Michigan Fair Association holds its annual convention at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, MI. This place is a sea of history, beauty and customer satisfaction at the top of their list. The 3-in-1 facility has merged 3 historic buildings to give multiple choices of accomodations, eateries and entertainment venue's and multiple choices on prices also, enabling people of all income levels to have a good time. The kitchen, built in the basement of the Pantlind hotel part of this complex, is the hub of all the out of this world tasty treats and meals for all the restaurants (about 5 or more), plus the banquets and weddings that take place here. There is a brand new kitchen in the Welch Auditorium/DeVos Hall part of the complex that is used only when a massive event is happening. A movie was shot in the tunnels that connect all the buildings, Pure Michigan ads were discussed and born during an event at the Amway Grand. They take pride in being almost totally green and master recyclers, and aim to use the resources found in Michigan to serve in the restaurants and other meals. An awesome blue LONG couch in the front Monroe street Lobby is the best people watcher spot too.

We spent two nights at Amway Grand while my son participated in the All-State band program which was part of the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association conference being held at this hotel and at DeVos center. We chose the hotel mainly on its proximity to DeVos center where rehearsals were being held. We were given a group rate for our room which was slightly less than the published AAA rate.

We were in a standard (their "classic") 2-queen room in the "glass tower" side of the hotel. While the room itself was fine, it was smaller than what I would expect for the price in this market. After all, we're not in Chicago or NYC. And the bathroom was surprisingly small and spartan; more like what I would expect in a Courtyard or Best Western. On this point, the Pantlind rooms may be more interesting and it's my understanding that they vary in size moreso than the newer glass tower side.

Our room was furnished with a flat-screen TV (42" or so?), worktable/desk, small fridge, small coffeemaker and the usual hair dryer, iron, etc. There were two desk chairs as well as a stuffed chair in addition to the two queen beds. The room had internet connection as well as wi-fi. We used both during our stay and they were easily accessed. The usual bath products (shampoo, soap, lotion, etc.) were provided.

Beds were comfortable; nice linens, great towels, robes provided. Our only complaint (but, unfortunately, a big one for us) were the bed pillows. The intent, I believe, was to provide three different types of pillows on each bed but, boy, did they skimp here. Hard-as-rock foam, lumpy foam and scratchy feather...

The hotel has an indoor pool, hot tub and workout gym area on the 4th floor of the glass tower side. They charge $5 per day access which, frankly, I was surprised by. The facilities are not nice enough, imo, to charge extra for and, at the prices they charge for the room, it just seemed tacky and annoying for the 15 mintues we spent in the luke-warm hot tub.

The other small annoyance was the email I received prior to arrival which asked about special amenities for our stay. The email offered a choice of complimentary daily newspapers, which I selected. I assumed it would be delivered to the room in the morning like any other business hotel. Never received one. Why bother asking if you're not going to deliver?

Despite the small annoyances, however, we really liked the feel of this hotel. It did, as advertised, have that "old world" ambiance, with a warm and inviting grand lobby where people naturally congregated, chatting over coffee, drinks, etc. The standout, for us, were the staff. Everyone, from the front desk to the valet staff and room service, were friendly and efficient and helpful. Even during what was obviously a very crowded and busy week at the hotel, they managed to maintain the level of service which we really appreciated. There were no long waits for valet parking or at the front desk and our room service arrived as promised. We don't always use these types of hotel services but, when we do, it's usually because we're pressed for time and it was a relief to be able to depend on them.

In the end, it was the hotel staff that turned an "average" stay into one that we really enjoyed.

Stayed one night and found the desk staff to be extremely helpful, friendly and concerned that we would have a great experience even though they were very busy. Our room was beautiful with a view of the river and city. Elevators were not especially quick so plan extra time if you need to stop in your room for a minute. We ate at the sports grill and found it lively, loud and with friendly waitstaff. There was not enough help on staff for a busy Friday night and food service was very slow. On the other hand, the roads outside were very icy and no one was going anywhere. The Grand has everything you need for a great stay.

The night before our stay at the Amway Grand, we called to make certain that we had a guaranteed late arrival since snow was predicted for that evening. After driving through the storm for three hours, we arrived at the Amway. A young man at the desk asked "checking in?", when we replied in the affirmative, he left the desk and disappeared into the back room. Minutes later, a young woman appeared, asked us to move to the side of the counter, saying "I can help you over here," she then told us that she was sorry, but they had no rooms for the night.

When we objected, reiterating that we had called just the night before to guarantee our room, she said she had a space reserved for us at the Comfort Suites. As we voiced objection, more and more people emerged from the back room to stare stonily at us.

While it was totally unprofessional to give away our room, particularly as we'd booked it 3 months earlier, even more objectionable was the somewhat off-handed apology we received from a woman who identified herself as the front-desk manager. Additionally, they insisted that they had called our home to let us know that there wasn't a room available. There was no call listed on either our home or cell phones.

Out of the several people who found time to gawk at the spectacle of turning away guests, only one young woman seemed sincerely apologetic. And the the "suite" they'd found for us was actually a king bed and a fold out couch, 7 miles from the downtown area.