A long overdue upgrade at The Westin Book Cadillac of Detroit is now complete. The nearly year-long $23 million transformation of one of Detroit’s iconic historic hotels was recently unveiled, showing off a new sleek and sophisticated aesthetic that Director of Sales and Marketing Scott Stinebaugh describes as “dramatic.” Renovations of the 453 guest rooms began last February; they were gradually brought back into service as work on public spaces proceeded.
“The renovation was a long time coming,” Stinebaugh says. “It was 15 years since we had opened the hotel in 2008, so it was due, and the final project is really fantastic. It’s much different than the hotel looked before—lighter, brighter, a much more soft and warm color palette.”
The historic hotel first debuted in 1924 and reopened as The Westin Book Cadillac on Oct. 6, 2008, following an earlier multimillion-dollar restoration. Highlights of the Marriott property’s latest upgrade as it enters its 100th anniversary year include all-new furniture, carpets, wall coverings, light fixtures, rain showers replacing tubs in the bulk of bathrooms, and more in guest rooms, with transformations of meeting spaces and public areas, too. The Westin Book Cadillac Motor Bar lobby lounge has a renovated bar with new furniture and looks similar to the way it did when the hotel originally opened, Stinebaugh says. A Green Wall feature has been added to the first-floor arrival center.
Meanwhile, the hotel’s Sullivan’s Steakhouse opened in September inside space formerly occupied by Roast. Another first-floor retail space is being leased by a yet-to-be-announced local restaurant operator with expectations to open by summer 2024. An additional 2,000 square feet of retail is also available. Starbucks continues to operate at the site.
Stinebaugh says the hotel managed to stay open throughout construction. “It’s a challenge, but if you are able to strategically coordinate how things are done, it can really work well,” he says. “There were really no noise complaints because we were very careful to take a guest room above and below out of service for any floors under renovation.”
And response to the new look has been positive, he adds. “The guest room product is really the thing that is most dramatically different than what we had before,” Stinebaugh says. “The rooms were just dark before, and, because the hotel is historic and there are 2,000 windows in the building and they had to stay, there’s a lot of natural light now.”
The Gettys Group served as the project’s interior designer.
