This Is One of the Most Convenient Hotel Airports in the U.S…

I can’t say that I typically receive flight delays as good news, but on a recent layover-turned-sleepover in Detroit, I found a silver lining.

When my first flight was delayed to the point of no return, I accepted that missing my second flight meant I’d be unwillingly spending the night in Detroit. Instead of scrambling for a late-night shuttle to one of the off-airport properties Delta Air Lines offered for free—some of which were 18 miles away!—I quickly pulled up my Marriott app and snagged a room at The Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport, located directly inside the McNamara Terminal of Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW).

Pro tip: You don’t have to stay at one of the hotels Delta offers to get a comped hotel stay. If you prefer finding and booking your own, Delta will reimburse “reasonable costs for your hotel room and ground transportation to and from the hotel.” (Just don’t book it using points, like I did, because then you will indeed not be able to claim reimbursement—lesson learned.)

Walking from the concourse straight into a hotel lobby and being able to eat, shower, and sleep without leaving the terminal really does something for travel stress and exhaustion levels.

It doesn’t get more convenient than on-property airport hotels, and on-property airport hotels don’t get more centrally located than this one—one of the hotel entrances sits directly across from a departure gate, so you could be sleeping mere steps away from boarding. Plane to pillow (or pillow to plane) in 10 minutes? Sign me up.

Staying here is almost like sleeping in the airport—if that hard floor and quiet corner were equipped with Westin’s signature Heavenly Beds, privacy, and an indoor pool, that is. There’s even a gym, on-site restaurant (you can use your airline food voucher here!), convenience store, and gift shop.

And that wasn’t even the best part. The hotel has a dedicated Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint. It’s located inside the Westin lobby and reserved exclusively for guests. Seeing this kind of hotel amenity was a first for me.

After a restful night, I left my room, made a quick elevator descent, and wheeled my bag right to security, breezing through in mere minutes that I could count on two hands—a new door-to-gate record for me. Getting to my gate without crowds or lines was pretty remarkable considering Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of the country’s busiest,

For late arrivals, early departures, long (or longer-than-intended) layovers, or long-haul connections, a night at the Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport promises rest, a proper meal, and even a workout, which can make a world of difference when it comes to beating jet lag. I can personally confirm it’s worth engineering a layover in Detroit—it gives a whole new meaning to location, location, location.

Maybe it will even make you look forward to your next one in Detroit.