Hotel at a Glance: Hotel Royal Oak

You can feel Hotel Royal Oak’s hospitality the moment you walk through the door. The lobby welcomes guests to complimentary hot beverages and flavored waters any time of day, and fashionably decorated guest rooms emanate a homey vibe thanks to HBO-equipped TVs and in-room Wolfgang Puck coffee.

• Artistic flourishes abound on the grounds and in the rooms. Keep your eyes open and you’ll discover a strikingly red abstract sculpture, various terrariums, and pieces of local wall art that are available for purchase.
• Complimentary WiFi means you’ll be able to stay on top of emails or check the weather before exploring the area.
• A thriving downtown sits just a 7-minute walk away. In the beating heart of Royal Oak, you’ll find more than 45 restaurants, bars, and shops. There’s even a brewery, a distillery, and a dueling piano bar.
• Take a day trip to nearby Detroit, just 14 miles away.

Detroit: World-Class Museums and Revitalization Projects in the Motor City

The historic Motor City offers a lot of worthwhile things to do and see. The downtown area has many top-flight cultural institutions and museums, and an influx of young people and artists are working to revitalize the city.

The 658,000-square-foot Detroit Institute of Arts, located downtown, comprises 100 galleries, an auditorium, a lecture hall, and a reference library. Among its vast collection: a dragon-tile relief from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and a self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh. One of the city’s most fascinating art displays can’t be found at a museum or gallery. Tyree Guyton’s The Heidelberg Project is two blocks of once-decrepit houses that have been transformed into an open-air art installation, with colorful sculptures made out of discarded items including stuffed animals, vinyl records, old shoes, and scrap metal.

For a taste of Detroit’s glory days, head to the Motown Museum, located in the same two-story house where Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, the Jackson 5, and other music legends recorded some of their most enduring work. In one of the studios, you can see a giant divot in the wooden floor where producers and sound technicians tapped their feet to the music as it was recorded.

Greektown—located northeast of downtown—is a quirky neighborhood that has stuck to its immigrant roots. Along Monroe Street, you’ll find buildings that pay tribute to the Parthenon and mythical figures, and Greek music plays outdoors next to themed eateries.

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