It’s back!
The Westin Book Cadillac Hotel opened its doors this morning almost
a quarter century after Detroit’s most historic downtown hotel shut
down. The newly remade hotel, brought back to life with a $190-million
reconstruction, features 453 hotel rooms and 64 for-sale condominiums on its upper floors.
The opening of the hotel shows that downtown Detroit's revival is still moving forward, even if blunted by an ailing economy and nationwide credit crunch.
A
slowly gathering crowd of several dozen visitors and media gathered
outside the Washington Boulevard main entrance prior to the 11 a.m.
opening. Many of the visitors reminisced about the old Book Cadillac
they had known.
Mike Sweeney, 70, of Detroit recalled that
when he was a boy his great-aunt used to bring him to the Book Cadillac
every St. Patrick’s Day for an Irish-American celebration.
“She
would allow us to wander all over the hotel. She was real great about
that. I can remember one night my wife and I were going to see Pete
Seeger so we had dinner here before we went. So I have great memories
of the place.”
Once inside, the reviews were glowing.
“I
think it’s just absolutely gorgeous,” said Irene Drake, 62, of Detroit,
whose father had been a bellhop at the hotel decades ago. “I’ve been a
lifetime Detroiter. My dad used to work here back in the ‘40s. So for
me to come down here and see this, it’s absolutely gorgeous. I’m glad
to be a part of it.”
John Ferchill, the chief owner and
Cleveland-based developer of the remade hotel, stepped out the doors a
few minutes past 11 a.m. to welcome the visitors.
Having spent more than three years raising money and reconstructing the hotel, Ferchill was ecstatic that the opening had finally arrived.
“It’s
magnificent,” he said a few moments after the opening. “It is far
beyond anything I thought it would look like at the end of the day.
It’s just way better and way more. It is going to be one of the great
Westin hotels of the world."
Noting stories like Drake’s
about her father once working there, Ferchill acknowledged the Book
Cadillac’s deep roots in the city.
“Everybody’s got a story about the Book,” he said. “Everybody’s excited about being part of the Book hotel.”
Contact JOHN GALLAGHER at 313-222-5173 or gallagher@freepress.com.
