Henderson Castle in Kalamazoo, MI

[tarheelmjfan]

Have any of you stayed here or maybe you live in the area & have heard about/or experienced it? We're going to be in Kalamazoo soon for the first time. I'm looking for a last minute hotel & am really trying hard to justify staying at Henderson Castle https://www.hendersoncastle.com/, even though many of the reviews are bad. I know, I know. It looks so cool though. Any experienced feedback is appreciated.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'd stay away from the lower-cost properties near the Wings Arena; they are popular with youth teams and are pretty hard-worn. (For that matter, most of the properties near Cork & Sprinkle can be a bit tired for the same reason.)

The Castle is in the Downtown area, most of the better restaurants are near there, and IME the hotels there tend to be nicer, but we've never stayed at the Castle b/c DH hates B&Bs.

 

[pezgirlroy]

I believe I stayed there years ago. My grandparents lived in Kalamazoo. My memory was that it was fine. Basically just a B&B. I honestly don't remember anything really spectacular about it but again this was a long time ago.

 

[Ursula J]

Went to college nearby. I've heard very good things! I'd stay there for sure!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks to all of you for the feedback. You know you're not helping to talk me out of it, right? I may just go for it. While I'm still deciding, I'll look for the locations mentioned above to make sure I don't book anything in the areas we should avoid.

 

[Beezle2]

The owner of that property has a VERY bad reputation in town. He is a grifter and drug user. You will definitely be being overcharged. And the food is terrible..GFS warmed up at best.If you just want to stay at the Castle to see it, it is a beautiful old place.

 

[Beezle2]

A nicer place still in the historic district would be Stuart Ave B&B. It is a short walk over to the Castle and you could get a look or tour it that way. Also Karas Kottages on West Main is a nice AirBnB just a short walk to the Castle. Karas is right on the train line and it bothers some people but she gets lots of return visitors also.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

The owner of that property has a VERY bad reputation in town. He is a grifter and drug user. You will definitely be being overcharged. And the food is terrible..GFS warmed up at best.If you just want to stay at the Castle to see it, it is a beautiful old place.

The food at the castle gets really bad reviews. It's too bad. I could really get into afternoon tea every day for lunch, while DH works.

A nicer place still in the historic district would be Stuart Ave B&B. It is a short walk over to the Castle and you could get a look or tour it that way. Also Karas Kottages on West Main is a nice AirBnB just a short walk to the Castle. Karas is right on the train line and it bothers some people but she gets lots of return visitors also.

Thanks for the suggestions. This is why I like to ask for advice from locals & those who visit often. I'll check them out now.

ETA: Unfortunately, it appears neither of those have a ground floor room available & I can't climb stairs. To be fair, I don't know if the castle does either. We were going to call.

 

[pezgirlroy]

A nicer place still in the historic district would be Stuart Ave B&B. It is a short walk over to the Castle and you could get a look or tour it that way. Also Karas Kottages on West Main is a nice AirBnB just a short walk to the Castle. Karas is right on the train line and it bothers some people but she gets lots of return visitors also.

That is it. We stayed at the Stuart Ave B&B and not the Castle. The Stuart Ave was very nice.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Since the above options aren't panning out, I started looking elsewhere. From what I can tell, Best Western isn't too far from downtown, plus it avoids the Arena area. At least, I think so. Google maps is often not my friend. The reviews as a whole aren't good, but the newer ones are more positive. It appears they've had a recent update. I know it isn't downtown, but we're fine with driving or taking an Uber, as long as it's not too far away. I can't walk very far at the moment anyway. What do you think?

PS: There are a couple downtown hotels I'd love to book. Unfortunately, they're so much higher than the average rate in the area that I don't feel comfortable booking them on the company's dime.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

That is it. We stayed at the Stuart Ave B&B and not the Castle. The Stuart Ave was very nice.

It's too bad that's booked for one of our nights.

 

[Beezle2]

Wings Stadium area is far from downtown. Our best downtown option is the Radisson but that is probably pricey. It is very nice, safe and close to everything. The Best Western downtown is convenient to all down town things. I have never stayed there but it doesn't look bad or scary from the outside. Downtown Kazoo has the same homeless problems as many other towns, so you will see panhandling and people around.

 

[Beezle2]

I think Hilton has a Home2 place that is new downtown. It is in a good spot and is newer.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Wings Stadium area is far from downtown. Our best downtown option is the Radisson but that is probably pricey. It is very nice, safe and close to everything. The Best Western downtown is convenient to all down town things. I have never stayed there but it doesn't look bad or scary from the outside. Downtown Kazoo has the same homeless problems as many other towns, so you will see panhandling and people around.

Thanks for the additional info. I'll price out the two you mentioned to see, if either is possible. If not, I'm glad to see the BW isn't a bad choice. We're not concerned at all about homeless people.