Homestead Guest Studios

This is now an EXTENDED STAY AMERICA, it is no longer a Homestead Studio Suites and you can tell that the hotel has been through a lot of changes recently.
We stayed in a deluxe suite for 5 days/​4 nights. Price was reasonable at $ 78 a night. I’m surprised at some of the bad reviews here. The room was very clean, there was no dirty smoke smell and yes, towels are provided! Our room had a comfy king-​sized bed, clean bathroom, large closet, sleeper sofa, desk, flat-​screen TV, and a kitchen with a full-​size refrigerator/​freezer, 2-​burner stovetop, coffee maker, microwave and a countertop with bar stools where you can eat. We had our 7-​month-​old along with us so the kitchen worked out real well for us. They also had free wifi. A previous reviewer said it was «slow as dirt» but I thought it was actually somewhat fast, both during the daytime and in the evenings when everyone was there. And we didn’t pay for the upgrade. The staff were polite, professional and not pushy like some other hotels can be. The hotel is located in a very nice Detroit suburb with lots of restaurants nearby. Right next door is a BD’s Mongolian Barbeque where you can get 20% off your food bill when you show your hotel card. Also from 6−9am there is a «grab-​n-​go breakfast» in the lobby with free coffee, granola bars and muffins. Nothing too special but hey, it’s free!
The only negatives were:
— Upon arrival we were greeted with a sign that said there would be no water in the building from 8am-​2pm because they were working on something. Kind of inconvenient, but luckily the water came back on around 12 noon.
— The exhaust fan in the bathroom didn’t work. Holy humidity!
— Our TV remote was broken, but we called the front desk to get a replacement and they brought up another one within 5 minutes.
— The AC/​heater unit is rather loud when it kicks on and is drafty.
Judging on our overall experience, we would definitely stay here again.

I have very mixed feelings about this place…
The rooms are decent. The kitchen is very basic with no oven, just a 2 burner electric stove. There is a good sized refrigerator. Cabinet space is also decent. The a/​c and heating unit in my room was fairly loud but I’m a sound sleeper so that didn’t bother me too much. The seal around the ac/​heater is poor so there was a constant cold draft from the outside air (I was there in the fall/​winter). No exhaust in the bathroom (as expected).
The WiFi is slow as dirt unless u pay for the upgrade. $ 30 for 1 month.
The front desk staff weren’t too bad. My favorite was Doug. He was extremely nice and helpful. One of the other male front desk staff was moderately odd and socially awkward… I tried not to maintain eye contact or have a conversation with him unless absolutely possible… the conversation never went anywhere.
So here are my gripes:
1) The hotel went through a deep cleaning while I was there. Ok, I get that this needs to be done and I tried to be accommodating. They moved me to another room for a few days. Fine, but they literally gave me less than 8 hours notice. I was gone for work all day and didn’t get back until about 9pm at night. I opened my door and found a note saying I needed to be out of my room by 8am. Fantastic. Well, when you’re at an extended stay hotel and are staying and extended amount of time, you tend to have a little more stuff than just a small suitcase. The room they placed me in smelled like a 40 year old ash tray, all the furniture in the room smelled like smoke, the bathroom sink looked like it was separating from the counter and about to fall thorough the counter, and the shower curtain smelled like mildew. I dismantled the bed because I was suspicious about the whole room and the mattress/​mattress cover was all ripped up on the side.
NASTY!!! I slept in the old room for the evening.
I talked to the manager about it and she simply stated that I couldn’t move back to the old room for another 2 – 3 days until the room was finished being cleaned. WHAT!!! No other options were given to me. I went to work fuming. I had to call back later that day because I was so irritated with the manager’s poor customer service!!! I had to request another room and the manager replied, «Oh, sure, let me see what I can do.» Thanks for looking into that for me. It’s not like I didn’t tell you earlier that the room you placed me in was a total dump. Genius…
2) The price is reasonable but the way they charge their fees is ridiculous. I ended up staying here for 3 ½ months. They will give you a larger discount for the per night rate if you stay here longer… ok, that makes sense. However, they would only give me the discounted rates for a 2 month period. Then they ended up charging me for the higher 1 month rate, and then charged me the regular nightly rate for the last 2 weeks. WHAT?!? How does that work?
3) The hot water heater or boilers for the building kept having issues for about 4 weeks in the cold ass winter. Hot water would not be available at random and inconvenient times (in the morning when everyone is showering/​getting ready for work or in the evening when you want to shower after the gym or before bed). I can understand that equipment can fail at any time… BUT GET IT FIXED! A few days is understandable, but 4 weeks? Come on, you’re running a «hotel».
Would I stay here again? No thanks

Wouldn’t stay here again, and we don’t recommend it. The staff are rude, we asked for towels, they don’t have !!! Shampoos and soap, don’t have either! When we first checked in the front desk said they don’t have any rooms available when they were clearly lying, because we booked online 2 minutes after I hung up with them ! The hotel is over all dirty, smells bad all the time, and it is not that cheap. The linens were dirty, and for 85 bucks a night I expect better than this.

This is a cozier counterpart to the more bland and economy Extended Stay hotels. This Homestead is practically next door to Oakland University. Other nearby attractions are Great Lakes Crossing, The Village outdoor mall, and the Palace of Auburn Hills. This area is 35 minute hike to Detroit though, but Troy is a short drive down I-​75. The immediate area is very safe and friendly, and the restaurants next door are Palm Palace’s Arabic food, TGIF, McDonald’s as well as tons in the immediate area, many of which whom deliver.
The inside has a cozy lobby and guest lounge area. It’s really a no frills basic hotel, for those who want a solid notch higher than the Motel 6, Red Roof Inn, and Best Western tier. The rooms are comfortable and feel a decent amount nicer than a motel’s room. The bed’s mattress was one notch better than uncomfortable, so tolerable, yes! Premium comfort? Nah. One nice thing is that TVs were equipped with DVD players, so you can bring a movie! Bathroom and general floor space of the room was spacious, clean and tidy. Also, a feature I have often appreciated at Homesteads and Extended Stays is the included kitchen with a big fridge, sink, microwave, and stove. Honestly, the kitchenette looks like the kitchen at a basic apartment.
All in all, if you’re traveling and want to feel like you’re somewhere special, romantic, trendy, or modern — this may not be your place. However, if you are the frugal traveler that wants a place to set up camp that plays the functions of home living with the kitchen offering, then this would be a good place for you. People that only eat out or rely on room service would find the kitchenette useless. Therefore, places like this appeal to many business trips where folks stay for several nights in a row. No pool, no in-​house restaurant, etc. Just basic needs. There is a cheap in house laundry room though, which again appeals to extended stays.
The room is a great value at the price I paid via Hotwire; below $ 40 to the night! Sweet! I would rate it a 2.5 star hotel, but with a 4-​star Unilocal rating for what it is.