Amid all the bad news of a budget crisis, a shortage of cops and a city council that won't give in to a state-run Belle Isle comes this:
The once illustrious Pontchartrain Hotel in downtown Detroit, steps away from Cobo Center, is set to reopen in April as an upscale Crowne Plaza property, reports Detroit News reporter Louis Aguilar. In the latter years it operated under different names and finally shut in 2009.
Aguilar writes:
Built it in 1965, it was a luxury hotel frequented by celebrities and wealthy business people. George H. W. Bush, for example, watched on a television at the Pontch in 1980 when Ronald Reagan made a surprise, late-night appearance to Republican National Convention delegates at Joe Louis Arena, announcing Bush would be Reagan's vice-presidential running mate.
At its height, the area's elite watched outdoor concerts and the annual Freedom Festival fireworks from the second-floor patio. And a special night-on-the-town wasn't complete without a view from the "Top of the Pontch" nightclub and restaurant.
In addition to the Pontch reopening, the Hyatt Place will open this spring in the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
The two hotels will add nearly 500 hotel rooms to the Metro area, the News noted.
