So, I was trying to get down to Detroit for a Tigers game, right? Needed a place near Comerica Park. Sounds easy. It wasn’t. Not by a long shot, let me tell you.
Fired up my computer, figured, “Okay, let’s get this done.” Thought I’d be booked in, like, ten minutes flat. Ha! That was my first mistake. The first thing that hit me? The prices. Just absolutely nuts. It’s like, as soon as there’s a game on, or any event really, every hotel room in a five-mile radius suddenly thinks it’s the presidential suite at the Ritz. Seriously.
Then there’s this whole game with “walking distance.” Oh boy. Some of these places, they say “walking distance to Comerica Park,” and I’m pretty sure they mean if you’re an Olympic speed walker with a tailwind and a serious deadline. I started pulling up maps, actually looking at the routes. Some of ’em, you’d be sweating through your jersey before you even saw the stadium gates. I swear, they must measure it as the crow flies, straight over buildings and traffic jams.
I spent a good chunk of time just trying to figure out the lay of the land. You’ve got your big, shiny, well-known hotel names, and yeah, they’re usually pretty close, but they also want your firstborn as a down payment. Then you’ve got other places, maybe a bit more budget-friendly, but then you start reading the reviews. And man, some of those reviews will make your skin crawl. It’s a real mixed bag out there, trying to find that balance between not sleeping in a shoebox and not having to sell a kidney.
I remember just clicking and scrolling for what felt like ages. Page after page. Comparing this one to that one. Checking if “downtown” actually meant downtown close to the park, or if it was just technically in the downtown zone but still a heck of a trek. It’s amazing how flexible geography can be when people are trying to sell you a room.
And don’t even get me started on parking. That’s the hidden sucker punch. Found a place that seemed halfway decent on price? Bam! Fifty bucks a night for parking. Or it’s valet only, and you know that’s gonna cost you. It all adds up so fast, you know? You think you’ve got a deal, and then all these little extras just pile on.
My buddy, Mark, he went up for a concert there last year. Said he just booked the first thing that looked okay. Ended up staying so far out, he spent a fortune on rideshares getting to and from Comerica. I was determined not to make that same mistake. I wanted to be able to actually, you know, walk, or at least have a super short hop.
Eventually, after a lot of digging, comparing amenities, and reading way too many opinions from strangers on the internet, I found a couple of spots that seemed like they might work. Weren’t the cheapest, weren’t the fanciest, but they looked clean, were genuinely close, and didn’t have terrifying reviews. It took a solid effort, though. More effort than it should, really.
So yeah, if you’re looking for hotels by Comerica Park in Detroit, my advice? Start early. Do your homework. Don’t just look at the pretty pictures. Read the fine print, check the map yourself, and for goodness sake, see what they’re charging for parking. It’s a bit of a jungle out there, but you can find something decent if you put in the time. Just don’t expect it to be a walk in the… well, you know.