Best Hotels To Stay At In Ann Arbor?

Submitted by brewandbluesaturdays on
Hey board, needed a hand. My brother and I recently got our 2 game package and we received the ND, UTL package. Now, I've been to countless games and never stayed in Ann Arbor over night after a game. However with a night game and all the time to tailgate, there's no knowing how much alcohol could alter our ability to drive home so we have decided to be safe and reserve a hotel room. What recommendations are there. My brother is an alumni but left me the task of reserving the room and I wanted to do right by him with a good fun Meeeechigan crowd hotel. Thanks appreciate it.

jadaSPW

May 28th, 2013 at 10:35 PM ^

We have a block of rooms at the Fairfield Inn, and a few rooms at the Hampton Inn. Every hotel in the area is otherwise sold out (Campus Inn, Bell Tower, Sheraton, Courtyard, Fairfield, Residence Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn).

Contact me through my company website and I'll be happy to get you set up: http://www.sportspowerweekends.com/michigan-football-sports-power-weeke…

Generic Username

May 28th, 2013 at 10:14 PM ^

Residence Inn. No question. Its one of a group of hotels (most of which I have stayed in) near Victor's Way. Large rooms and good service. Try to get a room that's not part of the main building.

pasadenablue

May 28th, 2013 at 10:31 PM ^

I've stayed here before.  Great location, had no issues.  Plus the rooms ARE quite large, will always have a kitchenette, and have a bed as well as a pullout sofa.

 

They'll also probably have a pretty decent breakfast (i.e. eggs, bacon, toast, waffles, fruit, etc) and a pretty good parking situation.

Bosch

May 29th, 2013 at 11:23 AM ^

Only 13 miles north of the stadium.  According to their web site, there are still rooms for both Friday and Saturday @ $120 per night. 

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/US/MI/Whitmore-Lake-hotels/BEST-WESTERN-of-Whitmore-Lake/Hotel-Overview.do?propertyCode=23095

It's been a while since I've stayed there, so I offer no assurances to the condition of the hotel but I'm sure it will be more than suitable as a place to crash.

State Street

May 28th, 2013 at 10:27 PM ^

No offence bro but, your brother, an alumnus, can't tell you which hotel to stay in (or should I say try to stay in, considering it's May 28th) for the game?

 

HELLE

May 29th, 2013 at 6:53 AM ^

for college football weekend hotels that are walking distance from the stadium. Iowa City downtown hotels sellout months in advance and cost $300-$400 per night with a two night minimum. I paid $240 in West Lafayette last year. College football road trips are not cheap if you want to stay in the middle of the action.

BlueInWisconsin

May 28th, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^

The hotel situation in Ann Arbor is terrible. Why aren't there more options near downtown or campus? I really hate staying out by Briarwood. When I go back I want to see Ann Arbor, not some generic mall area that could be anywhere in the US.

Rather than do that, last year we rented a place on a lake just past Dexter for the Iowa game. I'd consider going that route if you can't find a place on campus.

GrindToEat

May 28th, 2013 at 11:02 PM ^

Check on airbnb.com to see if there is anything, our family rents our vacation home on the site, it's normally pretty good for finding cheap places to crash, or enormous mansions to, well...crash

Perkis-Size Me

May 28th, 2013 at 11:05 PM ^

Bell Tower, right in downtown. But if you made me guess, there is no way in hell any rooms would be left. And if there are, the prices will probably be ridiculous. But its worth a shot to call them.

Weber Inn is great, but its not right in town. You'll need to drive into town or take a cab there and back. And that'll be hell before/after the game. Kensington Place is too, right off of I-94 and I'm pretty sure they shuttle people to the game. There's a Holiday Inn just off of North Campus as well, and you could take the student bus down to State St with all the drunk freshman. Hell, you could try and see if there are any rooms at the B-School. Not sure if that'd work, but its worth a shot.

SeekingSun

May 28th, 2013 at 11:14 PM ^

The Dahlman Group, which owns the Bell Tower and Campus Inn, just bought the hotel on the corner of Washtenaw and Carpenter (near US 23). I think it used to be a Quality Inn? They basically redid every surface in the place and re-branded it as The Regent. We've had work visitors stay there when there were no campus area spaces (ie OSU weekend) and it got good reviews. http://www.annarborregent.com/. Better than one of the soul-less chains out by Briarwood....

jadaSPW

May 28th, 2013 at 11:30 PM ^

Good suggestion, though that is also sold out.

In regards to those chains not having a soul, they are reputable, clean, safe and have beds. Never had a problem having stayed there many times and putting many people up there.

danimal1968

May 29th, 2013 at 9:50 AM ^

And is (confusingly) across the street from what is now the Comfort Inn.  I had reservations at the Comfort Inn for UTL 2011 and as the room was disgusting (stains on the blanket and bedspread you didn't need a black light to see) and the hotel refused to clean the room and was otherwise sold out, we opted to drive home.

reshp1

May 28th, 2013 at 11:26 PM ^

Check the hotels by Briarwood Mall on State and on Washtenaw and 23. Also check Clarion Hotel and Convention center. None of these are exactly walkable, but are a short cab ride and some might have shuttles gameday.

If you can gather up a few people, another idea is gamedayhousing.com and renting a house.

Nitro

May 29th, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^

If you're for looking the best business center or nicest lobby, this isn't the place for you, but it's the most convenient hotel location in A2 and the area is much nicer than the Briarwood parking lot complex.

But I'd recommend checking craigslist first to scan the available short-term residential rental options before you go the expedia.com route. You might find something nice downtown or in a neighborhood right by the stadium.

DrewandBlue

May 29th, 2013 at 9:46 AM ^

You may need to go to another overnight option...maybe rent/borrow a comfortable SUV with big back (suburban), take out back rows and sleep in the back. I have done it before and it wasn't too bad.

Find somebody near stadium that wouldn't mind you staging car overnight. Get up early, grab some coffee and breakfast and roll out. Safely! With good memories from whopping ND UTL's!

You pay gas anyways so the cost of rental is much less than trying to get that close by at this point. If you can swap with a buddy, even better.

Good luck! Go Blue!!

M-Wolverine

May 29th, 2013 at 12:07 PM ^

If you're willing to pay, but want comfort and ease, but can't find a room anywhere close, rent an RV. Sleeping space, facilities, and a place to tailgate.  Parking is ridiculous ($) at Pioneer, but for a night game it'd be nice to be able to walk a couple hundred yards back to your tailgate, party all night, then crash right there. And if you're not driving really far (he said Chelsea, right?) and you're not using up a lot of gas, I imagine it's not TOO much more than the jacked up room rates for the close hotels. And you get to go to sleep UTL.

Never done it for a home game, but for the '98 Rose Bowl a bunch of college friends got one and we all crammed into it in the Rose Bowl parking lot. And the night before was a blast.

Gameboy

May 29th, 2013 at 10:00 AM ^

I do this every couple of years and stay mostly at Michigan League, Campus Inn, and Bell Tower. But I call in a year ahead, and even then, you cannot get a room for the top games unless you are a regular. I had a room at the Inn for the Akron game but then I got the UTL2 game tix and scrambled for the hotel and got a room at Fairfield at $240/night and I feel lucky to get that. At this late juncture, you need to pray for a cancellation or some alternate lodgings.