AND THE SHIP SAILS ON Mackinac’s Grand Hotel delivers a memorable experience Written by Jeffrey Cohen 2020 has been a year of many firsts, not least of which was my family’s maiden visit to the Grand Hotel at Michigan’s Mackinac Island towards the middle of summer. One of the last surviving majestic resorts from the heyday of steam travel in the late nineteenth century, the Grand Hotel opened its doors in 1887. Since then, it has undergone numerous additions and improvements, now boasting 397 rooms, half a dozen restaurants, all manner of outdoor activities, and an unrivalled view across the straits to the mainland from the world’s longest porch. Opening for the season on Memorial Day weekend, the Grand Hotel offers a wide range of holiday packages and getaways until closing for the winter in November. From Indianapolis, the drive to Mackinaw City had been uneventful, with no intimation that our return trip would be not quite so straightforward (please see Letter from the Editor for the full story). Making the 20-minute ride to the island courtesy of Shepler’s Ferry, the kids thought it would be a good idea to sit on the upper deck, where we got pleasantly misted as the boat 90 slmag.net
cut through the waves. Upon disembarking and regaining our equilibrium, we were transported in a leisurely fashion to the hotel by horse-drawn carriage, cars having been banned from the island shortly after their invention. Famously the setting of the romantic movie Somewhere in Time, the Grand Hotel presents a bit of an adventure, somewhat like stepping into a bygone era. Each guest room bears the unique stamp of design legend Carleton Varney in a riot of colors and patterns that simultaneously evoke Palm Beach and a seaside candy store, with no two rooms alike. Following a most cordial welcome, we were accompanied to our lakefront suite and reunited with our luggage, golf clubs, tennis racquets and the inordinate amount of fishing tackle our son had acquired prior to the trip, before setting off in search of lunch. I should also add that there was complimentary red wine and fudge waiting for us in our rooms, the latter of which our offspring devoured immediately, happily in no way spoiling their appetite for hamburgers at the Gate House, one of several offsite restaurants owned by the hotel.
