Hotel Star 5: The Ritz Carlton Dearborn Takes a Bow

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Ritz Carlton Dearborn Takes a Bow

A quiet corner table for two at the former Ritz Carlton's The Grill dining room

The Ritz Carlton Hotel Dearborn...What was once the La Grande Dame of the Detroit society class is quietly taking a bow as she fades into the sunset like the golden Michigan sun on a cold winter night on Lake Michigan. This summer, the Ritz was bought by a new owner committed to transform this elegant beauty into a modern classic. The Henry Hotel, as it stands now, will undergo a major renovation in the next couple of months to give the hotel, and the

beleaguered Motor City, a breath of new life as it undergoes its transformation.

I took these pictures this past weekend to give loyal Ritz Carlton Dearborn guests one final glimpse of the classic interiors before the hotel begins its transformation at the end of December.

"The special occasion hotel," according to The Henry Hotel general manager, Bill Quiseng, " has lost some steam to the younger generation demanding a more modern take on the luxury experience. That's what we plan on delivering when we complete our renovation by next summer."

While I embrace change, there is a part of me that just doesn't want to let go of that turn of the century style hotel this country has embraced for the past century. For me, there is still room for the white tablecloth and table side service, the dinner jackets and ties and the gentleman's dirty martini at the hotel's mahogany lobby bar. Though it's fading quite quickly, I am only hopeful that there will still be a number of hotels that will remain standing as a reminder of the glory days of the twentieth century.

A bright sunrise is about to wake up on the banks of the Detroit river. A new dawn, that this hotel, and this city, wishes will only last for at least another century.