Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Lansing, Michigan / Crowne Plaza Lansing West

January and February 2017, 2 separate nights - weekday and weekend, King deluxe room #547 and King corner room #416


Our stay at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West was just as impressive this trip as it had been November 2016. The hotel is very clean and well maintained, and the staff is excellent. There was a minor snag with my first night's stay, and staff members went above and beyond to make this right. I had two separate stays here, which I am combining into this one post. We stayed on a weekday, and then on the weekend a week later. I used points for both nights.

View from the 4th floor

Platinum perks and check-in

I received the Platinum on-site amenity choice for both stays: bottled water, beverage in the lounge, or bonus points. I always choose the points, since I tend to use my points so frequently. I had reserved a corner guestroom for my first night, and a deluxe room for my second stay. I would have reserved a corner room for both nights, except a corner room was not showing as available for the second stay when I made the reservation online. When I checked in for the first night [corner guestroom, weekday], the front desk agent had difficulty finding me a corner room. She said there had been one set aside for me, although it was showing that it had not been cleaned, even though we were not checking in early. I waited a few moments while she called someone to confirm whether the room had been cleaned or not. She then told me deluxe rooms were available, and I said that would be fine. She assigned us a guestroom on the top floor, and said she would request a corner guestroom for us when we returned.

When I checked in for the second stay, we received a corner guestroom on the 4th floor. The employee apologized for the fact that I had not received this type of guestroom the week earlier, and she said there was an amenity in the guestroom fridge for me.

Deluxe guestroom 547

Deluxe guestroom 547

This guestroom is on the top floor, which is the Quiet Zone. The comfort and amenities were the same as the corner guestrooms I have stayed in, although there were a couple of other differences between the two guestroom types: The corner guestrooms are larger (this is clearly stated on the hotel website, as the square footage is provided in the descriptions). The deluxe guestroom has a suitcase bench and sofa, whereas, the corner guestrooms I have stayed in only have one sitting chair. The corner guestrooms have a larger vanity area, because the vanity is outside of the bathing area. The bathroom in this deluxe guestroom was a bit smaller since the vanity area is inside the bathroom.

Deluxe guestroom 547


The other features in the deluxe guestroom were the same as in the corner guestrooms: same bath amenities, robes, small fridge, microwave, coffeemaker with supplies, desk and chair, and super comfy bed. There was a bottle of water in this guestroom, and also in the second corner guestroom we stayed in. There was not any water in our corner guestroom in November 2016, so I am not sure if the corner rooms are supposed to come with bottled water or not.

Bathroom in deluxe guestroom 547

Corner guestroom 416

This guestroom was set up the same as the one we stayed in November 2016, except it was on the opposite side of the hall. There was only one robe in the guestroom, and the belt was missing. Since my husband does not use a robe, I did not mention this to anyone. There was bottled water was in the guestroom.

I did not take any photos of guestroom 416. The photos on the hotel website are pretty accurate, and you can see photos of corner guestroom 436 in my previous blog post.

Pool

Again, the pool area was fabulous! The whirlpool tub temperature was perfect, and the cleanliness was immaculate. Plush towels were provided in the pool area, just like the quality of the towels in the guestrooms. The pool and fitness center are both open 24-hours. The elevator on this level is located near the front desk and restaurant/bar. If you do not want to walk through the lobby in your swimsuit, the stairs in the corner by guestrooms ending in 35 and 36 come out at the end of the hall by the pool and fitness center.

Guestroom diagram showing pool stairs location

Food & Beverage

The food and beverage quality was good, and the service was excellent. We had two different mixed drinks, and the Braised Beef. It was very busy in the bar area during our weeknight visit, and not very busy on the weekend. Beverages prices were a bit high, although I did overhear a conversation about Happy Hour, which we had just missed when we visited on the weeknight.

Extra perks, staff excellence, airport shuttle

Around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. a staff member delivered delicious cookies and milk to guests in their rooms. We only received this service during one of our stays, as we were not in the guestroom at this time during our other stays.

During our first stay this trip, I mentioned to the front desk agent that I like the corner guestrooms better. Since she had not been able to give me the corner room I had reserved, she offered me breakfast or a couple of beverages in the bar. I would have taken the breakfast offer, except we were leaving early in the morning. We happily accepted the beverage coupons, and were able to apply the value toward higher cost beverages.

Card in the guestroom
Additionally, I received a warm and personalized handwritten card in guestroom 416 with an amenity when I returned. The amenity was a bowl of their homemade kettle chips with homemade dip. This was good quality with good flavor, just like the sandwich we had ordered.

When I checked out, I asked the front desk agent if all of the guestrooms have connecting doors, since all three rooms I have been in had connecting doors. She said many of them do, although not all of them. She asked my preference, and said she would make a note in my profile for future visits. Amazing! I wish Lansing was my home airport instead of Grand Rapids. Although I have stayed at this hotel three times in the last four months, I usually fly out of Grand Rapids. I have stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Grand Rapids more than 10 times, and have never received service like I have at this Lansing Crowne Plaza. Everyone I talked with provided excellent service. As I approached our luggage by the front door when we were departing (my husband was getting the car), an employee walking by offered assistance.

The airport shuttle service met our needs when we flew out of Lansing, and when we returned. We waited a bit long when we returned, and the person who answered the call told me this was because the driver had been driving other guests to the hotel when we called. Given the quality of everything else at this property, the extended wait time was easily a non-issue.

Let me know if you have any questions, and please share this post for other travelers!

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