Grand Rapids, Michigan - GRR airport / Crowne Plaza

January 2014, Weekday, King guestroom #384 (#439 below)

I have stayed in the Crowne Plaza Grand Rapids - Airport hotel several times, since it is located at my home airport. It is not as nice as some of the Crowne Plaza hotels I have stayed in, although it is one of the better airport hotels in GRR for the price, and the shuttle service is dependable.

If you have any questions about this property, please ask! Here are links to some of my previous stays: December 2011, May 2011, August 2010. 

Status perks and check-in

I received access to the club lounge, although I did not receive a guestroom on the top floor. When I asked about this, the agent said that there were not any guestrooms available on the top floor. This hotel was not very full at the time of our stay (it is usually less than half full every time I have stayed here), so I am not sure why she said this. It did not really matter much, since I did not recall the club floor guestrooms having any better amenities than the standard guestrooms. One reason I prefer the top club floor, is because I often hear guests overhead when staying in hotels. I did not experience that in this hotel.

Since the club lounge had not been open during most of my stays in this hotel, I asked if the lounge would be open in the evening. The agent did not know, and after she checked with someone else, both employees said yes, although the times they provided were incorrect. The agent did not recognize my status, and she did not actually tell me I would have access to the lounge. This was implied after I inquired about the club floor and lounge when she provided my key packet.

I have never had the same employee check me in when I arrive in the afternoon or evening, so I suppose that accounts for the inconsistency at check-in. When I depart for the airport early in the morning, the same male employee that has been at this hotel for years is usually working. I like it when I see a familiar face at locations I frequent, because that makes me more comfortable with the business' character.

Guestroom 384

This guestroom is on the third floor, and the balcony faces the back courtyard. It has a connecting room door, which I was initially worried about. The guestroom next to us must have been empty, or the guest was very quiet, because we did not hear any noise next door. There were extremely loud guests in a guestroom down the hall, and we could hear their TV blaring every time we left the room. Fortunately, this was far enough away from our guestroom.

The bed was comfortable, and we were happy that this guestroom had a couch instead on one chair. There were not very many outlets in the guestroom. I had to unplug one of the lamps on the nightstand, in order to plug in my cell phone when we went to bed. I could have plugged in my phone on the desk; however, I wanted it next to the bed since we were using the alarm feature for an early morning flight the next day.

The bathroom vanity where the coffee was provided was not very spacious. A single-serve coffeemaker and supplies were provided, and the coffee quality was good. I brought liquid creamer from the club lounge back to the room for my coffee in the morning.

Pool

There was not anyone in the pool area when we used it that evening. The water was warm, and there are plenty of seats in this area. There were lounge chairs around the pool, and one table with chairs between the whirlpool tub and the pool. Additional tables and chairs were located on a level a few steps up. 

The pool is an indoor/outdoor pool, and we have stayed at this hotel in the summer when the outside area is open, although the tiki hut has never been open during any of our stays.

Club lounge

There were only two other guests in the lounge when we visited, and there were not any guests in the lounge when I returned to get liquid creamer for the guestroom coffee.

Each guest was allowed one complimentary alcoholic beverage. Domestic beer, and red and white wine was offered. Food items included chicken BBQ with buns, fresh vegetables and dip, and dessert. We were gone from the hotel before the lounge was open for breakfast.  

August 2013, Sunday night, King club floor guestroom 439 [possibly]

I stayed at this hotel in August 2013, and I did not have time to write up a review after that stay. I have a few photos of the guestroom, so I am sharing them below. I am not certain if the photos are of guestroom 439 or 472. The room number written on my packet says 472; however, the room number on my bill is 439. The guestroom is not marked on the guestroom diagram photo that I took, so I added arrows pointing to both guestrooms. I tend to think that I was in guestroom 439, because guestroom 472 looks like the balcony would be very close to another room or the outside of the building, and I do not recall ever being that close to another guestroom.

Club floor guestroom

Some of the king guestrooms in this hotel have a sofa, and some have just one chair. I have not been able to figure out how the chairs and sofas are allocated to which guestrooms.

The vanity in this club floor guestroom had a little more space than the one in guestroom 384. Bathroom amenities included a small bottle of Scope, and a vanity kit, which were not provided in the standard guestroom.

Club floor guestroom

Club floor guestroom

I had taken a photo of the key packet because the club lounge times that were written on the key packet were incorrect. Both times that the front desk agent provided the lounge times, I was told that it opens in the evening at 6 p.m., and it did not open until 6:30 p.m.