First Shinola Hotel Opens in Detroit

Shinola and Bedrock commemorate the opening of the world’s first Shinola Hotel on Woodward Avenue.

By Cassie Kunze

The world’s first Shinola Hotel celebrated its grand opening Tuesday on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit.

The 129 guest rooms are designed with custom finishes, wallpaper inspired by patterns found during the renovation process and feature Shinola audio equipment. The hotel property merged two restored buildings — the T.B. Rayl & Co. department store and a former Singer sewing-machine store — and created three newly-constructed buildings inspired by downtown Detroit’s historic architecture.

The hotel is partnership between Shinola, a watch and leather goods retailer founded in Detroit in 2011, and Bedrock, a Detroit real estate firm.

During the opening ceremony, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert said the Shinola Hotel is going be the “living room of Detroit.”

Due to its craftsmanship and carefully curated design, “people are going to get together here –– you can feel it,” Gilbert said. “It’s something Detroit hasn’t had in our lifetime. I think it’s going to be a place that is going to be conducive to a lot of good things.”

Detroit native Elliott Broom, the Shinola Hotel general manager, shared his story of starting as a bellman at a Detroit hotel while in college and how it shaped his career in hospitality and management.

After the hardships the city has faced, Broom said he sees the hotel as a symbol of Detroit’s revitalization. “This is the next step in the evolution of hospitality in Detroit,” Broom said.

The hotel features new restaurants, including the Italian-American restaurant San Morello that opened Tuesday, The Brakeman beer hall opening soon and a fried chicken joint called Penny Red’s opening soon.

On-site shopping options include retailers Madewell, Le Babo and Good Neighbor.

Hotel rates start at $195 and reservations can be made here.

Shinola Hotel

1400 Woodward Ave., Detroit

313-356-1401

shinolahotel.com