Elk Rapids Lakeshore Inn — Hotel in Elk Rapids Township

If you smoke and desire to step out your door and light-up, this is the place for you. If you prefer clear lungs and fresh lake air - look elsewhere. For Smokers - despite the smoke-free area stickers half worn off the doors, there is a bucket hanging outside every door to collect your butts. For asthmatics, small children, those with health concerns that make smoking (including second-hand) an issue, there is a nice Sleep Inn and Holiday Inn a few miles south!||||The rooms are decent, what you would expect for an old motel living in the modern age. It was a pleasant surprise to find the mini-fridge, but watch the temperature - our kids milk was frozen by morning. Keeps pop (Soda for non-michiganders) and water nice and cold. Microwave and coffee maker are also in the room. ||||Rooms a clean and recently painted. Bathroom had a newer sink and fixture, but shower was probably last tiled in the 60's. Bathrooms do not include tubs, so if you have little kids, they will have to take a shower. Windows are old and thin, but generally quiet enough rooms. The bathroom does have a hair dryer built into the wall. I can't comment on the function since I'm bald and drying my head with a hairdryer is a bit overkill...||||Parking is convenient with about 1 space per car. So if you are a multi-car party, you may need to be a bit creative with your parking. The parking lot is fine, but showing its age. ||||The grounds include a nice firepit with chairs, there is also some patio furniture and a gas grill. ||||Despite the name, there is no lake shore on the hotel grounds. This is also mentioned on the website. The beach is a 5 minute walk away. That's 5 minutes as an adult. Probably 10 with kids, toys, etc... in tow. You would be better served to drive. There is no sidewalk down to the beach. You will be walking down a relatively quiet road, but there are residences on the road, so there is local traffic. There really isn't anywhere to walk other than the road. ||||If you are looking for some beach fun, Elk Rapids has a wonderful public beach just north of the hotel (approx. 2 miles) or if you head south towards Traverse City, there are several along the road and once you get to TC. ||||The staff is pleasant and helpful. ||||The wifi is pretty poor. If you or your kids want to stream video, it will cut out. I had a video conference and had to use my phone as a hotspot to join as the wifi is too unreliable for that. ||||There is a dresser but no desk in the room. So if you need to do some work, you can set a chair by the dresser or sit on a bed. In our room, the closest outlets to the dresser were full with the fridge, microwave, lamp, and coffee maker. So I worked by the plug near the bed. ||||There is no closet. I didn't ask about an iron or ironing board, but they are not in the room if they have them. ||||Overall, due to the smoking, we will not...

Refurbished, but retaining the old 1950s to 1960s feel. Rooms are spanking, sparkling clean, furnished a bit retro - certainly with a feel for the past. The bathroom is sparse, with a small countertop at the sink, and a shower with a fresh clean shower curtain - no bath tub. Towels are large, fluffy white, and abundant. The Queen size beds were very comfortable.||||The room contains a microwave, refrigerator, and coffee pot. We moved a lamp to the top of the microwave to make space to set our one carry-on bag; no chairs or luggage stands, but this worked out fine. The bedside lamps were fitted with plugs for charging phones. If you have several devices you may want to bring a gang plug or an extension cord.||||The area is quiet even though it's located on Hwy 31; and the grounds are spacious. Kelsey at the front desk lives on site and is very friendly and accommodating. Check in was easy, check out easy as as well.||||Lakeshore Inn is a member of a community association that owns or has access to property at the bayfront, just a short 5 minute walk down the hill to the beach. The shoreline is sandy, beautiful for taking a shoreline walk, and the trip to the beach is down a little road to a tree-shaded area that might be good for picnics or hanging out for a slow afternoon. This area is very nice, quiet, and beautiful.||||Lakeshore has huge grounds - plenty of room for a group to gather outside. You can park your car right in front of your room. We enjoyed our stay, and will make this our first choice in the future for Elk Rapids.||||Lakeshore is just 1.75 miles south of Elk Rapids, a quaint and pretty town on the water with a large marina. The Twisted Fish Gallery is right around the corner, and Grace Gallery (it's in a restored church!) is just north of Elk Rapids on Hwy 31. Both are perfect stops to see beautiful works of art to buy...

This was our second time staying at the Lakeshore Inn. We like to support local/small owned businesses for a few reasons. But mainly because we have found that the ones we have stayed at are cleaner than the chain hotels. This inn serves us well because of its location. We tend to go on day trip/excursions such as hiking biking and such. So we basically use this place as our base at the end of the day. We also like it because Elk Rapids has a lot of nice restaurants, shops, and ice cream shops. Also you’re close enough to Traverse City without having to deal with the headache of the constant traffic and construction. The inn was nice both times we stayed there and they were and still are making very nice improvements to the property. The floors are laminate, the bathrooms are fully upgraded. The mattresses are new and very comfortable and the decor is very nice with a modern touch. Our room had a refrigerator coffee maker and microwave. The inn keeper is very kind and personable and is happy to help the guests. The property is clean, quiet and safe. It’s easy to see that the owners take pride in the property. This place truly is...