Pinestead Reef Resort — Hotel in East Bay Township

Pinestead is a great little resort on the shore of East Bay. The beach is beautiful and clean with chairs and loungers available for guests. You will have a patio or balcony right on the beach. We have a flexible timeshare there which you can get for around $600 for 7 nights a year Sep through June. You can also “lock in” your purchased week if you prefer to go for a full week. Staff is absolutely wonderful - we’ve been going for over 10 years and I’ve never encountered a mean person. The location can’t be beat, especially for the price. So many great restaurants, wineries, and activities in the area. They also have a game room, laundry room, indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, and small workout room. The lobby area has books, games, and movies to borrow. |That all being said, they are short-staffed like almost every other establishment since Covid. Our room is always surface-clean, but not always deep clean. Sometimes we’ll find a chip or crumb underneath something. Corners or light fixtures might have a cobweb, walls aren’t wiped down well. None of this has turned us away, I’ll simply take care of it myself and then leave a note in the room so they’re aware. The HVAC system has been touchy since they replaced it several years ago which apparently involved a lawsuit with the instillation company. They were great about handing out fans or space heaters during that time, which worked well to keep the rooms comfortable. The last couple times, we haven’t had an issue. They’ve done several big renovations and room updates over the last several years and this has helped convince us to stick around regardless of the challenges. The new carpet and furniture is nice. My pet peeve is the fake plant in the room, these are ugly and just catch dust if you ask me. I know they’re trying to make it look homey and not like a hotel, but I always put it away. I also am 90% sure that the “queen size” beds they advertise are actually full size, though I’ve never measured. They’re always clean and usually comfortable, so we make do and use the pullout if too close for comfort. |I think for the value, Pinestead is a solid option. I’ve stayed at other resorts along the bay at higher prices, and I can’t say that they were any better, to be honest. Give it a try and contact them about a timeshare if you enjoy your time. We love getting up to TC a few...

Great vacation spot- a little bit run down but get past that and it's a blast!! Great pool room with a hot tub, small exercise room with a treadmill, dry sauna, and a cute but neglected little game room (bring quarters!!), featuring a pool table, vending machine, claw machines, and a few arcade games, including Golden Tee. Great beach spot. Of course it was cold and windy when I visited the beach for a quick minute, but definitely great views from the balcony in our room and plenty of ducks and seagulls to watch. (and feed!) It does have a party room we used for a little one's b-day over the weekend. No fire allowed (no candles), but a sweet view of the pool and hot tub, bay, and cool architecture nearby. The room was very nice. A separate bedroom, small kitchen, living room area with a couch, table and chairs, a recliner, and another interesting chair. Our room was facing the bay, so the balcony led out to a space right over the beach with the bay 20 or 30 feet away. The sound of the waves crashing was so very peaceful. One night we cracked the door open to listen to the waves. Great place to stay in Traverse if you're looking for a great view, fairly good location, whilst still being a reasonably priced hotel! Don't mind the peeling wall paper in the hallways- the important spaces were renovated recently enough and kept up well enough that it was a lovely space for a very peaceful and...

Disappointed in comparison to the other resorts we have booked in the past. Room 116 was old, dingy and not as clean as we expected. Drapes had holes in them in addition to being so heavy it was not possible to open them wide enough to see beautiful Lake Michigan. Furniture was old and over used. Sat in the recliner and almost flipped backwards. Difficult to maneuver around the big clunky chairs. Not updated at all. Kitchen table barely seated 4 persons. Limited room to get up. Backsplash in kitchen peeling off. Drawers were difficult to open due to over use. Shower in one bedroom did not work properly. Hair and debris also present. Much smaller than anticipated. Beds were softer with not the selection of pillows normally present. Under sinks in bathroom broken drawer pieces not clean at all. Dresser drawers had spots on the paper laying in them so we had to put a cut garbage bag to lay in there. Waste baskets had no replacement bags in them. Had to go to Housekeeping ourselves to get more. Not one hanger available to hang clothes. No iron. Pictures were very diseving and not accurate. Pictures were much more updated and modern furniture. Due to the feeling of sadness in the room we ended our trip the Tuesday after our Sunday arrival. Surprised with Coast to Coast top notch resorts typically. Coast to Coast should be ashamed they have this on their...