Final touches have been put on the contract for the 2011 Columnists Conference in Detroit, scheduled for June 23-26 at the Westin Book-Cadillac. Make your reservation now. Room rate is $124 per night plus tax.
Amenities will include discounted valet parking and free in-room Internet access. The discounted rate – the current charge to book a room that week is $379 per night – will be offered three days before and after the conference, as well.
The Book-Cadillac is on the National Registry of Historic Buildings. The Italian Renaissance style hotel was built in 1924 by the Book brothers, quickly became the tallest building in Detroit, as well as the tallest hotel in the world at the time. It also was the headquarters of the Jewish mobsters who made up the infamous “Purple Gang,” so the place has seen worse behavior than a bunch of columnists can dish out.
The hotel was a derelict shell of its former self, with several feet of water in the basement and untold dates with the wrecking ball, until a recent, years-long multi-billion restoration restored it to its former glory.
