January 2021, Friday, one night, King guestroom #929
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| Grand Rapids sunset from our son's house, since we missed it downtown. This was our stay after the Amway! |
Reservations, arrival, diamond perks
This was our first time staying at this property, and I had a difficult time choosing a room type when I made the reservation. I ended up just going with a king guestroom, as I was unsure what the actual differences were between the several different king guestroom descriptions. I received a welcome email from the front desk a few days before our stay listing COVID-19 guidelines and limited amenities. At that time, I learned the tower wing, which is where the fitness center and pool area are located, was closed for remodeling. We were somewhat disappointed, as I had not noticed that when making the reservation. I replied to the email, asking a few questions, and requesting late checkout. I received an immediate reply, which answered my questions, accommodated the late checkout request, and assured me we would be assigned a nice remodeled guestroom.
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Entrance door in main hall above. Private hallway below. |
King guestroom 929
This guestroom is in the Pantlind section of the hotel on the 9th floor in the northeast corner of the building. The hotel has 29 floors, although I think this section has only 12 to 15 floors (I do not recall exactly how many floors were above ours in the elevator). We had a view of the downtown buildings across the streets. We could not see Rosa Parks Circle from the guestroom; the lighted [Valentine's Day] heart dome on top of the building across from Rosa Parks Circle was barely visible from one of our windows.
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| Gap around guestroom door. |
A plus for this guestroom, is that it is a corner room behind a closed door from the hallway. There is a main door at the end of the hall that you need to open to get to guestrooms 929 and 930. There is a very wide gap around the guestroom entry door, so the private hallway was much appreciated. It was very loud when the guest departed from suite 930 at 7AM.
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| Guestroom 929 at Amway Grand Plaza. Please excuse the mess, as I did not take a photo when we first arrived. |
Guestroom 929 appeared to have been recently remodeled, although it is definitely not very big. In addition to the king size bed and nightstands, it contained a sofa, coffee table, desk and chair, soft chair, and flatscreen TV on an armoire. A safe and small fridge were located in the armoire under the TV. The closet was a good size. A single serve coffeemaker with supplies was located on the shelf in the closet. The guestroom was clean and comfortable.
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| View from left end of sofa in guestroom 929 Amway Grand Plaza. |
The bathroom in guestroom 929 is very tiny, as you can probably tell from the photos. One person at a time, and no door closing, unless you step alongside the toilet to close the door. This is actually what we had to do in order to shut the door to access the tub/shower. My husband and I are both relatively small people, and we found it difficult to move around in the bathroom. Basic amenities (shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, soap, and lotion) were provided in the bathroom. There were not any deluxe extras, like a personal grooming kit, or mouthwash.
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| Bathroom in guestroom 929 at Amway Grand Plaza hotel. |
Food & Beverage
Breakfast was one of the most impressive parts of our stay. With restaurants being closed due to COVID-19, we had the option to use our breakfast credit ($15 each) for takeout at Wolfgang Puck or Starbucks. We chose Wolfgang Puck.
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| Breakfast at Wolfgang Puck in Amway Grand Plaza. |
Our credit covered: two coffees, bacon/egg/cheese sandwich with a side of potatoes, egg white omelet with toast and potatoes, and a side muffin. My husband and I split the two entrees, so partial orders of both are pictured in the photo. All of the food was good quality and delicious.
Misc. and overall
The Grand Rapids skywalk, and DeVos Center are both accessible from the second floor of the Amway. The downtown area in Grand Rapids was quite empty during most of our stay. When we walked to Monroe Center to pick up lunch on Saturday afternoon, downtown was staring to get a bit busier, although it was still quite desolate compared to usual. We visited for the Winter Wonderland event, and I will share a few of those photos in my next post.
Overall, our guestroom at the Amway was comfortable; however, from a diamond status point of view, it was also disappointing. I had expected something similar to the quality and hospitality we have experienced at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago and at the JW Marriott in Grand Rapids. This hotel appeared to be mostly empty, so I was surprised we did not receive a suite or riverview guestroom. The hotel website says that riverview rooms are available in both sections of the hotel, although I am not really sure where you would be able to see the river from the Pantlind section. We used the elevators several times during our stay, and we only encountered other guests one time. Since we also heard the guest in suite 930 depart Saturday morning, there were at least three guestrooms (counting us) rented the night of our stay.
We decided to try Hilton this visit, since the rate at JW was considerably higher than Hilton, and the cost is usually similar. The only current platinum perk at JW with the executive lounge being closed was a small Starbucks credit (I called there before deciding where to stay). The $15 breakfast credit we received at the Amway was definitely nicer than the small credit we would have received at the JW. The cost for parking is similar at both properties. We opted to have our son drop us off, so we did not utilize the hotel parking ramp. The Hilton website says that valet parking is temporarily closed at the Amway.
Let me know if you have any questions! Safe travels to all ~
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