Almost four months ago now, I shared my experience as a paying overnight guest at the Best Western Premier in Southfield. As I wrote at the time, I thought it was important to be able to “describe what it felt like to spend the night” in a property of the standard that’s being built right now on East Michigan Avenue in Saline. [1,2]
But my research didn’t stop there.
For the following Valentine’s Day, my husband Dell and I traveled to Cincinnati Ohio to another next closest BW Premier property. Unlike the bitterly cold temperatures here, the midday thermometer stayed comfortably in the 60s. I didn’t think it would have been kind to bandy that about here until snow was safely out of the forecast. [3]
Among the important distinguishing features of Premier-status hotels is the fact that they are not cookie-cutter; it’s important that they reflect the character of their location, as our own hotel developer Mark Kuykendall has emphasized. [4]
In this case, the “Mariemont Inn” started out as a private guesthouse subsequently opened to the public for lodging in 1926. It is an extreme example of the concept Mr Kuykendall described, envisioned here as having come up as part of a then-planned community modeled after an “English garden” to “prevent common big-city problems.” Best Western affiliation provided for a multi-million dollar restoration and updating without compromising character. [5]
With the Southfield property as our common point of reference in this article, I’ll say that you couldn’t have asked for a more different setting. And each was ideally matched for where it was: Southfield, for Telegraph Road, Mariemont for a cloistered Bavarian-styled community ten miles outside of Cincinnati proper.
At the same time, I could easily feel that both reassuringly delivered a lodging experience that was of the same high standard.
Rather than going into the details of fit and finish, I think the Mariemont Inn is better understood in terms of its theme and consistency. For example, the completely efficient, modern, and safe elevator was operated by functional brass buttons outside and in that could have passed for original. The yellowed glass-panel door for the intimately-sized fitness center was labeled “Gymnasium.” Following “picture is worth a thousand words” thinking, check out Instagram postings with the #marimontinn hashtag. [6]
The evening we arrived, Dell and I had dinner at The National Exemplar, which is the restaurant within the hotel proper — again, according to the Best Western Premier proscription. In addition to a special menu offered for Valentine’s Day, their standard fare was offered. Our food was delicious, and, from what I saw on nearby tables, so was everyone else’s. The place was also packed; I was glad we’d made reservations a couple of weeks prior. Several people also told me that they’d driven in excess of an hour for the food here. [7,8]
To the extend that Saline Journal has the ears of Saline Lodging Group, this is the bar to which the restaurant at our new Best Western Premier in Saline should be set.
Finally, outside, that micro-community of which Mariemont Inn was envisioned as a part in the 1920s still seems very much intact, thoughtfully updated, and thriving. Virtually outside the doors of the hotel in one direction you’ll find a men’s tailor, a flower shop, an exotic toy store, a Starbucks, and more. In the other: A women’s hair salon, a wonderful candy store, and an honest-to-goodness movie theater.
I think this says great things about the site selection for the Saline Best Western Premier hotel across from the Emagine Theatre plaza and Rentschler Farm. It may also offer some suggestions for strategic thinking for future development direction around our new hotel where the ACE Hardware store is planned and on into how The Oaks might integrate with all of the above. [9,10,11]
With our own version of all that coming to Saline, set to open within the next handful of months, would anyone be surprised if the 2019 Volvik Championship was already thinking about the convenience of East Michigan Avenue for their VIP lodging needs? [12,13]
Mariemont Inn is located 240 miles due south of Saline.
References
- “I Spent the Night at a Best Western Premier Right Here in Michigan” Janet Deaton (January 1, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Progress Report on Saline Hotel: Concrete Work on Footers Started Today” Dell Deaton (April 11, 2018) Saline Journal.
- BWP: Mariemont Inn (home page).
- “Saline Community Earns ‘Premier’ Status for Its Proposed Hotel” Janet Deaton (December 18, 2017) Saline Journal.
- “Hotel History” BWP: Mariemont Inn.
- “#mariemontinn” Instagram.
- The National Exemplar (home page).
- “Food & Drink” The National Exemplar.
- “Internet Predicts Death of Brick-and-Mortar; Junga’s ACE Hardware Building New Store” Dell Deaton (May 8, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “It Wasn’t the Internet That Drove Plans for a New Hardware Store in Saline” Dell Deaton (May 9, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “It’s Important to Know Both History and the Market for Strategic Business Development in Saline” Dell Deaton (May 15, 2018) Saline Journal.
- Volvik Championship (home page).
- “LPGA commissioner ‘confident’ tour event will remain in Ann Arbor” Ryan Zuke (May 23, 2018) mLive.
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