The Motor Bar

Stumbled onto this when we couldn’t get into Roast. Now, I come downtown just for this gem! Absolutely adore sitting on the plush couches enjoying coffee and dessert or apps and cocktails. Feels very swanky and the service is great.

Absolutely terrible! Extremely expensive. Horrible rude service, frozen food, microwaved. So bad the french fries were not even eatable. Completely subhuman. Very surprised this is in a Westin. I thought they had better standards.

Something about this hotel is just not right. It is very nice but I stay here a lot and 3 out of 4 times they screw something up. Given the lack of choices right in the area maybe a higher relative rating for their bar and hotel food menu is in order but that’s a bad reason for a good review. Service sucks pretty much at all their venues but motor bar is by far the worst so they get the rating. I guess the definition of insane applies here and I should know better so I’m taking my weekly hotel business down the street. Sorry Starwood, this place is a disgrace to your brand.

Great place to meet for a good drink (vodka martini) or a good draft beer.
Love the atmosphere.

The Westin is my home away from home when in Detroit, thus the Motor Bar is my bar away from home. but not just because it happens to be in the hotel. Everyone that works there (especially Dave, who is a friend of mine but is also a great bartender) is friendly and has always taken good care of me whether I’m alone or with a group of friends.
It’s expensive, yes, but so is everything in the hotel. If you’re hanging out a while, the lounge is beautiful and relaxing, plenty of room and good people watching.

Wretched service.
Came there to watch the elections after having a wonderful dinner at 24 downstairs. Told the waiter that we were there just for that, ordered drinks, as soon as we paid for the drinks very rude prego lady came in and turned off the tv. We, along with other people, said we were there just because of the tv. They proceeded to clean the bar for about 30 min and then left leaving us without a word with our large, expensive glasses of wine.

We came here a couple of times during our stay at the Westin. The drinks were good and the service was good, but for a bar it just wasn’t very exciting. If you are looking for a place to get free WIFI, grab a beer and do some work or touch base with your family back home, this place is awesome. If you’re looking for a party bar, this is not it. The architecture is beautiful! And the seating is comfortable. The staff was great, too. It was just not too exciting!

What a fabulous hotel bar! The apps were cheap and delicious. We had the $ 4 hummus platter. The crispy pita chips were tasty with the heavily eggplant flavored baba ghanouj. YUM. The craft beers on draft were a great surprise. Two were even local.
The atmosphere was artsy and warm. The chandeliers were beautiful and the couches were comfortable. Our server was fun and chatty. I will definitely be back, even if I’m not staying at the hotel.

Aside from the unfortunate choice of name (can we get over EVERYTHING in this town being given a car-​realted name people, please? The automotive industry has done as much damdage as good in this town) this is a great place for for before or after something drink. You’ll actually feel like you are in a major city here and the bartenders won’t look at you like your speaking a foreign languyage when you order something other than a beer, a martini or a gin and tonic.

Nice venue, good drinks (albeit a tad overpriced), but the service was wretched. We were practically the only people when we arrived and the waitstaff basically ignored us. We ordered two appetizers, only one of which arrived after about 45 minutes — not to mention it was chips and guacamole. When a member of our party went to the bar to ask for the check, he politely mentioned that the waitress had not been by recently. The bartender said, «Maybe if you all didn’t have an attitude, she would be by more.» We had been perfectly pleasant about the slow service, missing appetizers, and incorrect drinks that arrived. Her response was totally out of line. I will definitely not return under any circumstances.

Great place to have a strong cocktail and look over the beautiful architecture of the Books-​Cadillac Westin hotel before heading out for a great time downtown Detroit!!! The Waitress was wonderful and charming…

Good spot if you are staying at the Westin Book Cadillac and looking for a place to hang out and grab a small bite and cold beverage before heading back to your room to prepare for a night out. It’s basically in the lobby of the Westin, but it’s definitely an above average «lobby», even as far as world class hotels go. Beautifully refurbished grand ballroom style space with big tall windows, velvet curtains and big cushy chairs. Great spot to chill and watch the world go by. They have several local craft brews on tap and a full bar. The hummus appetizer was so-​so, and being Detroit I expected better, but since that’s all we ate I can’t let that weigh too heavily into my rating.
The service was good and the atmosphere relaxing. Not too shabby for a hotel lobby bar!

We went here after dining at Roast for a after dinner drink. We had a couple Harvey Wallbangers and a Singapore Sling. The Wallbangers were spot on but the Sling was disappointing, and was not mixed before serving. First a huge taste of greandine and then nothing but gin.
The space is beautiful and very relaxing with wide comfy chairs and couchs. Will go here again to try the menu.

I just love being in this space. On reviewer said it doesn’t really feel like a bar. It doesn’t. More like a lounge from some retro movie. It is like a very nice lobby that happens to have a bar. I come here for an intimate conversation with my husband or a few drinks with a girl friend.
It is expensive, so just enjoy a few premium cocktails and venture to a less ritzy hangout. If you are staying in the hotel and just want to unwind before heading to bed, perfect spot for a nightcap.
Not really supposed to be a hip and happening place, more to socialize, relax and enjoy the ambiance. I have stayed at the hotel as well and it fits with the Westin theme of rejuvenation, relaxation and rebirth. Their literature and onscreen hotel services menus are all about this zen type of feeling they want you to have and try to create that in every aspect of their property. That being said I think this bar fits perfectly.
This would be a perfect place to take a date when you want romance. Pair it with dinner at Roast and you are sure to «score» some points.

Cute bar if you’re staying in the Westin Hotel and don’t want to be bothered with the craziness in one of their many restaurant bar.
I ordered a Margarita with salt and my sister, Nesha E, had a whiskey sour. Both were great. We ordered calamari which had a kalamata olive sauce with it. Since I am an olive hater, I requested some marinara sauce, which came out about 15 mins later and very cold. I didn’t care too much, anything to not have the taste of olives on my calamari. This is a cute place to stop in before dinner, but I didn’t see anything that would fill you up for dinner. Prices are good about $ 9 – 10 a drink.
I noticed the couple next to us had some free bar pretzels that my sister and I weren’t offered. Maybe they are stingy with their pretzels, so make sure you ask if you want some.

What I love most about this bar is that I feel like I’m out of town whenever I visit. It’s smoke free, the couches and chairs are really comfy, and the service is great. They make an awesome spinach, artichoke, and tomato dip… and their Bellini, Detroit Yellow Taxi, and Side Car cocktails are the bomb! Cocktails will run you 9 – 12 bucks but it’s well worth it and I’ve never had to wait long to get a drink here. Don’t forget to have your valet ticket validated to park for only $ 5.

I was really looking forward to a Saturday night out with some friends, especially when we decided to try Motor Bar. I’ve been hearing such great things about it since it re-​opened. I was anticipating it to be extremely busy, upon arrival it was almost empty (at 11 p.m.), didn’t appear to be a hot-​spot.
The bartender was helpful, after we ordered our drinks at the bar we headed to a couch to sit down — after that a waitress never even stopped to see if we needed anything or to even take another drink order. Couldn’t say anything about the service because besides the bartender mixing our drinks we didn’t have any service.
Can’t say I’ll be heading back unless its with a large group of people.
The space was aesthetically pleasing and nice to see something like that be downtown.

Few people were as ecstatic as I when it was announced that the Book-​Cadillac Hotel would indeed be reopening after being shuttered since 1984. Few people were as disappointed as I with what the $ 180-​million renovation got us.
The Motor Bar is in the old lobby of the Book-​Cadillac on the hotel’s second floor, right next to the staircase on which Lou Gehrig collapsed and took himself out of the lineup, breaking his streak (you know, if you’re a history buff).
The bar is nice — though a tad too modern for my tastes and doesn’t match the 1924 hotel’s style — and key to Detroit’s revival. The Motor loses points with me because 1) It’s insanely expensive. 2) It pumps in cheezy, painful top 40 adult contemporary hits. 3) Feels more like the hotel lobby that it was originally and not like a bar.
The service was great, the staff friendly. The drink menu is extensive.
I think that if I were a different kind of guy, a rich guy who dressed in suits, let’s say, I’d love this place. That said, I’m not and I find this place A-​OK + bonus points for saving one of Detroit’s architectural gems.

The Motor Bar is located on the second floor of the newly restored Westin Book Cadillac hotel.
The space itself is beautiful and rich looking. It is decorated with dark woods and light neutrals with splashes of colors everywhere. There is a variety of seating available in the bar area, and I expect this place to rival The Corner bar in the Townsend in Birmingham.
The drinks when I visited were well poured. My friend commented that they could’ve used a larger range of cocktails, but I imagine that is something that will probably happen as the place gets its legs.
Right now it’s the perfect spot to meet for a drink and realize that Detroit might just be in the middle of that big Renaissance we hear so much about.