People don’t typically think of rust-belt cities as travel destinations, but Cleveland shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s got a world class art museum (that’s free!), a huge zoo, and the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame to name just a handful of attractions that make it a city worth visiting. That doesn’t even cover the start of it – to make it a truly unique and exciting destination, you can check out the foodie mecca of West Side Market, and the Ohio City Neighborhood which features super cute bars, cafes, and restaurants, or head over to Tremont to relive your childhood at The Christmas Story House. To do all of this, you’ll want a comfortable home base, and I’d recommend staying at the Hotel Cleveland – Autograph Collection for all your rockin’ Cleveland adventures!

The Location

The Hotel Cleveland is located in the heart of Downtown Cleveland, right on Public Square, and inside the historic Terminal Tower complex called Tower City. It’s walking distance to the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame and The Science Museum, the lakefront, as well as the fun bars, restaurants and breweries on 4th Street. If you’re here for sports, Progressive Field, Rocket Arena, and Huntington Bank Field are all also within walking distance! You’ll need to drive to get to some of the further attractions such as the museum campus, and the cute neighborhoods on the west side, but you can get very cheap daily parking on Spot Hero right in the terminal building. The hotel charges upwards of $48 a day, whereas the Spot Hero only charged us about $15 or so.

The Amenities

The primary amenity that we enjoyed was the lobby bar and restaurant, but mainly the bar! This stunning, classically refurbished lobby is a super comfy place to hang out and unwind at the end of a long day of touring around. There are specialty cocktails and delicious beers – I highly recommend checking out some of the local craft brews from Masthead Brewing, available here on tap.

There’s also a full gym and business services, as well as a shop for basic sundries. It’s also connected to the Tower City Mall, which is full of shops, restaurants, and cafes. Otherwise, there are not a ton of amenities here, but I found the hotel more than adequate for our long weekend in Cleveland, since we were mainly out and about touring around, rather than hanging out in the hotel itself.

The Room

Our room was a Public Square View two queen guest room and it was positively massive! There was ample space for the four of us to unpack and hang out, including a huge walk-in closet and a large dresser.

The room is furnished in a classic style, with nicely appointed furnishings. The bathroom is fully updated with a large shower and lots of counter space.

Not all the rooms are the same, though, even if you are in the same category. My uncle’s room was similar to ours, though had a lot less square footage, and my cousin’s room was even bigger with a full sized couch, where we just had a plush chair. This is a historic building, so there’s definitely a huge swing in variability with the rooms. The beds are super comfortable though, very plush and lots of pillows and a nice duvet. All rooms had the same furnishings, and the neat, old-timey map of downtown Cleveland along one of the walls.

One thing that I would gripe about, though, is the roman shades. Much like our room at the Clerk & Well in London, the window coverings were roman shades that didn’t actually abut the window, allowing in a ton of city light at night. Our room was not dark at all, so if you need it dark at night, this may not be the place for you. Roman shades are a terrible idea for hotels, and I don’t know why they are ever considered as part of any redesign.

The Vibe

The Vibe of this hotel is classic and refined, but not stuffy. The high ceilings in the lobby and grand chandeliers and bar make for a very elegant atmosphere, but it’s still the midwest, and this is a rust-belt city, so no one is snooty or looking down their nose at you here. The staff are all super welcoming and kind, and went out of their way to assist my visually impaired uncle with some issues with his room (finicky locks!).

The history of this place is actually a major part of its charm. It opened in 1918 and has had a ton of famous guests including Eliot Ness, and President Harry S. Truman. Even cooler, though, was the cast and crew of A Christmas Story stayed here while filming the downtown scenes at nearby Higbee’s Department Store, and the Beatles have stayed here in 1964 and again in 1966! The coolest!

The Recommendation

The Hotel Cleveland underwent a massive restoration and rebrand, and reopened in 2024, and the rooms are charming, spacious, and well-appointed. Its location is a perfect home base for just about anything you want to do in Cleveland (which is surprisingly a lot!), and it’s got a grand, historic lobby bar with delicious drinks and lots of space to relax. Apart from the dumb roman shades, The Hotel Cleveland is the perfect place to stay downtown, and I would highly recommend making a reservation here.