding chapel. -
Review from Reid M.
St. Clair Shores, MI
1/7/2010
We stayed in the Tower ....
The room was clean (small) and very quiet ... with a great view of the river. We left the curtains opened and enjoyed the view.
I would stay here again .... -
Review from Sophia G.
Ann Arbor, MI
3/3/2008
When I first went up to my room, it looked like somebody had been it. The pillows were tossed and there was someone else's baggage in the room. I asked to be moved to another room. I was told that the room I was moved to (classic guest room) had been redone, but I still thought it looked a little dated.
The beds were comfy and the writing desk was very nice. The room service was excellent. The lobby and seating areas of the hotel are impressively decorated. -
Review from Scott B.
9/23/2010 1 photo
I don't understand why this place is positioned as a "nice" hotel. It's really not any nicer than a typical Hampton Inn or any other generic hotel and it looks like grandma's house. It feels dated, and the rooms are tiny. Regardless of what their website claims, this is NOT a place for business travelers. It's one of the last remaining hotels to still charge for internet access and it dropped my connection at least 5 times in the hour I had to finish up some work. If you're looking for an actual higher-end hotel, stay at the J.W. next door which happens to be beautiful.
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Review from Shelly K.
West New York, NJ
3/11/2011
I was not happy with this hotel. I was given misinformation from the beginning. I told the staff about it and they ignored it. They said they would tell the manager but no one contacted me. I will start with the beginning. We walk in and get an early check in- I really appreciated that. The bell hop tells us all about the hotel as he walks us up. He gives misinformation on may things including the spa. He told us that their was a $50 spa credit. I inquired about it again at the front desk and they told us that we could use it on any service. We book a spa package and find out that we did not have a $50 credit. Nice....
We went to the restaurant Benthams. We arrived 20 minutes before closing and we saw the waitress 2 times. No check back or asking for dessert or refills. Then we go to the fitness center and are charged $5 even though we have paid $150 for a room. I have never had a hotel charge a fee for the fitness center as thats pretty cheesy. I felt nickle and dime on everything The parking $16, fitness center $5 and no coffee maker in the room. The soaps and shampoo was nothing special. I think it was pantene. The hotel also advertises that the rooms get a turn down service. We did not receive that. When I booked the hotel I asked for an early check out. I was told that I could not have the extra 30 minutes.
What really upset me is that no one cared enough to address any of my complaints. -
Review from Sam K.
Minneapolis, MN
8/27/2010
I was here because I had to be here for my cousin's wedding. For $140ish with our wedding discount..it was a decent hotel. We were in the old area (forgot the name), and not the newly build tower area and somehow ended up with two full size beds. Bathrooms were incredibly small and oddly sized. For $140, I expected my towels to be plush, nada. You also pay extra for internet if you weren't in the tower club. I've stayed at motel 8's and Comfort Inns where internet was free!
The hotel is great if you've got nowhere else to go but hang out with family and friends in the hotel, which is why its perfect for a wedding. Food was great, and I enjoyed their decent gym. They've got a rooftop tennis court that I'd like to try if I were to ever go back. Service was spectacular, but the only negative about this fancy hotel is the bellhop, who didn't ask me if I needed his assistance for two small bags. Maybe it was just this guy, but I didn't like it. Economy is rough, money is tight, so I would've said "no" if he had asked me. Instead, he loaded my bags onto his cart and waited for me to fully check in. Some may say I shouldn't be such a stickler because it's a four or five---er whatever star hotel, but I'm only a stickler for things I can control. So I was psychologically forced to tip $5, and I hate being forced to shell out money when I don't have to. I needed that money to pay for the internet. -
Review from Davyd W.
Los Angeles, CA
10/2/2011
There are pleasant things about this hotel. The linens are decent and as an artist working 12 and 14 hours days at Artprize sometimes good thread count does matter. The hotel staff could tries very hard, the management not saying any names (Rick) should not yell at the guest in any situation. Really doesn't define hospitality. I stayed here 3 weeks and ate at every restaurant, (great food) had room svc, used dry cleaning (I would recommend not using the hotels dry cleaning svcs) - The hotel also does not have Wifi. If you are planning on going to Grand Rapids plan on having some downtime.
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Review from Chelsea M.
MI
6/6/2009
Over priced. Not just the room but everything at the hotel. A soda (not even cold!) was $2.35. OUTRAGEOUS! Internet and parking are addition expenses, and other amenities offered are nothing outstanding. If you plan on staying here plan to spend an additional $20-$30 per day for just internet and parking. The food and drinks are extremely over priced for quality. I only stay here when attending conferences and I have no other choice.
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Review from Andrea D.
Bloomfield Hills, MI
3/13/2010
I have great memories of going to this hotel when I was a kid. My dad would have a convention there every few years and my mom and I would go enjoy the hotel. It's very beautiful. My favorite spot is the Ford Ballrooms - such a beautiful shade of blue with ornate white trim on the walls and ceiling. There's a victorian tower and a contemporary tower. I stayed in the victorian tower most recently - it's very nice with big rooms and a fabulous big bathtub. The beds are pretty comfortable - crisp white sheets = happiness. It really p'd me off that there was no coffee maker in the room. I hate when hotels do that because they want you to buy the Starbucks downstairs. Alas, this one is no different. Valet parking is very expensive ($25/day). When I asked for late checkout (1:00), they were very accomodating.
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Review from Natasha O.
Mount Prospect, IL
4/28/2010
For a hotel that's supposed to be one of the fanciest around town, I have to say I was not all that impressed. Everything seems old and outdated.. and although it's supposed to be business traveler friendly.. my desk was not set up for working long hours; the internet was spotty at best; and there was a charge to use the fitness center! Are you kidding me? I expect that not every hotel I'm going to be at will give me internet and parking for free.. but the fitness center?
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Review from Matt R.
East Lansing, MI
Updated - 7/7/2009
Kudos to Nick from the Amway Grand for actually caring enough to reply on Yelp & ask how they could improve, etc. This gets an extra star just to know they care.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/29/2009
Well, I am middle of the road on this hotel. It carried a big rep as one of the nicest hotels in GR.… Read more »
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Review from Jodi W.
Grand Rapids, MI
Updated - 1/20/2009
I'm upgrading my rating and review of this hotel, because as I mentioned earlier reasons to give this hotel 5 stars (e.g. service), I was contacted for my review. That means a lot. I appreciate a hotel that is monitoring feedback, listening, and responding. BRAVO.
Listed in: My Neighborhood
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/18/2009
I like this place - simply because of the people that work here, and the opulence that it tries to… Read more »
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Review from Dan P.
Hoffman Estates, IL
2/1/2009 5 photos
Came for a convention next door, and got a special on the room that included a great view and a dining credit to the 1913 Room. Was impressed with the room, the staff was overly helpful which was appreciated, and the location can't be beat. The price was higher than normal, but not to the point that it raised a lot of eyebrows. For this level of service, the price seemed in line, especially with the way guests are treated.
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Review from Jeanine S.
Chicago, IL
8/1/2009
The place is beautiful, no arguement there. I was here for a wedding, popular place in GR to have celebrations. It is clean and comfortable, with everything one would expect out of a hotel of this stature. But the staff needs some serious customer service lessons. Hospitality is not hard. . .smile. No one smiles at all. Questions asked at the desk were answered with sour expressions. The bartenders and waitstaff at the party were the worst. I wonder if it's exhausting to be so unhappy all the time. But I was there to celebrate and I didn't need to feel as if I'm bothering someone when I ask a server to do something in their job description. Pretty rooms are not enough to compensate for this lack of hospitality. Oh, and they let the block of reserved rooms for the wedding go a MONTH before the due date to book conference guests to whom they were charging more. Many of the out of town guests had to book elsewhere. ( but at no loss to Amway, they own the other hotels as well.) The cafe ran out of breakfast in the morning (??) and their other lunch food was that of a crummy cafeteria- greasy and poorly made.
The bartender at the hotel bar, she was the only pleasant person in the joint. I hadn't realized how important it was to get her name, but a big thank you to her.
i'm adding to this review. I've also been contacted and apologized to by Amway. I was assured this was only a one-time incident. But the nature of hospitality is hotel service, other businesses model their service on hotels these days. All those employees being that disagreeable? I think that this is a management issue, not my bad luck. And as for Matt P's review, that was a whole other issue. I was in bed and heard all sorts of noise in the hall for a good 25 minutes and finally someone called security. The first set of noisemakers went to bed finally. My boisterous friends then came upstairs and were blamed for the noise. We had an extra person, too drunk to drive and he was asked to leave as opposed to us being able to shelter him for the night. Had something happen to him, how could the place that served him the liquor not been partly responsible? I truely disliked being put in the position to send an intoxicated friend out into the street rather than keep him for the night and settle with the hotel the next morning. Our options were then limited because we were indeed blacklisted from the surrounding hotels owned by Amway and could not put out drunk friend anywhere in the vicinity.
