Kelly H.
Yelp
I come to Detroit every week and stayed at the Element for the first time last week. Just to level set, I've stayed at the Marriott RenCen and the Westin in Detroit the rest of my time here and have status with Marriott.
The Element is in the heart of downtown and shares the same building as the best rooftop bar (IMO) in Detroit and has a super unique narrow shape. There's about 13 floors in the building and check in is on the first floor on the left. Although I have Marriott Ambassador status, I dont think I got an upgrade this time, but the standard room I booked (which was on floor 9) didnt come with a kitchenette, but came with a mini fridge, bar sink, and microwave. Some of my other coworkers got full kitchens with stoves in their rooms. I had brought instant ramen in case I did get an upgrade, but that's okay. The bathroom has a floor to ceiling glass shower and a mirror with lit up edges. The soap comes out of a dispenser on the wall and the brand is Pharmacy, I believe. (Smells nice!) The floors are wooden except for the thin carpet near the beds and the hallway outside is also not carpeted, which means you can hear the elevator and any door close echo from the inside of your room. Also the bare wooden floors make it feel a little dorm-y.
The heater/AC system is a standalone unit that is located on the ceiling and controlled by a panel on the wall. I couldnt figure out how to make the room warmer (it was 64 degrees when I got there) after turning up all the setting so an engineer came promptly and helped me through my issue. Word of caution though, the beds have a solid wooden frame around them. The first thing I did when I got to my room was throw myself at the bed (because who doesnt??) and bruise my thigh on the frame. (I'm short so yeah, my thigh.) Ouch. But the free glass of happy hour wine from downstairs helped ease the pain. (They have red, whites, and beer!) I will say, I LOVED the red wine. It was a really great pinot. They also have a changing cheese of the day to pair with it and the second day had some kind of dill cheese which was just yum!
One of my favorite things about The Element was that you get complimentary access to the HUGE nearby YMCA with the lap pool, fitness classes, equipment, walking track, bball court, rock climbing wall, etc. Probably the biggest benefit. However, they also have a small gym, very clean and new equipment (free weights), and my favorite, the Peloton bike. The water cups at the gym are paper cones, so careful because they can slip out of your grip!
Even though there is no lounge, you dont miss it so much because of the happy hour and the free breakfast. At breakfast, they have some kind of egg dish, an assortment of breads and english muffins and spreads, meat, cereal (lucky charms, cheerios, and raisin bran), a build your own parfait bar, assorted beverages, and whole fruit and sometimes avocado! Loved it. Better breakfast than the Marriott RenCen Lounge in my opinion. While the rooms had faucets that dispensed filtered water, I will say I did miss the bottled water though.
There were a few good and bad things, as you can see from above, but I think the two biggest let downs was 1) you dont get as many points as the other two hotels per night and 2) even though I opted in for the Green Choice and hung the sign on my door, I came back to my room and it was cleaned that day. Dont get me wrong, I like a clean room, however, when you dont expect to have someone come into the room and they do, it's a little unsettling. I called the front desk and they let me know I'd still get points for that day and said they'd run up a Do Not Disturb magnet to put on my door.
Overall, a pretty good stay! I would definitely stay there again. Also, FYI, the new soft serve custard, 'Huddle', is right across the street. Not mad about that either!