Review: Four Points by Sheraton in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Jul 15, 2017 | 2 comments

If you’re visiting West Michigan and looking for an SPG property, you’re going to find a grand total of one. I would have assumed that in Grand Rapids, MI, a city of 1,000,000 people in the metro and the second largest city in the state, there would be an SPG property. Alas, the closest property was in Kalamazoo, about a 40 minute drive from Grand Rapids. The Four Points Kalamazoo isn’t the most luxurious property, but it does check all the boxes we look for in a hotel; clean, quiet, and comfortable.

In the interest of keeping our platinum status, we headed down towards the hotel to check it out. Remember that achieving SPG Platinum status requires 25 stays or 50 nights a year. Having re-qualified already with 28 stays, we are now going to try and re-qualify for their top tier status called Ambassador, which requires 100 nights a year in SPG properties. While it’s no Luxury Collection hotel like the Nines in Portland, it’s a perfectly fine stay.

It’s kind of difficult to find the hotel as it’s set back off of the 94 expressway, so you’ve got to get off the highway, go around the block, go down a dark street, turn left on the street you THINK is the entrance, realize it’s not, turn back around, go to the NEXT street, and then you’ll see it. I’ve illustrated it with this high quality google map that I created ☺

The exterior of the hotel is very four points standard, much like almost any four points you’ll find off the highway in America.

Courtesy of Four Points

The entrance large and welcoming, with the reception area on your left and a large seating area in the middle.

Courtesy of Four Points

Just off to the left hand side of the entrance is a small fireplace and library.

Courtesy of Four Points

Key in hand, we sauntered up to the 6th floor. There is only 1 elevator for the property so at peak check in and check out times it can get kind of crowded.

I hope that the hotel is due for a renovation, because the hallways could use it. Come to think of it, so could the door handles. The key entry wasn’t a typical horizontal key insert or even a touch pad, it was a strange vertical swipe, much like you might see at a government building. Swipe the card up and down, and get in. The problem? Mine didn’t work. It took over 10 minutes of constant swiping up and down for the damn thing to let me in. I’ve stayed twice at this hotel and it’s happened both times.

Once we finally made it in we were welcomed with the normal four points amenities. The king bed room smelled clean and fresh, and the bed was adorned with the standard four points linens. It’s the same that we had at the Four Points Havana as well.

Four Points bedsheets

Near the wall on the other side of the bed was a small table and chair

And the computer desk with television.

Bathroom

I do appreciate what the Four Points does with their bathrooms. It seems like a regular bathroom, right? Typical vanity…

Typical shower…

But what you don’t see tons of are small, disposable plastic containers full of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. In the interest of saving plastic and the environment, I love what the four points does. They have wall containers full of the stuff, and you can just pump it out once you’re in the shower.

Now for those of us who like to take home the small trial size containers (guilty at times…) this is a loss, but a general win for the environment.

Breakfast is done differently here, as you can choose from the buffet or a grab-n-go. I took a look at the buffet, and while it seemed tasty, I was in a rush to get to my morning meetings so the grab and go was my best bet.

Choose a carb, a protein, and a beverage. If you don’t have free breakfast because of status, this option only costs $5! Coffee is always free in the lobby. For point of reference I grabbed a Clif Bar, a Yogurt Parfait, and a Naked Juice. Not a bad deal for $5!

Overall Impressions

Should you drive an hour out of your way to stay at this property? No. Should SPG get a property in Grand Rapids? Yes. The hotel is a perfectly fine hotel if you’re going to find yourself close to the area. I often have business meetings in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek so this is a great option for me when I head down that way.

As a category 2 hotel, you can stay here for as little as 4,000 points (or 3,000 on the weekends). It should be noted that some nights rates are as low as $88.

Has anyone else stayed at this hotel? What are your impressions?