Storied metro Detroit hotel transformed 94 years after debut, reflects luxury trend
Bill Ford didn't stop with Michigan Central Station resurrection
In the Deep South, visitors often want to stay at boutique hotels and see antebellum mansions that bring their history class lessons to life — from touring plantations to visiting the Underground Railroad network of once-secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape slavery.
Travelers to the island of Puerto Rico fill the 81-room Hotel El Convento at 100 Calle del Cristo (Christ Street) in Old San Juan, built in 1646 as a convent. It has original high ceilings, mahogany beams, handcrafted tiles and antique chests. (Across the street is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, built in 1521, with vintage stained glass windows and the tomb of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León.)
Tourists from around the world take the ferry to Mackinac Island, and many who stop to see the Grand Hotel are fans of the 1980 cult classic filmed on the historic Michigan island: “Somewhere in Time.” Also, the hotel’s swimming pool was spotlighted in 1940s movie scenes with actress Esther Williams.
Hotels with a unique history mean something special to people.
The latest stop for savvy travelers: The Dearborn Inn.
After being closed for two years for remodeling, it reopened this Spring as part of the Marriott Bonvoy Autograph Collection.
Travel + Leisure magazine took notice. And upscale sites in Detroit have been buzzing about the potential competition for weddings and other special events from the metro Detroit suburb where Henry Ford established his car company in 1903.
He built the Dearborn Inn at 20301 Oakwood Blvd. in 1931 to house guests flying into Ford Airport, across the street. The hotel design was conceived by Henry Ford and his son, Edsel.
Spotlighting a legacy
Reincarnation of this historic site reflects another high-profile investment of time and money from Ford Motor Co., led by Bill Ford, executive chair and great-grandson of the company founder.
If the iconic Michigan Central Station renovation in Corktown showed the world anything — Bill Ford spares no cost when it comes to restoration. He and his team recruit masterful artisans who honor the past while celebrating the future.
The Georgian-style hotel has deep ties to automotive history, a farm-to-table culinary history and custom dishes and craft cocktails based on recipes collected during Henry and Clara Jane Bryant Ford’s international travels. Its famous guest list included Walt Disney, Orville Wright, Norman Rockwell, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
“Henry Ford had traveled to New England and had seen some beautiful properties and he decided that he wanted to build a beautiful property in Dearborn for everyone who was coming to visit Ford Motor Co.,” said Ted Ryan, Ford archives and brand manager. “It was considered one of the best in America.”
Ford hired renown architect Albert Kahn.
“One of Albert Kahn’s signature features was the interesting use of light,” Ryan said. “When you get inside you’re going to notice the beautiful Georgian windows and beautiful arches.”
Kahn also designed the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House on Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe Shores, University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, the Detroit Athletic Club, buildings on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor and the River Rouge factory complex in Dearborn.
History, innovation and design
The landmark hotel — which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places — now has 135 standard rooms, 19 suites and a presidential suite with a living room, kitchen and dining area.
Corridors are lined with carpeting inspired by Loja Saarinen from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Guest rooms have four-poster walnut beds and Eames chairs, a shoutout to Michigan craftsmanship. Bathrooms have Pantone blue tiles, a nod to the Ford brand color scheme.
Renovation included windows, doors and a new roof. The original stone hearth lobby fireplace remains. Rooms start at $350 a night, according to the hotel news release. But prices may fluctuate depending on day of week and time of year, according to TripAdvisor.
This hotel has played key roles in automotive history, hotel innovation and architectural design.
The site was an early destination resort, offering everything from horseback riding to sightseeing trips over Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, in a Ford Tri-Motor airplane — which Ford built from 1925-33.
Confession: I walked the halls and rooms and restaurant and cocktail bar in Dearborn just speechless. The elegance reminded me of interior design more common to New York.
Key players on the project included New York City-based hospitality design specialists AvroKO and Dash Design, as well as Kraemer Design Group of Detroit that has expertise in historic renovation.
The Dearborn Inn offers a haven for visitors to The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation nearby or the 80-acre Greenfield Village with its Model T rides, horse-drawn carriage rides, science displays and working farms.
The hotel is owned by Ford Motor Co. and managed by Ford Land. (Ford is currently in talks for boutique hotel space at the top of Michigan Central Station, too.)
“This project has been a labor of love,” Jim Dobleske told a crowd at the March 19 grand reopening that had Bill Ford and his sons Will and Nick in the front row.
An unforgettable ‘living museum’
Travel + Leisure ran a headline that said, “One of the Country's First Airport Hotels Reopens … With a Ford Tri-motor Airplane Photo Booth Where You Can Take a Vintage Passport Picture”
Joleisha Bradley, general manager of the Dearborn Inn, said in a news release, “The hotel is both a welcoming retreat and living museum, with historic artifacts woven throughout the property.”
The cost of the remodel was not disclosed.
At the mid-March event, artist Ivan Quinones II of Pontiac sketched a portrait of Henry Ford in the lobby that Quinones said the hotel planned to frame and hang.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud, wearing a smile and sneakers, publicly remarked that meeting with Bill Ford had been a privilege and thanked the Ford team for its investment in his community.
Dearborn is where Ford’s core research and engineering operations are based.
Recruiting a top chef to run food, drink
Behind the scenes, Elliot Patti is the executive chef. A native of Maui, Hawaii, who moved to the Oak Park area 15 years ago, he is known in Detroit as a top consultant who opened restaurants and fixed restaurants that needed guidance.
The team in Dearborn knew his reputation and asked him to apply. Then Marriott hired him to run Clara’s Table restaurant, inspired by Mrs. Ford’s love of gardening and healthy lifestyle recipes, and the Four Vagabonds cocktail bar.
(Ford, along with inventor Thomas Edison, tire magnate Harvey Firestone and naturalist John Burroughs made up the four vagabonds. They camped together from 1916-24.)
Patti held a vintage cookbook titled, “Cooking for Henry” that included recipes from a chef who worked for Henry and Clara Ford.
When preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner meals, Patti will use fresh herbs from an on-site garden and seasonal ingredients — just as the industrial royalty he’s honoring once did.
Meanwhile, renovation of five homes behind the Dearborn Inn is scheduled to be completed this summer and designed to house families and wedding parties, said Jim Dobleske, CEO of Ford Land.
Harnessing the latest trend in hospitality
This luxury hotel in Dearborn offers something for guests that hospitality executives are attempting to deliver nationally and internationally, said Anat Keinan, an associate professor at Boston University whose expertise includes consumer psychology and luxury trends.
“People are shifting their consumption from traditional products like clothes or handbags and shoes. They want special experiences,” she said. “They want to do things like sleep in an ice hotel or try a crazy flavor of ice cream or go to Times Square on New Year’s Eve.”
Offering unique history and design is sure to find a solid customer base, Keinan said.
“The heritage, the tradition, the storytelling associated — ” she said. “It definitely contributes to authenticity and the feeling of an exclusive experience.”
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Well, the next time I imbibe extensively on "the wesside" I'll stay there for the PM. Looks like a cool place to hang. Son Nick has played there and commented about the beauty of the redo.
Peace
Gregg Wilczynski
I’ll definitely be coming for a stay at the Dearborn Inn. This was so well written and informational..never knew who the Four Vagabonds were. Well done, Phoebe!!!