Bell Tower Hotel

I stayed here for a recent conference; it is very clean and comfortable, and the location is perfect for anybody visiting the University of Michigan.
During my trip I came down with the flu, and the staff went out of their way to allow me to extend my stay by an extra night in the same room. They even left a card under my door wishing me a speedy recovery. Considering how terrible it is to get sick while on the road, the kindness of the Bell Tower staff made a big difference in my experience. Thank you!

had a lovely stay at the Bell Tower, probably my best hotel experience in the past two years. The staff was friendly and accommodating, and the room was very clean, cozy, and convenient. I had no trouble with the heat, though the room was slightly drafty. I just turned the heat up, and I was quite cozy. As for the trash pickup in the morning around 6:30, I was up, and I did notice it was noisy. I always pack earplugs, which I’m sure would solve the problem for light sleepers.

Can’t beat the location. Hotel is old but kept up decently.
Heard Ann Arbor municipal trash services outside window very early in th morning during my last visit — which was a negative.

Came to A2 for a night out of town with wife, picked this hotel based on location and reviews, couldn’t have been happier with it! Location, location, location… very quaint and clean, and probably the most comfy beds ever, even the elevators are cool, for real! And to boot. free valet!

Somehow, the Bell Tower is feeling even more tired than I remember. It’s true that it’s central location is its best feature — and if you’re visiting UM, the Bell Tower is steps from campus. But the rooms are starting to show their age — the chairs in the room I stayed in were thread bare, the art hanging up seemed to be faded, and everything seemed far, far removed from the trendy, the hip, the clean, the chic. The other downside is that what used to be a lovely continental breakfast is now kind of depressing — it’s held below the lobby in a windowless room and features cold carbs (bagels, donuts, english muffins), slightly beyond-​its-​prime fruit, hash browns, and cereal. Nothing about this set up made me want to linger.

Got a room of our family of four at the last minute. Free valet parking, pretty good breakfast with «real fresh fruit», eggs and bacon, sausages, muffins, bagels, coffee and different juices. This place is very clean, the room space is generous. The gym in the basement is a bit too small. Very happy with the services there. $ 340/​night for four people with breakfast included, we will certainly come back.

VERY convenient if visiting someone at the hospital – which I was this trip. Happened to be a tornado warning this particular night. My phone alerted me to take cover. I wasn’t sure what to do so I dressed and headed down to the lobby. A very nice young man directed me to a basement conference room where about 10 other guests had collected. He came down periodically to give us updates and said if the warning continued, they would wake all the guests. But looking back, I am surprised that they hadn’t already. All in all, I would stay there again if I need to be close to the hospital.

Stayed at the Hotel over This last weekend for the Art Fair. The Hotel is very close to the Art Fair Booths. Big plus!
The Hotel is a bit old fashioned but very nice. They have the giant keys for the door. No cards. Haven’t seen that in years. Then they have a TV in the bathroom mirror. What a clash of old and new. Beds extremely comfortable. Loved the mattress. Has to be top 3 of beds in a hotel I have slept on. That good.
They gave us free bottles of water every day and chocolate. That is always appreciated. The continental bfast was okay. Nothing crazy. But adequate.
Staff was very nice and courteous. All in all s good 2-​night stay. I would stay there again.

Comfortable stay. Quaint. Small rooms. Conveniently located. Everything in walking distance. Breakfast average, not impressive.

As others have said, great location if you want to be near the university, and great for walking the downtown area. That said, the rooms are reallllly small. The room was clean, and I loved that they had makeup wipe towlettes. Didn’t like the lack of a soap dish for the mini sink – never could pry that bar off the counter once I’d left it there – just had to wipe my hand across the little bar to use the soap. The turn-​down service includes a chocolate and a 10 oz. bottle of water, on the down side, if you need more water, you’ll need to bring it with you, because every vending machine was out of that particular amenity. Bed was a little on the soft side, weird that you had to step up into the little closet bathroom. Had a view of a dingy alley. TV worked, staff was friendly, towels were clean. Like that it’s a vintage hotel, but surprised that it’s so far behind other vintage boutique hotels.

Everyone I came into contact with her was professional, helpful and provided great service. The hotel is nicely kept up, clean and the location right by the university is convenient. Unfortunately, those things can’t overcome my issues with this hotel.
I’ll start with accessibility. The ADA compliance here is right at the limit. The front doors are not easy to open if you’re in a wheelchair. Sometimes the valets are there and they open the doors, but they are not always present. Then there are stairs up to the elevator. There is an awkward lift off the lobby but you have to get help, which means waiting if staff are busy. Then most of the rooms I’ve been in (four over the last few years) have a big step up into the bathroom — not something that is helpful in the middle of the night in a strange room. Bathrooms are cramped with tiny shower stalls that are difficult for anyone over 6′ or 200 lbs. If you are smaller than this, fine, but if not be prepared. I’m guessing they have a room for the differently-​abled folks without the bathroom step, but it’s still awkward. When I mention these things when I visit, they say its because its a historic building and there are limits, but I see the university updating all of its buildings to be more accessible, Ann Arbor government should help this business if that is the case.
Other complaints are the spotty, unreliable wifi, which they say they are replacing, and the noise. The walls are very thin, they haven’t done anything to dampen the doors from slamming — both to rooms and to the stairway. Additionally, if you are the south side, facing the alley, the garbage trucks must back all the way down that alley at 5am, so the reverse beeping is loud and long.
Lastly, on my final visit the previous guest left the windows ajar, so the grease fan from the restaurant across the way blew right into the room. I managed to close the windows and told reception so they have housekeeping check windows when they do the rooms. I“m surprised they didn’t smell how strong it was. Again, service was great, I got an apology and the staff asked what else they could to help. But the combination of the layout, noise, etc. makes me not want to return.

Stayed for two nights.
Internet was very bad in room, but staff responded and switched rooms and it worked great. The staff couldn’t be friendlier.
Best location for university.
Only valet parking, amd valet not always around.
Overall I would stay here again.

I’m not sure if I’m staying in a completely different hotel from the previous reviewers, but this place is anything BUT nice. The room I booked was promised to have a king-​sized bed; instead, it has a queen and is far from spacious (we’re talking an estimated 200 square feet). It’s also run-​down (not in a quaint, charming way; rather, in a dirty, off-​putting way). My view is also of a parking garage (not exactly icing on the cake). The campus inn may be pricier, but it’s also far nicer and significantly more pleasant.

When presented with only a handful of «meh» hotel options in (super cool) Ann Arbor, the Bell Tower’s location moved it up to the top for me. And that’s the best attribute — the location.
Inside, Bell Tower is pretty dated — even the rooms are still on a literal lock and key. Some of it is charming and other portions are stale. The rooms themselves are a mix of simple, cozy yet 80s/​90s revival. I appreciate the updated bathrooms and free, stable Wifi. The flat screen TV was great for my Scandal watching and cleanliness was up to par. A solid three stars for the room and friendly staff to boot. And while I didn’t make it this time, the free breakfast looked pretty choice.
A few other items that could be improved upon/didn’t delight me…
–The walls are super thin. I could hear an entire conversation from the room next door while sitting at my desk.
–The pipes are incredibly noisy
–The workout room is very small with one treadmill, one elliptical, one weight machine and a small set of hand weights. There’s very little room to walk around the machines for additional exercise.
$ 205 for the night (including tax) seemed a little steep for the above, so I think I’ll continue looking for other options during my next stay in Ann Arbor.

Disclaimer: I never know how to review places that I visit for work (and so don’t pay for myself). I think if the money had come out of my own pocket, this might be a two-​star review.
Ok, compliment sandwich time! So, the Bell Tower’s location is fantastic…
but I woke to garbage trucks beeping loudly every morning at 6am, and the décor is just awful — all the floral you can handle, and literally paintings of a polo match and a sailboat on the walls, which I seriously contemplated taking down for my stay. I like chocolate and water as much as the next person, but I like not wearing pants more, so I’m pretty anti-​turndown service. The bathroom had an odd chemical smell, which was supposedly but not really handled by maintenance.
…and the desk staff was excellent!
Looks like a lot of compliment sandwich filling to me. Ann Arbor doesn’t offer much in the way of options in this area, but I’d try them before coming back to the Bell Tower.

It’s certainly quiet enough — even quaint. It’s clean and efficient. They could so some sprucing up of the furniture. It’s right in downtown Ann Arbor, across from the central campus of UM — which is great and also, not so great — of you don’t want to be around all those students all the time. FREE WI-​FI (that got them the extra *)

I was really excited to spend a night in Ann Arbor! My significant other is a UofM Alum, and wanted to be close to campus as well as downtown. The hotel is dated, but doesn’t wreak of it. The staff is very nice and accommodating. The rooms were very nice, stocked with plump towels, and good coffee. The shower products are from Bath and Body Works, which smelled amazing. The continental breakfast was awesome. The only bad thing about this hotel are the beds. Very stiff and our backs hurt when we woke up.

Very convenient. Thanks to the location, my daughter and I were able to walk pretty much everywhere, with my grandson either in or pushing his stroller! First hotel in a long time I’ve seen using real keys.

Stayed here for the past 2 days, while looking at UMich. Really great experience. The hotel is kind of old-​school elegant, not super fancy or anything, but inviting and with more local personality than an average chain. The staff were simply the best — super nice, helpful, friendly, attentive, and enthusiastic! Genuinely warm people who knew about good service.
The room was very clean and nice, simple but comfortable. Good water pressure too! Free WiFi, close to Starbucks and CVS, literally right next to the campus, and while they didn’t have an over-​priced movie-​renting service on their TV like most hotels, we were pleased to see all the HBO channels.
Great complimentary continental breakfast with lots of options and nice seating in their restaurant. They even gave us a complimentary NY Times.
I could not commend the staff more. They were so gracious and our entire stay was very enjoyable. We left asking ourselves why anyone would rate them less than 4 stars, at the very least. I wouldn’t think of staying anywhere else if I visited Ann Arbor again.

I’m a busy lady these days, but as soon as I have some time (and cash) I’m opening a swanky boutique hotel in Metro Detroit. But until then if you’re coming to Ann Arbor I hear the Bell Tower Hotel is pretty much the best they’ve got.
It’s a fine hotel, but the wow factor just isn’t there…
* The people who work here are nice enough
* The room is cozy and was probably quite nice back in the 80s
* They have internet access, although it’s an ethernet cord (hello bell tower– get with the wifi program)
* There’s an adequate gym in the basement that has 1 treadmill, 1 elliptical, and 1 weight machine
* They have nightly turn down service (thanks for my chocolate).
The location makes up for the lack of wowness so I’d probably stay here again if the price was right (under $ 150 seems like a fair deal).