Fans visiting Detroit for Major League Baseball’s 2005 All Star Game and the NFL’s 2006 Super Bowl XL now have a luxurious new lodging choice with the Royal Park Hotel. The exquisite boutique hotel in suburban Rochester was recently endorsed with a coveted provisional membership in The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. The 143-room luxury property—located 30 minutes north of Comerica Park and Ford Field in Detroit, sites of the events—joins more than 400 of the finest hotels in world-class cities around the globe. The Royal Park is in affluent Oakland County’s Automation Alley near the numerous multinational corporations of Auburn Hills.

Reservations for the Royal Park Hotel can be made by phoning Leading Hotels at 1-800-223-6800, by visiting www.lhw.com, or by phoning the hotel directly at 248-652-2600.

The Royal Park Hotel opened Sept. 1 and provides guests respite in the style of an English country manor house. Designed by Michigan architect Victor Saroki, it features rich exterior finishes and an interior decor that envelops guests and special event-goers in luxury, with dozens of Murano glass chandeliers, fine woodwork, custom floorcoverings and extensive marble and granite.

Before and after the big games, overnight guests will be pampered with amenities like spacious rooms, extra-long beds with high thread count linens, a pillow library with five selections, marble bathrooms, and 24-hour full menu room service. Many of the 15 suites offer fireplaces, heated bathroom floors, full kitchens, plasma TVs, bubble tubs or Japanese soaking tubs, and balconies overlooking charming historic downtown Rochester.

Guests can also relax or greet friends in a warm wood-paneled Library where international newspapers are available daily. A complete business center, two executive board rooms, and wireless internet access throughout ensures that doing business away from the office will be pleasant and efficient.

An authentic Belgian glass Conservatory opening to formal English gardens and the Royal Grand Ballroom host larger groups in style and grace.

Live jazz is heard five days a week at the acclaimed Brookshire restaurant and in The Commons lounge. Both offer numerous menu options and early morning and late night hours for dining before and after off-site events. Ladies and gentlemen can enjoy afternoon tea served in the sunlit Gallery Thursdays through Saturdays, or dine alfresco on the Terrace overlooking the Paint Creek, open seasonally.

Guests who like to stay active away from home will find many opportunities for pre and post-game recreation. A fitness center, crouquet court, two outdoor bocce courts, an executive putting green, on-site bicycle rental, and seasonal fly-fishing gear rental enhance the Royal Park experience. Golfers are invited to enjoy the otherwise-private links at nearby Oakland University, trap shooting at a nearby club, or bicycling at Rochester’s Velodrome, one of the only sporting venues of its kind in the U.S.

Prefer to be a spectator? The hotel is just a brief 15 minute drive from the Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the NBA champion Detroit Pistons and venue for many notable entertainment events.

If shopping is the desired recreation, opportunities abound in downtown Rochester’s boutiques and nearby at the Village of Rochester Hills’ upscale national retailers. The tony Somerset Collection, a quick 20-minute drive away, is home to Nieman Marcus, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Marshall Field’s.
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