Harbor House Inn — Hotel in Grand Haven

♿ After spending several hours trying to locate a hotel in the Grand Haven area with an accessible roll-in shower and enough room to fit my wheelchair next to the toilet, I discovered that not many hotels in the area can accommodate somebody in a wheelchair at like me.

Luckily, I stumbled across this little gem of a place.

The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The place is very cozy and it was nice to be somewhere that attracted guests that were friendly and openly engaged in conversation. A stark contrast to your typical Hotel where people barely acknowledge each other.

I am on a Paleo or gluten-free diet, so their continental breakfast didn't quite meet my needs. It was mostly Breads and cereals but they did have some fresh fruit.

The accessible bathroom in room 4 had been recently remodeled and accommodated my fairly large power chair, although things were a little tight it worked out okay for me.

I did have a couple of issues, notable for other wheelchair bound guests that don't have use of their legs...

The shower seat provided wasn't nearly sturdy enough for someone whose legs don't work. I usually pack my own shower seat and bring it along so I averted that issue. I prefer to set my shower seat up with my back against the wall for sturdiness and safety, however the shower controls are on the end of the shower which meant I had to place my seat somewhere in the middle in order to reach the controls. It would be safer for wheelchair-bound guests if the shower nozzle and controls were mounted on the back wall of the shower, as is the case in many other hotels I have visited.

The rest of the room was a little tight to get around. I had to move some furniture in order to be able to get to the bed, but the staff was helpful in that matter. Even after moving what I could, it was difficult to position my chair next to the bed to transfer over. There was only about an inch on either side of my chair between the bed and the rest of the furniture.

I forgot to get a picture of the room itself but I have uploaded pictures of the accessible bathroom so others can see if the bathroom layout will work for their...

My wife and I use to enjoy this place when we lived in the area. We haven’t been here in years and decided to stay a night while passing through. We were very disappointed with our stay.||Note, that when you make a reservation it is for a “type” of room so you don’t know exactly what room you are getting. We were hoping we would get a king room on the third floor, but ended up in a king room in the cottage. (Note too, that if you are on an upper floor, there is no elevator).||The first impression upon approaching the inn was the torn and wrinkled outdoor carpeting on the steps and porch. After a lackluster greeting and check-in, we were escorted out the back door, past the trash bins, and down a few steps to the cottage. The entrance to the cottage had a porch that was unkept, with metal table and chairs that were filthy and unusable.||The room’s initial appearance was “ok”. However, we then found stains on the upholstered chair and the throw pillows on the bed looked dirty. The grout around the “spa” tub was stained and the room smelled musty. Worse, was the HVAC unit that was very, very, noisy and the controls for the fan speed did not work.||After returning from dinner that evening the parking lot was full and we had to park on the street. When we noted the next morning that there wasn’t a parking spot, the response was, “There should have been”.||The Inn’s web site touts toasted homemade cinnamon bread and a variety of homemade coffee cakes, and cheeses for breakfast. This wasn’t true. The only thing homemade was some banana bread. The other breads and pastries were individually wrapped in cellophane. Nothing special. And the “cheeses” were the type of individual cheese sticks from a grocery store that you put in a kid’s sack lunch. ||Lastly, they also claim to have fresh baked sweets available in the living room from 5:00 – 9:00 pm. When we checked in at around 5:30, the person said “we’re behind” and they didn’t have anything yet.||Upon check-out the next morning we mentioned the noisy HVAC unit and lack of parking, but the staff was dismissive of our comments. ||We...

My wife and I use to enjoy this place when we lived in the area. We haven’t been here in years and decided to stay a night while passing through. We were very disappointed with our stay.

Note, that when you make a reservation it is for a “type” of room so you don’t know exactly what room you are getting. We were hoping we would get a king room on the third floor, but ended up in a king room in the cottage. (Note too, that if you are on an upper floor, there is no elevator).

The first impression upon approaching the inn was the torn and wrinkled outdoor carpeting on the steps and porch. After a lackluster greeting and check-in, we were escorted out the back door, past the trash bins, and down a few steps to the cottage. The entrance to the cottage had a porch that was unkept, with metal table and chairs that were filthy and unusable.

The room’s initial appearance was “ok”. However, we then found stains on the upholstered chair and the throw pillows on the bed looked dirty. The grout around the “spa” tub was stained and the room smelled musty. Worse, was the HVAC unit that was very, very, noisy and the controls for the fan speed did not work.

After returning from dinner that evening the parking lot was full and we had to park on the street. When we noted the next morning that there wasn’t a parking spot, the response was, “There should have been”.

The Inn’s web site touts toasted homemade cinnamon bread and a variety of homemade coffee cakes, and cheeses for breakfast. This wasn’t true. The only thing homemade was some banana bread. The other breads and pastries were individually wrapped in cellophane. Nothing special. And the “cheeses” were the type of individual cheese sticks from a grocery store that you put in a kid’s sack lunch.

Lastly, they also claim to have fresh baked sweets available in the living room from 5:00 – 9:00 pm. When we checked in at around 5:30, the person said “we’re behind” and they didn’t have anything yet.

Upon check-out the next morning we mentioned the noisy HVAC unit and lack of parking, but the staff was dismissive of our comments.

We...