Jackson, Michigan: Hampton Inn & Suites

 March 2023, weeknight, one night, king guestroom 315

We stayed in the Tru by Hilton in this area in November 2022; however, I neglected to write a blog post after that stay. I am disappointed I did not complete one, because I could not remember the details of that hotel when I was trying to decide which property to choose. The Hampton Inn was $5 more a night than Tru by Hilton. Tru by Hilton is a newer building; however, that type of property does not provide in room coffee, or a seating area in the guestroom (only a desk work area and desk chair). I figured I would have remembered if there had been anything exceptional or horrific at the other hotel, so we decided to go with the Hampton Inn. 

Arrival and diamond perks

As usual, the app did not show me any available upgrade options when checking in. I looked again after we got on the road, and it showed that there were no rooms available. We were not going to be arriving until after 7:00 PM, so I decided to call the hotel. It took me four tries to reach someone in the hotel. Every time I chose the option to speak with someone at the front desk, the phone rang 10 times, and then no one answered. The fourth time I called, I chose the option for sales. This time, that call was picked up after one ring. When I asked the person who had answered, if I had the front desk, she said yes. 😲 Hmm... I am not sure if their phone routing program had issues, or if calls were only being answered if they thought it might be important. Anyway, I asked the person I spoke with if she could help pick out a room for me to get checked in, since we were not going to be arriving until late. (I did not want to be worried, if rooms were not showing as available because the hotel was going to be full). She told me to just come to the front desk when we arrived. She had asked my name before this, and apparently, she then gave us an upgrade and checked us in after my call. A short time after I hung up, I received a text saying my credit card had been authorized, and then I received a Hilton notification saying we had been assigned guestroom 315. This is a king bed study with sofabed, which is an upgrade from what I had booked. When we arrived, I received bottled water and trail mix snacks.

View from guestroom 315 in Hampton Inn Jackson, Michigan

King study 315

This spacious guestroom is on the top floor at the center of the hall. We appreciated the extra space, and the field view from the window was much nicer than the parking lot view. 

Guestroom 315 in Hampton Inn Jackson, Michigan

Michigan Breweries: Ann Arbor/Saline, Lansing, Jackson

 February 2021, Weekdays after restaurants and bars reopened at 25% capacity

We tend to go out on less busy days, and finding open locations during the pandemic has proven to be a challenge. Even with the allowed opening, some places have opted for much shorter hours and/or fewer open days. We found several places that are only opening a few days a week, and many have not been opening until 3PM or later. I am sharing information about some of the places we looked into or visited shortly after inside seating reopened.

Salt Spring Brewery in Saline, MI

Ann Arbor/Saline

Most of the breweries in this area were not open in the afternoons and/or on weekdays. We had hoped to visit Mothfire Brewery Company, since it was only two miles from our hotel; however, their current temporary hours are Thursday - Saturday from 5PM to 8PM. Townies Brewery, and most of the locations downtown had similar hours. The only downtown brewery that we found with weekday afternoon hours was Grizzly Peak Brewing Company, and we did not end up making it downtown.

Salt Spring Brewery in Saline, MI

We visited two locations that were open on weekday afternoons: Salt Springs Brewery and Wolverine State Brewing. Although Salt Springs Brewery has a Saline address, it is only five miles from south Ann Arbor. This is a location we would visit again. It is in a beautiful old church with inside and outside seating. The beers were good, the service was good, and they have a fabulous Happy Hour starting at 3PM; specials on appetizers and beers. I wish we had been hungry when we visited, because the food smelled fabulous. Wolverine State Brewing also had inside and outside seating, along with food and beer. Plexiglass barriers were installed at the bar for bar seating. 

Neither location was very busy during our afternoon visits. I had been wondering if we would run into wait times with only 25% capacity, and we have not experienced this yet.

Grand River Brewing in Jackson, MI

Jackson, Wyoming - Homewood Suites

Status perks

I received a letter with my points balance and status at check-in. There was a bottle of water and package of cookies in my room.

Guestroom

I stayed in a king suite, which is the room type I reserved. My room was on the top floor at the end of the hall, which matches the requests in my profile. The room was the smallest extended stay suite I have ever stayed in, and the best online rate I could find was over $300. I think the room size and rate were typical for this resort town in July.  Even though the suite did not have as much room as most Homewood Suites I have stayed in, it was laid out well and met my needs. I think anyone staying at this hotel who does not have prior experience with extended stay properties would be very pleased with the size of the suite.

There was a fireplace in the living room area, and the kitchen contained a full size fridge, a range top, and a small dishwasher. The bathroom was a nice size with a large walk in tile shower. There was no tub. The sink area was outside the bathroom.

I did not arrive at the hotel until late in the evening, and needed to leave early the next morning, so I was not at the property very long. I contacted the manager before my stay, and was able to negotiate a rate for less than $300 that my employer was much happier with.

Food & Beverage

I stayed on a Sunday night, so there was not an evening reception. In the morning I left before hot breakfast was served; however, the front desk employees offered cold items.

Business Center

There was a small business center behind the front desk, which I did not use.

Fitness Center

Although the fitness center did not open until 7 am, employees were happy to let me in at 5 am. The room was small, and the tread mill was kind of noisy, which made it difficult to hear the morning news. The smallest weights available were 10 lb, and I usually like to use 5 lb weights. The room temperature was comfortable. Guests also have access to a more complete fitness center next door, which I did not use.

Overall

I try to stay at hotel chains where I have status and earn points, and of the hotel rewards programs I frequent most often (HHonors, IHG, and Marriott), I was surprised that the HS was the only hotel choice in this area.

Misc. and overall

I was extremely happy with the staff and bed comfort. The two bathrobes and safe in the bedroom closet were a pleasant surprise. One thing I never understand when I stay in an extended stay property, is the dishes in the dishwasher that need to be put away. At the end of my stays, I always load and start the dishwasher with any dishes I used before I check out. I would think housekeeping would then put them away for the next guest. The dishwasher in my room was full of clean dishes--plates, cups, glasses, silverware, etc. I don't think it should be up to me to put these items away. Especially when I only used one glass, one cup, and the coffee pot during my stay.