I am flying out of Detroit. What is the cheapest/safest place to park my car? How about hotel/parking?
Cheap Hotels
Cathy P asked:
I live close to Cleveland. Is there any other way to get there without driving my own personal vehicle?
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I live close to Cleveland. Is there any other way to get there without driving my own personal vehicle?
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February 28th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
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Depends on your airline. NW has a great parking garage, but not cheap. The others have a great parking deck, known simply as the “Big Blue Parking Deck.” Reasonable and with wide parking spaces (to avoid door dings).
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:42 am
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park it close to the back and don’t leave anything expensive in view because it is ghetto there
March 6th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
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As far as I know there is no public transportation to the Detroit airpot from Cleveland.
Boo to the guy who said the airport is in the ghetto. He’s obviously never been to Detroit because the Detroit airport is not even in Detroit, it’s in Romulus. Besides, you’re coming from Cleveland so I’ll assume you have some street smarts.
My husband used U.S. Park parking all time to fly out for business until we moved a couple months ago. He would park it for a minumum of five days and never had any break ins or dings or anything– car is an 07 with all bells and whistles. It was around $8 a day. Click the link below for a coupon for one free day parking at US Park that you can use toward your visit.
Find the U.S. Park parking lot, drive up to the toll booth and the woman will tell you which space to park in. She’ll give you a ticket and you have to hang onto that ticket for your return. You pull into the spot she told you to and depending on the weathter, take your bags out and sit them by your trunk and get back in the car (or stand out there) and wait for the U.S. Park bus to come aound and pick you up (it will take about three to five minutes for them to come around). When they come around they’ll see you and stop and open the door and you come in and bring your bags on board. You do not pay at this time. The US Park driver will ask you which airline you’re flying. She’ll drive from the US park lot to the airport, (which you need to factor will take about 20 minutes, probably less but depends on the weather and the other people she is picking up. It won’t take more than 35 minutes though).
She’ll call out the name of the airlines when she stops at them, you get your bags and get off when she calls your airline. You can tip at this time but do not pay for your parking at this time.
Be sure to factor in the time it’s going to take you to park your car and get to the airport when you plan on what time to leave the hotel the day of your flight, because if you have bags you should check them an hour before your flight (earlier if you’re traveling during the next three weeks). When you return to the Detroit airport, pick up your bags and go outside and stand and wait for the US park bus to come around. There should be one coming around every five minutes. Have your bags ready so you can hurry and get on the bus when it comes around. If you happen to miss it, just wait as another one will be coming in a few minutes. When you get on, she’ll want to know which space you were parked in, (like A-3 or H-8 or something) and she’ll drop you off at your car. You get your bags and tip again if you want ($1-$2 or whatever you want is nice). They usually wait for you to successfully unlock your car before they drive away. Stick your stuff in your car and have your ticket ready for the tollbooth when you drive out. Hand the lady your ticket and she’ll tell you what you owe, you pay and the arm raises up and you drive back to Cleveland.
US park has the best safety for the most reasonable priceat the Detroit airport. It’s pretty safe because the drivers are always going up and down the lot, every lane, 24 hours a day to pick up travelers. And the only people who drive into that lot are there to park their car for a few days. It’s surrounded by a razor wire fence and an attendent or two is at the toll booths 24 hours a day, in addition to the drivers.
In the two years my husband parked there, not a single problem.
As far as hotels, there are hotels right there at the airport. My husband has stayed at the airport hotels there with no problems, either. I can’t remember the name of the one that he usually stayed at. You’ll be fine.
The biggest threat to your saftey is going to be driving from Cleveland to the Detroit airport this time of year, due to the weather. You’re smart to stay in a hotel the night before your flight, you don’t want to have to get up and four in the morning and drive to Michigan to catch an 11:00 flight or something.
If you’re going during the holidays, you may want to try to book your room now. If flights get cancelled in Detroit because of the weather that day or something, they’re likely to sell out of rooms everywhere. If this should happen anyway, and you can’t get a room at the airport, you could also stay in neighboring Romulus or Taylor. Both cities are very blue collar, but you should be safe for one night if you get a decent hotel. Good luck and happy travels.