Inn at Bay Harbor — Hotel in Petoskey

The information presented here is based on an extended nine-day stay in June in a one-bedroom suite rated at $700 per day. The rooms are quality and clean, the grounds are beautiful, and the area is incomparable. The housekeeping girls were sweet and solicitous. However, we experienced some significant negatives: 1) We are elderly professional writers who were on a working vacation, so we requested a quiet room multiple times six months in advance, but when we arrived they insisted on locating us in a room adjacent to the noisy main lobby and immediately above the valets and their reserved parking area. It was the worst room in the massive hotel complex – having an elevator, laundry, stairs, housekeeping closet, lobby approach, and meeting room encircling our suite?! The hotel was seemingly NEVER near capacity based on the largely empty parking lots, so this poor location was purposely assigned to us for some other reason. They simply demonstrated a practiced inflexible and dispassionate attitude. 2) The valets continuously and needlessly honk the car horns relentlessly at all hours. The hotel insists that without exception all vehicles be immediately controlled by them. Thus valets are fully responsible for all vehicular noise, including any prolonged and loud idling of those with thundering modified exhaust systems. BUT in particular, the purposeful habitual honking is very annoying and disturbing (honking is NOT required to lock a car, it is only to be used for finding a misplaced one). 3) After several days of patiently accepting the auto-related noise, we requested management to ask the valets to cease their useless honking. We were told they would comply BUT the honking immediately increased in volume and quantity in a likely deliberate retaliatory manner. Management simply told us what they thought we wanted to hear and did NOT follow-through on their commitment and responsibility. Two female senior managers were working only a short distance from the valets but did nothing to resolve the issue based on our close observations and continued discomfort. My question to management: How would you like to pay $700 daily for the questionable privilege of listening to a car horn honk on average every three to four minutes around the clock for nine days? Would it motivate you to fix the problem? Like many other hotel resorts, it is only a job to them so they have forgotten that guests plan for months, travel for hours to arrive there, and actually live there day-after-day while desiring to sit on the patio, nap, dine, talk, and read in relative peace. The only resolution I am left with is this review. 4) All the convenient parking and loading is reserved for valet use only with the nearest guest parking a city block away. 5) The hotel provides standard bicycles on a complimentary basis but all are men's style with none for women. 6) Televisions are equipped with only the most basic service with no streaming options or premium channels. The combination of these itemized factors does not qualify as quality guest care, much less superior, despite questionable pretenses to the contrary. This review could easily have been a 5-star instead of a 3-star except for management's demonstrated insincerity and...

We stayed here the first week of August and had a fantastic time. Addressing some of the other reviews: Yes, it’s $1,000/night. It’s NOT the Four Seasons. BUT you’re going in with your eyes open on that. We has zero problems with staff, room service, friendliness, etc. In fact, quite the opposite. They were friendly, prompt, attentive. The grounds were very well kept. The geese were around but the lawns and walks seemed groomed every morning. We too were not able to check in until 530 (past the 4pm check-in); however, our room was spotless.

Pros: Master suite (king) was amazing for the four of us. Separate bedroom which opened onto a balcony overlooking the lake and sunsets. Kitchen with an electric range, full-sized fridge, microwave and dishwasher. The room also had a large round kitchen table and seating at the kitchen “bar”. It easily could have slept 6 with a pull-out bed from the wall and the pull-out sofa. Breakfast was fantastic AND free for 2 adults in the room and for all kids 5 and under. The buffet was hot and fresh and they made whatever my kids asked for, off the menu and on. The hotel has washers, dryers and accompanying detergent/dryer sheets for free (came in very handy). Friday’s and Saturday’s feature free homemade cookies and every nice evening, they provide s’mores kits for the fire pit. Wednesday-Sunday also feature kids activities on the lawn. Staff was amazing. We never waited more than 5-10 minutes for anything we needed (towels, trash, bottles of water, etc.). They went out of their way to give us fresh milk for the kids and made sure they felt at home too. The pool and cabana bar are very nice, the water kept at the perfect temperature. The hotel and rooms have an amazing view of the bay and sunset and are 20-30 minutes from lots of small towns.

Cons: The pool was a bit small for the number of people there and it seemed to be open to guests of the hotel, cottages (and we overheard some were staying at surrounding houses). On the weekends you definitely have to get their “early” else you’ll sit on the ground. The stated 2 hour limit is not at all enforced. The beach is all rocks. The tide was soft and water very nice; however, we weren’t aware and would have brought more water shoes (less a problem more so than managing expectations). The WiFi was challenging. Despite full signal strength, it dropped a lot and was choppy. Not as much a problem for a vacation; would have been challenging to work from the room had I needed to. The dinner menu was limited and expensive; however they do have a kids menu if you ask. Also, the room service menu is pretty comparable to other resorts. I was impressed by the lunch.

Recommend Also Going: Petoskey State Park (sandy beach: $9 cash/checque only) Petoskey: Beards Brewing has great pizza; Back Lot Beer Garden (lots of food trucks and great beer selection) Charlevoix: Sunset Charters (great, 2hr affordable catamaran rides) Harbor Springs: Tom’s Mom’s Cookies, Staffords at the Pier, Paper Station Bistro Lavender Hill Farm Pond Hill Farm (great beer garden and sandwiches while the kids can run around and see farm animals) Burnt Marshmellow Brewing (easy to enjoy beers, wines, ciders while kids...

First impressions of our stay were great! Very friendly staff and the Cottage we stayed in was nice. As our stay continued, minor inconveniences arose - gas smell filled the cottage, broken dryer that could not be repaired left us with lots of wet clothes after being on the slopes (and washing clothe before we knew the dryer was broken) and limited supplies in the kitchen made it tough to cook for a family. The biggest disappointment came on our last day and the experience since then. We left to go skiing and realized we left the oven on. Called the hotel to have someone go shut it off and they were very obliging. Unfortunately, we later realized that the air pods we had left on the kitchen counter were missing. After looking everywhere to be sure they had not been misplaced, we reported our concern as we checked out the next morning. We were told that someone from "Safety & Security" had gone to turn the oven off the night before, so they would check with them and call us. We never got a call. Two days later, I called and spoke to someone in S&S who said they would do "a thorough investigation" and call us back. We never got a call. Two days later I called again - was told the Director of &S would be in the next day and would call us. Still no call and it has been one week since we checked out. The lack of follow up is incredible frustrating and disappointing to say the least. So....if you are going to stay at this hotel/cottages, be sure you are in your room when anyone that works there enters and/or be sure to secure all of your valuables are locked up if someone will be in the room when you are gone. I have no "proof" the air pods were taken when the &S person entered our cottage, but I also know they had not moved from the counter in 5 days, then were suddenly missing and nowhere to be found right after someone entered our cottage and I have not received much help from the S&S department...