Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan

Location

Located on the shores of Mackinac Island, the Grand Hotel is at the heart of one of the Great Lakes’ most popular holiday destinations. Visitors have been coming to this part of the United States since Victorian times, keen to enjoy the peace and quiet of a place where, even to this day, no cars are allowed and the 600 year-round residents travel by foot, bicycle and horse-drawn carriage. The island has several attractions, including an art museum and a historic fort.

Accommodation

390 guest rooms and suites are decked out in bright colours, floral quilts and heavy draped curtains chosen by New York designer Carleton Varney. Whether you go for a themed room or one of the hotel’s larger suites, with names such as Hollywood, Eisenhower, Versailles and Vanderbilt, you can expect individually controlled air conditioning, cable TV and complimentary WiFi as standard. Many rooms also come with views of Straits of Mackinac and nearby Mackinac Bridge.

Dining

Dining options range from the suited formality of the Main Dining Room, which combines superb all-day dining with waterfront views, to the laid-back ambience of The Gate House and Cawthorne’s Village Inn. The latter’s seasonally changing menus and quirky one-off events, from an annual chilli cook off to the Grand Pecan Ball, have made it something of a locals favourite. In May 2016, Mackinac Island’s one and only sushi restaurant, Sushi Grand, will open, bringing the flavours of the Orient to this hidden-away corner of rural Michigan for the first time. Other culinary delights include the Jockey Club, an ice cream parlour and a cocktail bar.

Facilities

The hotel’s extensive facilities include a 220-foot-long swimming pool named after actress Esther Williams, lawn games and tennis courts. There’s a salon and spa, perfect for a relaxing break after a day’s exploration, scheduled children’s programmes and live music played in venues throughout the property.