I can tell you about the Grand Hotel.
First, food. Two meals are included in your stay. Breakfast and a five course meal at dinner. Lunch is on your own. Everyone eats in the main dining room. Dinner is fantastic! Make sure you have their signature dessert, the Pecan Ball. A ball of icecream rolled in pecan pieces and covered with hot fudge. The prime rib is excellent. Kids meals consist of Stouffers frozen food, but at least Stouffers is good eating.
Lunch is on your own. You can eat at their cafe, or walk down the hill (or have the glass horse drawn carriage) take you to town. It is about a 10 minute walk. If you just do it one time, you have to walk to town. You see all the back street shops, (the really good shops). You can eat lunch anywhere on Main Street. I HIGHLY recommend that you eat at the French Quarter. It is at the bottom of the hill that the hotel is on, and not in town directly. It is great! The food and spirits are fantastic, and they always have live music. Or head into town and eat at the Pilot House.
The rooms are so quaint. They are all decorated with a main color scheme, but each room in different. The geranium is the theme, and all soaps and shampoos are geranium-ish. I suggest you swipe all of your bathroom items each and every day. If you have a mini-bar...pay for the jar of peanuts and you get to keep the jar with the hotel logo on it.
The hotel has a full day of activities planned if you go in the summer. Crochet, kids games, there is a room just for kids to color and watch tv and do crafts. There is something to do all the time. Tea time, sitting on the porch in rocking chairs having a cocktail.
There is plenty to do on the island. Just walk through the shops, the fort, the butterfly house, rent a horse drawn carriage, talk a hike, walk to the airport and back, fishing at the park, etc.
NOTE: The hotel has a dress code. After 5 pm, men have to be in a jacket and women have to be in a dress or slacks. No exceptions, kids included. (children don't need to be in jackets, but must be dressed nice.)
The hotel is an old wood structure, so it is not as sound proofed as some other hotels, but the TVs are small and there isn't really too much noise at night.
The room keys are the actual old keys. There is one working elevator, but if I were you...take the stairs, The elevator is usually best reserved for those who need it most, and it runs slow and is small.
ANyone and everyone can walk the hill to the hotel. Only registered guests can walk past the checkpoint and up to the doors and on the grounds. Make sure you carry your booklet with you at all times so that you can get back inside if you leave. This is to keep non-paying guest from wandering around, but you will always see a surprised island guest or two not happy about not being able to go inside.
There is absolutely NO TIPPING at this hotel. Period.
You could easily enjoy 4 - 5 days on the island, if you take it easy and enjoy what there is to offer.
My only "gripe" with the hotel: And I will try and say this as delicately as possible. The hotel is designed to give you an "old world" feel. An "old world in the Pre-Civil war" feel. Most waiteres, housekeepers, etc. are from Jamacia, and are wonderfully nice. However, you will notice that the staff is treated a certain way, and it is perfectly acceptable for you to treat them this way as well. I found this atmosphere completely distasteful, but some think it adds to the charm. I don't know how to better explain that to you, but if you have been to the hotel, then you know what I am talking about. We were very nice to our staff, and learned their names and such, and they seemed quite surprised to be treated with such respect. This pervasive attitude is not flagrant, but it cannot be missed. The staff is absolutely charming and there to meet your every whim.
Ask me anything about the hotel and the island. We are there quite a bit, twice a year for a week at a time in fact. So, ask away!!!
P.S. Someone mentioned that there are no cars on the island, and this is true. Despite this fact, a certain Senator put some pork into a bill a few years ago and alloted over $10 million of taxpayer money for road repairs on Mackinac Island. (pronounced Mac-in-naw)
