Royal Park Hotel (Rochester, Michigan)

Besides the adventure, one of the sweetest things about travel that I have found is stumbling on a good deal…especially when it involves your lodging.

Recently my husband, Philip, me and my childhood bestie, Tina all took a trip to Rochester, Michigan. If you’ve never thought of Michigan as being a place to vacation…don’t dismiss it so quickly. I can tell you we were all so very pleasantly surprised. When I think of Michigan, I think of things like the automobile industry, Mr. Bob Seger, and snow…a lot of snow. But I never thought of it as being a great vacation spot…this was one of those “finds” that makes traveling such an adventure.

We learned that Bob Seger was on his final tour – he is retiring – and we heard he would be ending that tour in his home state of Michigan. Now we could have gone to see him in our home state of Texas, just 2 hours from where we live, but my husband thought Michigan would be so much more memorable… he was spot on! And, since it was on Tina’s bucket list, we decided to take her along with us. I got on Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) and began searching for hotel and flight deals…and did I hit the jackpot! Tina lives about 4 hours away from us, so we all met up in Detroit. Detroit…now there’s a city with a lot going on, but that’s a blog for another time…stay tuned .

Once in Detroit we rented a vehicle and made the short drive up I-94 to I-75 into Rochester. Have you ever wanted to stay in an English style manor? Well, we did! While in Rochester, we stayed at the Royal Park Hotel (www.royalparkhotel.net), a very exquisite boutique hotel with all the Old World charm of long ago Europe….I was in heaven! The Royal Park Hotel boasts of 143 very tastefully appointed rooms & suites…something to please everyone. It is a Four Diamond AAA award winning hotel and it sits right on the Paint Creek River in beautiful downtown Rochester…and by downtown, I don’t mean busy city streets with noisy traffic and high-rise buildings. Downtown Rochester is a quaint, very pristine and lovely little city with so much to offer. There are over 350 unique shops, restaurants, spas, and more. The city is so laid back that walking or biking is the way to go on any given day of the week. And the weather…oh my goodness…it was amazing. Now we hear that the winters can get brutal, but I wonder if it’s a trade off for the gorgeous weather we experienced while we were there. It was mid-June and the temperatures were in the high 70’s to mid-’80s and no humidity. We were loving it! In Texas, the temperatures were in the ’90s and the heat index was up to 118 degrees!

But…back to the Royal Park Hotel. From the time we walked through the doors at the hotel, I was Wowed! From the oversized crystal chandelier and the rich dark wood paneling on the walls to the marble floors – Royal Park Hotel is tastefully and richly decorated in luxury.

Just down the hall from the reservation/check-in area is a cozy wood-paneled library that is stocked with over 400 books of several different genres to choose from and complimentary local and national newspapers.

You can start your day with a cup of special blend coffee or tea while you read. The Library was one of my favorite rooms in the hotel…on cool chilly mornings they had the fireplace going…with the fireplace and a cup of that special blend coffee, it made for a comfy-cozy place to start our day.

The hotel also has a beautiful Belgian glass conservatory and a very stately courtyard – they even have a small putting green.

If you’re wanting to get out about town, the hotel offers bike rentals complete with helmets, locks, bottled water, a trail map & should you so choose, a basket for your bike. Once you’re all outfitted out, jump on your bike and head to downtown Rochester, or enjoy the 9 mile path at Paint Creek.

While shopping or dining in downtown Rochester, be on the lookout for the “Travel Like A Local” (https://www.royalparkhotel.net/travel-like-a-local.htm) decal on the storefront windows. When you are ready to purchase an item or pay for your meal, drink, or treat – show the store merchant your room key and they will give you a great deal on your purchase. But…Remember, you must be an overnight guest at the Royal Park Hotel in order to receive these offers and you must have your room key with you – this offer is exclusive to overnight guests of Royal Park Hotel.

To see a list of the participating merchants, just click on the link: https://www.royalparkhotel.net/files/2469/Travel Like A Local Merchants List.pdf

One morning while driving around trying to decide where we would eat breakfast, we stumbled on the Rochester Brunch House (RBH) (http://rochesterbrunchhouse.com/#1). Their pancakes are out of this world! On their website, they describe the RBH as “eclectically quaint”…and it is! We were told it was once a church that was converted to the RBH. The atmosphere, although bustling busy, is oh so very quaint with a relaxed feel. The food is amazing, so amazing in fact, that we went back the next day! It is the perfect place to start your day. If you are ever in the area be sure and stop in, oh, and try the pancakes! I promise…you’ll be glad you did.

After a day of site seeing, Philip gave Tina and I some girl time . It was our last night at this grand hotel, so we decided to go out and sit by the fire pit that is situated right by Paint Creek River. The evening was perfect; we enjoyed a warm drink by the fire, listening to the rushing water from the creek flow by while chatting the cool, brisk Michigan evening away. Tomorrow we would be back to our busy lives, but for that night, we were silly, giggling schoolgirls again, sharing our dreams, reminiscing about the days gone by of young teenage girls listening to Bob Seger while telling each other about our latest crush, and yes, sharing a secret or two

Our trip was a fast break from our busy lives that ended all too quickly. We all enjoyed our time at the Royal Park Hotel so much, we are already planning our next stay….hopefully, next time Tina’s husband can come along.