Grand Rapids · Hotel shortlist
The best hotels near John Ball Zoo
Daniel Kovac Central Europe
These are my five favourites in Grand Rapids, out of the 12 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.6 down to 4.4.
All five are within 3.0 km of John Ball Zoo.
Highest rated of the five
JW Marriott Grand Rapids
★★★★★4.6 from 3,422 reviews
JW Marriott Grand Rapids comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.6 from 3,422 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 4 star property, found under poi and around $321 a night on the dates we checked.
12 hotels in Grand Rapids qualified for this list and five made it. Embassy Suites by Hilton Grand Rapids Downtown is the one I would book if the first is full.
All five, ranked
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1
JW Marriott Grand Rapids
★★★★★4.6 from 3,422 reviews
2.4 km from John Ball Zoo
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2Embassy Suites by Hilton Grand Rapids Downtown
★★★★★4.7 from 1,595 reviews
3.0 km from John Ball Zoo
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3Residence Inn by Marriott Grand Rapids Downtown
★★★★★4.7 from 483 reviews
2.7 km from John Ball Zoo
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4Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton
★★★★★4.4 from 6,908 reviews
2.5 km from John Ball Zoo
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5
How this list was put together
12 Grand Rapids hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to John Ball Zoo second, then took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Daniel Kovac Central Europe
Takes the same two weeks every August and drives somewhere far with his wife and daughter. Twelve countries, all by road, all in one battered estate car. Plans routes on paper maps.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.