Midwest - Lake Michigan Resort Recommendations?

Hi...I am planing on completing a road trip where I head through Michigan up to the upper pennisula and then back down through Wisconsin ending in Chicago. Was looking for a recommendation for a nice resort on Lake Michigan. Would prefer 3 to 4 star, I like boating and hiking but really have no particular requirements. I noticed the Inn at Bay Harbor and the Homestead and they caught my eye...any suggestions would be appreciated...also how much time is needed on Mackinaw Island? Looks like a day trip..no??? Planing on going sometime between May and Sept...:D

You can do the island in a day, but if you are a hiker you might enjoy spending a couple days there as it is a beautiful place.

Are you looking for the resort in Michigan or in Wisconsin?

There are some great places on the Wisconsin side. The American Club in Kohler is great.

More on the Michigan side but I wouldn't rule out Wisconsin

Hi...I am planing on completing a road trip where I head through Michigan up to the upper pennisula and then back down through Wisconsin ending in Chicago. Was looking for a recommendation for a nice resort on Lake Michigan. Would prefer 3 to 4 star, I like boating and hiking but really have no particular requirements. I noticed the Inn at Bay Harbor and the Homestead and they caught my eye...any suggestions would be appreciated...also how much time is needed on Mackinaw Island? Looks like a day trip..no??? Planing on going sometime between May and Sept...:D

If you're looking for an old fashioned resort for a one week stay, you might want to look at Portage Point Inn near Manistee.

It's worth staying over one night on Mackinaw Island just to see how the island changes when the fudgies leave.

Bob H

Hi...I am planing on completing a road trip where I head through Michigan up to the upper pennisula and then back down through Wisconsin ending in Chicago. Was looking for a recommendation for a nice resort on Lake Michigan. Would prefer 3 to 4 star, I like boating and hiking but really have no particular requirements. I noticed the Inn at Bay Harbor and the Homestead and they caught my eye...any suggestions would be appreciated...also how much time is needed on Mackinaw Island? Looks like a day trip..no??? Planing on going sometime between May and Sept...:D

Full disclosure: My family owns a unit at The Inn at Bay Harbor. (It's a condo hotel, meaning units are all individually owned but rented/managed by the hotel, and furnished according to hotel standards.) With that disclosure in mind, I think Bay Harbor and all of the Little Traverse Bay area are completely charming. We also have a home in the area, but I've stayed at the Inn in the past and go to the bar or restaurant or pool whenever I'm in town.

I'm up there several times a year and find that my stress levels drop significantly. The Inn is right on the water (and do book a room with a water view), and has a number of amenities including spa, pool, etc. You can play golf at any number of courses nearby. I'm not sure about boat rental, but I'd be shocked if you couldn't rent a boat somewhere in the area.

Also nice in that area are the Stafford Hotels (http://www.staffords.com/stay). I have stayed at The Perry, but not Bay View Inn. However, I don't know that I would call them "resorts." They're hotels, and don't necessarily have resort amenities. But you can find many resort amenities at countless places in the area.

Boyne Mountain also has a big year-round resort, though I think it's more family oriented (indoor water park, etc.). I've never personally stayed there, but friends seem to like it. It's located inland, but only about 15 minutes, I think, from the lake.

I've gone mountain biking in Wilderness State Park (http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-30301_31154_31260-54042--,00.html), which is at the NW corner of lower Michigan. It looks as if there's hiking there, too.

I've only been to Mackinac Island once and did it as a day trip. People I talk to either love it or hate it. (People there in the height of summer seem more inclined to hate it...apparently the horse manure smell gets quite pungent.) Of course, The Grand Hotel is a class and world-known resort, so you shouldn't rule it out.

One thing I will say that may get me flamed: I have found that some of the travel-industry workers in N. Michigan are what I call "charmingly incompetent." They're so sweet you just can't get annoyed with them, but particularly during summer months, you're often dealing with high school and college students, etc., who are not professionals. So you may have to ask twice for sugar for your ice tea or you'll find yourself wondering why tables that arrived after you have eaten & paid their bills while you're still waiting for your apps. I wouldn't tolerate it in Chicago, by attitude when I'm up there, "I'm on vacation and in no hurry."

Several years ago I noticed a coffee cart near a restaurant I like to eat lunch at. The first day I talked to the girl who was working there and she told me that her father bought (rented?) the cart for her as a summer job. (Must be nice!) The next day I went to lunch and noticed that the cart was there, but she was no where to be seen...I thought the lunch rush seemed like a strange time to disappear from your cart, but so be it. The next time I stopped by, she had no milk or sugar for the coffee.

The Inn at Bay Harbor is very nice. I'm a fan of the location, right on the water among several quaint towns.

I will give another nod to the Inn at Bay Harbor. The whole development is very sharp. You can do some shopping and dining without leaving the complex.

I would highly recommend Arcadia Bluffs on M22 near Thompsonville. Gorgeous golf course right on Lake Michigan and nice resort hotel. It's about an hour drive to Traverse City from there. Also, M22 along the lake is the nicest drive in the state.

You really can't go wrong with Michigan's Northwest coast on Lake Michigan. Anywhere from Ludington on up to Mackinac Island (technically in Lake Huron) and you'll be sitting pretty. My favorite sweet spot is anywhere from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to Petosky. That region includes all of Leelenau peninsula, both Traverse Bays, Traverse City, Elk Rapids, Torch Lake, Boyne City and Boyne Mtn., Lake Charlevoix and the city of Charlevoix, the Bay Harbor area, Petosky and Harbor Springs. It's drop-dead gorgous and flies below the national radar of beautiful regions in the lower-48.

Continue on up the coast and of course you have Wilderness State Park, which I have not been to.

You'll have an eye-opening experience, I promise!

If you're looking for an old fashioned resort for a one week stay, you might want to look at Portage Point Inn near Manistee.

It's worth staying over one night on Mackinaw Island just to see how the island changes when the fudgies leave.

Bob H

Agree with BobH. If you are able, a night or two on Mackinac Island will change your perspective versus that of a day trip. When the tourists leave for the day, the island changes completely. More relaxed and friendly than you will experience in a few short hours.

Many of the resorts mentioned above are great choices. I always say that I would put the summers in Michigan against anywhere in the country. The winters, however, are another story.

Whatever you choose, enjoy and relax with "Pure Michigan". (Sorry, couldn't resist.):cool:

Also, M22 along the lake is the nicest drive in the state.
perhaps in lower MI I always say that I would put the summers in Michigan against anywhere in the country.AMEN, could not agree more!!

For the life of me I can't understand why someone would want to go to FL, AZ, HI or other such destination during the summertime when it is heaven be on a lake in Michigan, northern Wisconsin or Minnesota.:-:^:-:

If one can't afford a place right on the lake, stay at a cheap hotel inland and spend the day/sunset on the beach.@:-)

Agree with BobH. If you are able, a night or two on Mackinac Island will change your perspective versus that of a day trip. When the tourists leave for the day, the island changes completely. More relaxed and friendly than you will experience in a few short hours.

I always say that I would put the summers in Michigan against anywhere in the country. The winters, however, are another story.

Whatever you choose, enjoy and relax with "Pure Michigan". (Sorry, couldn't resist.):cool:

+1 on the overnighting at Mackinac Island. Doing it in a day is doable, but you're rushing. And the atmosphere does slow down/changes/is fab at night.

Cheers.

You can do the island in a day, but if you are a hiker you might enjoy spending a couple days there as it is a beautiful place.

Are you looking for the resort in Michigan or in Wisconsin?

There are some great places on the Wisconsin side. The American Club in Kohler is great.

I second this recommendation.