Grand Hotel

I’m struggling to write this review because we’ve always loved the Grand Hotel. It’s a meaningful place to us and I’ve gone about ten times. However, the new corporate ownership has really been stripping away so much that made our experience there special. They’ve invested in the public areas in good ways and bad. New lobby looks nice. Extra chairs that feel like plastic on the front porch not good, and way too many of them—rows of rockers mean you can’t see the lake if rocking chairs are in front of you. The pool area was expanded, but the contemporary country and rock music that blasts from the pool can be heard on the porch and really ruins the Victorian vibe—it really doesn’t need to be that loud for swimmers and sunbathers to hear it. Dining room upgrades look nice, but the food this year was just bad. Cold bread, cold food, awful meat. Cold sausage and french toast with breakfast. It’s a beautiful dining room, and I love eating in there but even I couldn’t help but notice how bad the food was in spite of not wanting to. What they haven’t invested in is people, it seems: their employees, for one thing. Time was their employees had worked there for decades and were incredibly friendly. Now everyone has worked there one year, except for two people with 3yrs I saw in the dining room. The poor waiters seem rushed, stressed, and unhappy, and can’t be hostly even if they want to. Everything seemed hurried. It’s not the same experience. It feels like they’re asking fewer people to do more. Also, this affects what always felt like an investment in customers, because they don’t have time or experience to help you. Also, the expense this year was almost twice what we spent last year for waterfront room and I’m attaching a photo of our view this year so you know what almost $1100 buys you. I was pretty shocked. I miss the Mussers, who were such wonderful custodians of the peaceful, classy atmosphere of the hotel. Now women in spandex everywhere. Finally, there are so many people who pay twelve dollars daily admission to sit on the porch when we paid $1100 for a room that allows us to sit on the porch, so it’s too crowded and you can’t get a view of the water for more than a moment. My overall sense is that this ownership is not interested in retaining customers over time and building up repeat customers or loyalty. It feels like they’re trying to make as much money as quickly as possiblle and they’re not worried about you coming back. It has lost the personal touch that was really the soul of the hotel. I don’t know if we’ll go back. For what we paid, it felt like the building is still there, but the entire atmosphere created by the Musser family is gone.

My husband and I stayed at The Grand Hotel this past week for 3 nights. At just under $800 a night we were expecting an excellent experience- unfortunately, this was not the case. We stayed in room 100 which was an end room. To our dismay there was no balcony to enjoy the amazing lake view. Instead, a sitting room with windows that would not stay open and slide right back down. We also got a queen bed after requesting a king- no big deal there was no guarantee at booking. There were a lot of people this specific week due to the lilac festival- most of which I’m sure had a fantastic group rate (for example an entire marching band was there as they performed in the parade). I was hoping that the Grand would do more to accommodate guests who were paying $800 a night as opposed to those who were paying a discounted group rate especially to keep future business. This was not the case. Despite our dissatisfaction at the lack of balcony and queen sized bed, we didn’t think it was a deal breaker for returning……just bad luck on a full week. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of the dissatisfaction. If you enjoy cold showers that don’t drain- this is your place! I ended up not shaving my legs and waiting to wash my face in the sink with hot water. If you’re expecting immaculate rooms- also not the case. While it was definitely clean the walls had marks that could’ve easily been touched up with paint, the tiny 4 ft couch in the sitting room was stained, and the TV signal did not work one of the nights we were there. Also, you can not lay in bed and watch TV in room 100 because the TV is in the small sitting room. The food…….one word AWFUL. The night we were there it was a fixed 5 course menu. Which would’ve been fine if the food was not terrible. The appetizer we chose was oysters Rockefeller- it came- 1 oyster per person. Tasted awful. Salad- 3 bites of a Caesar for my husband and I wouldn’t eat the 3 cubes (1/2 in sized) in my salad because the oyster was so awful I didn’t trust the fish being served. Soup- watered down chowder with a few cubes of potatoe. Main entrees were edible. Desert was not fantastic. While we were waiting on our luggage which took over 3 hours we decided to have a cocktail and sit on the porch (the best part of The Grand), at $40 a cocktail (Grey Goose) definitely overpriced you are paying for the experience of The Grand. The luggage issue- another learning curve. While we were told that it could take 3 hours- we certainly didn’t expect it to! It did…..and because of the dress policy we had to wait on dinner because our nice clothes were in our suitcase. We were among 20 people on the ferry over- and the hotel in 13 minutes from the dock. So there was not a ton of people or luggage to deal with. On the way out- we were told that it could take three hours for our luggage to get to the ferry- which would’ve meant sitting at the dock in Mackinac City for three hours waiting for our suitcases to get there so we could drive ho

My sister and I decided our family really didn’t need anything at Christmas or birthdays etc but with our busy lives we need time to relax and reconnect. Not loose touch with what is important. So about 2 years ago we started giving gift cards to Grand Hotel and planned a weekend altogether. So multiple generations got together and did things as a large group but freedom to do smaller adventures as well. We just completed our weekend and are already planning our next year gathering. We are relaxed and rejuvenated and ready for the winter!!

This was our fifth visit to the Grand Hotel as it has been a tradition to spend a weekend on Mackinaw Island around Halloween; however, this may be our last based on a noticeable decline in quality and service during our last visit. As with everything it seems these days, prices keep going up, but the quality has diminished. I was surprised at how busy it remains in this economy but seems if you treat it more like a theme park and budget appropriately, you might not be as disappointed knowing you will be spending a small fortune for the novelty of the iconic building and setting. Pros: • Beautiful setting, building and interiors • Fun to dress up and get pictures taken • Copula bar service and food was very good and has a beautiful view of the sunset Cons: • Breakfast service is nonexistent, and food was just old and gross; waited 30 minutes for a coffee that never came • Rodents in the ice cream parlor documented in videos • Bags now take 3 hours to get to the ferry and arrived soaking wet • Photos are dark with cheap frames compared to previous years and cost 1.5X more • You no longer get the cute round shampoo/conditioner bottles • I reached out to customer service, and they said they would get back to me but never did In conclusion if its your first time to the island, it is still a wonderful place to check out and if you treat it like a theme park you may not be as disappointed but no need to go back.

As always, our stay at the Grand was excellent, we had great weather, and the food was AMAZING! The hotel is always a unique experience. We HIGHLY recommend the History Lectures, Bob is a dynamic speaker, both funny and informative. It's just one of the things that set the Grand apart from other resort hotels.

Love visiting the island especially when we stay at the Grand. Nothing but the best here and everyone is so friendly. Love the rooms/decor.