Watervale Inn is simply amazing; the most important word being "simply". You will lose yourself…read morehere in amazing views, delicious home-cooked meals, and great company. I stayed here for an anniversary party/family reunion, and what a perfect spot to be with the whole gang... plenty of space, huge dining room where you can all sit together for a hearty breakfast... this place is actually owned by my aunt's family, so it felt even more homey having a sense of familiarity here. You can go hiking, swimming, boating, water skiing, or just sit on the porch of your cabin and breathe it all in. I could've stayed there a very long time and not felt tired of it. It's a shame for me that I live in California- so far from Watervale- but I'll be back. Definitely.

American writer Janet Mock once said "I think of family as community. I think of the spaces where…read moreyou don't have to shrink yourself, where you don't have to pretend or to perform. You can fully show up and be vulnerable. And in silence, completely empty and that's completely enough. You show up, as you are, without judgment, without ridicule, without fear or violence, or policing, or containment. And you can be there and you're filled all the way up. So we get to choose our families. We are not limited by biology. We get to make ourselves, and we get to make our families." And, in short, that is all that Watervale is; it's a family that you choose. As a good friend of mine named Avery Kaplan once said, "it's the people, it's always been the people". And in its simplest terms, that's it. Watervale is a place where society is absent. Regardless of your social standing, economic status, or personal withholdings, everyone is equal. Each person is an individual, judged solely on the strength of their character, and the conviction of their person. Watervale offers a place of universal acceptance: whether you are working on yourself, finding a purpose, or you are perfectly content with who you are, you will find love and compassion that is incomparable to any place in the world. This past year has offered me true acceptance, and a real family. Over the course of the summer I gained eighteen wonderful brothers and sisters. Eighteen peers and mentors. Eighteen of the best friends I will ever have. I could not have asked for a better group. At every turn I felt truly accepted and appreciated, and I acknowledge how much of a gift that truly is at this time. All the late nights and early mornings. All the hard days of work and small moments between them. All the tears (there were a lot) and all the laughs (there were even more of these). Each moment, and each and every person that enabled them, will always be held deep in my heart. Thank you all for making this the best summer of my life. I love all of you more than I could ever explain. Just know that each and every one of you have impacted my life in immeasurable ways, and I love and appreciate all you are. Watervale is forever, and so are our staff memories. 5 stars incredible service.

Our 2nd visit to northern Michigan and stay at The Wayfarer. Iris and Mike are superb hosts , the…read morecabins are clean and well equipped. Very grateful that good dogs are allowed and they have a charging station for our Rav 4. Location is excellent - we do a lot of hiking and there are plenty in the area. Frankfort is charming and has great coffee shops! Highly recommended

Sweet, full of charm and peace. Close to everything in Elberta and Frankfort, and so enjoyable !read more

Really neat place to stay! I was going to get a room at the casino but they didn't have rooms…read morebecause of a renovation. The Dempsey Manor didn't have any vacancy for that night, but the Ramsdell did and I'm so glad! It was really nice to just walk over to the nearby antique shops, and then after a movie at the Vogue just a step back down the sidewalk to go to bed. Enjoyed a cup of coffee in the morning in this little tower-nook. So novel!

This is a beautiful boutique hotel in downtown manistee Michigan! The rooms here are so lovely and…read moreunusual! The hotel does not have an elevator but if you can use the stairs this is definitely a wonderfully unique boutique hotel! Amanda gave us a tour of the hotel and we can't wait to book our weekend escape to this charming town and hotel

Absolutely amazing staff! When there was a mixup with our room, the two women behind the desk went…read moreover and above in their attempt to help resolve in a way to keep these two old and fussy people happy. And they did it with a smile. Better yet, when my husband mentioned the snowy path between our room and the hot tub, they immediately had someone out there and shove it for us. I can't believe that we found such wonderful service. Kudos to the staff at this place.

Very overpriced for what it is and overall a let down, based on all the great reviews. This whole…read moreplace is really about the location. Perfectly situated on a gorgeous white sand beach on Lake Michigan. Being steps away from the sand was fantastic, but that was kind of it. Staff was not very friendly, property seemed a bit run down, and we had a view of a parking lot.

Portage Lake Motel is a charming, updated 1950's style motel. It has very clean and comfortable…read moreground floor level rooms. The "new" owners were very welcoming and accommodating, making sure that all of our needs were met. We thoroughly enjoyed the private beach with beach lounge chairs, a couple of fire pits and a smaller sand beach area. The mini frig, coffee maker and coffee pods were greatly appreciated. The was plenty of bath towels and toiletries. The bed was very comfortable. The next time we are in the area and are in need of accommodations, we will be staying at the Portable Lake Motel.

Cute motel in a wonderful town . Right across from the lake. Owner very nice and accommodating.read more

First things first…read more.. Stacy and the rest of staff were amazing ! Ate at The Grille, staff there were amazing too! Desiree was our server and did a great job. Golf course is in very good condition. Played the short course, enjoyed it thoroughly, but if I'm being honest I can't say it's worth $49 for a 9 hole par 3 course. First morning my wife had no hot water at 9:30 a.m. No king size beds...

We stayed here for two nights, and had a fantastic time!…read more We arrived on Friday for our 11am tee time on The Retreat, and it was downpouring. We were concerned our golf weekend was going to be ruined, but we were informed that the course staff was working on cleaning up the course, and we should be able to tee off at 12:30! Perfect! We were hoping to be able to check-in to our room ahead of time, but the resort was full the night prior, so instead, we had lunch and a drink at the Grille. I ordered the BBQ Brisket Tacos, which were delicious! It came with three tacos and a side of chips. My boyfriend ordered the Whitefish Quesadillas, which don't sound very appetizing, but he likes quesadillas. We would not recommend them. They were so bland. We felt like we were eating Cream of Mushroom soup quesadillas. When we got to the tee box at 12:30pm, we were told that the other 18-hole course, The Revenge, was closed due to the heavy rain, so anyone golfing that course is now going to be fit onto The Retreat, which meant we would be paired with another twosome. I wasn't thrilled because it was supposed to be a couples getaway for us, and I also get very nervous playing with people I don't know. However, we got very lucky and were paired with a really fun couple! So, this ended up being a great experience, but be aware that if you are a twosome, you may get paired with another twosome. We finished our round only a few balls shorter than when we started (haha), and had dinner at the Grille. We both ordered burgers with fries (not pictured), and they were delicious! We sat outside on the back deck, which was nice, and our waitress, Gayle, was very friendly and attentive. We walked back to the resort, and had big plans to enjoy the pool or firepit, but instead crashed early from a long day on the course. Saturday morning we were looking for the "hot breakfast". I DO NOT RECOMMEND this breakfast. It's located at the Grille, and is $15/person for ham, sausage links, potatoes, and eggs - all of which were cold. It was gross. It was included in our package, but otherwise is $15/person, which is absurd. The hotel has an included breakfast with bagels, cereal, oats, and yogurt, which will suffice. Otherwise, there's Cafe 106 right downtown Manistee that has DELICIOUS BREAKFAST at reasonable prices. Since it poured again Friday night, we were worried we wouldn't be able to play The Revenge at 11am due it being under water. However, we were told we could play, but that it would be wet. Not a big deal. This course, like The Retreat, is absolutely beautiful! We warmed up at the driving range (right near The Revenge course) where I seemingly used all of my decent shots (haha!). We ended up venturing downtown Manistee for dinner and drinks to wrap up our stay here. The room is nothing fancy, but is nice, and I like that the resort has a fitness facility. Overall, our stay here was really great, and we would definitely visit again!

Hoping this honest reviews helps anyone interested in booking with Coastal Suites…read more We try to support small, local businesses as much as possible, which is why we chose Coastal Suites vs. a larger chain that was cheaper in price. Coming in from Seattle, we booked this for a wedding we were attending nearby for one of my boyfriend's best friends. Unfortunately, we came down with Covid and immediately tried to get in touch with this hotel to cancel our reservation. Their line rang endlessly and instead of being able to leave a voicemail, the call ended with a continuous busy signal after regular dial tones. I must have called at least 20 times when we were within the 7 day cancellation policy. I eventually got through to their voicemail and left a total of 2-3 voicemails, in which I stated the issue with their line and not being able to get through to a person or leave a VM, at the very least. Those also went unanswered. By the time the crew got back to me, we were conveniently outside the 7 days to cancel for a full refund. I then asked to get in touch with the manager, as no one seemed empathetic, understanding, or helpful in dealing with this already painful situation. I spoke with Cari, the general manager, over text, as she wouldn't call me...She coldly offered me a 50% refund as a best case scenario, ignoring all the steps I took to cancel and get 100% of the reservation back. She then said 100% would only be possible if they filled the room, which didn't seem fair at all. I then asked to speak with the owner. The next day, I received an email from Anna, one of the owners. She also avoided the phone call I requested and blamed meetings...I, too, am in meetings most of the day, but there is always 5 minutes that can be found, especially given all I had gone through up to this point. She also pressured me into cancelling the reservation so they could try to re-rent the room, but I wasn't comfortable potentially losing 50% of this reservation if they didn't rebook it (they had 2 other rooms that were cheaper available so the odds didn't seem good). I gave her full context of what happened up to this point, and she disregarded all of it, referring back to the cancellation policy. I did explain that I would be involving my credit card company to dispute the full charge as well as write an honest review, since we tried cancelling many times within the cancellation policy. Instead of doing the right thing, she stated "Please note, threatening to harm our business with a false review disqualifies you from receiving a full refund regardless of whether it gets booked, so I do not recommend taking that action." Following these communications, I received 2 more calls from the staff "returning my calls" from weeks prior...each time I re-explained what happened and pleaded for them to do the right thing. At this point, we've been fully credited by our credit card company and I'm summarizing what happened to us in detail so you are fully aware with who you are booking with. Rest assured nothing written here is falsified and I'm only highlighting the "customer service" behind this company. I have full receipts of everything, in case anyone from this company tries to say anything to the contrary. As painful as it was to have to cancel this very important trip, the owners of this location did nothing to sympathize with our situation, let alone take ownership for their flawed phone system and their overall lack of organization/customer service, and all over $200 (total reservation was $400). Please don't book with this company, as our friends were very happy booking elsewhere for their stays.

This place was so great! I received a text the morning of, saying our room was ready early. How…read moreawesome. Upon arrival, the gal that checked us in was super friendly. Our room was so cozy and our beds were perfect and comfortable. The decor was really nice. They have a clubhouse with a big tv, PlayStation and DVD player, as well as apple juice and popcorn and board games. In the morning, we woke up to snow, and the same gal that checked us in told us she cleaned the snow off our car once and then proceeded to clear my car off again for us. I have never experienced such great hospitality at a motel/hotel, and I travel quite a bit. The girls and I went in for the continental breakfast...they had small milk bottles, Tropicana oj, muffins, bagels, granola bars, bread, and coffee. This place was fantastic and affordable, I would definitely go back.

My wife and I spent the weekend there recently when my wife had a family reunion nearby. Had a very…read morepleasant stay in the American Rose suite. Room was very clean and bed was comfortable. Keep in mind that there is no AC for those few days in Michigan that you may need it. Also all rooms do not have adjoining bathrooms. Some rooms must use the common bathroom down the hall. The hosts were very accomadating and the breakfasts are well prepared and delicious. A very enjoyable stay!

My wife and I came to Greg & Cindi's for a fall color getaway on the recommendation of a friend and…read morewe were not disappointed! Warm hospitality, wonderful accommodations, many attractions nearby, great breakfasts. We visited the Arcadia Bluffs Country Club, hiked on some of the beautiful local trails overlooking Lake Mi, checked out Sleeping Bear Dunes, Glen Arbor, and local wineries. Greg or Cindi can provide good advice on other things to do as well. (PS. Don't let the shared bathrooms on some of the rooms be a deterrent.... it is a very nice setup and was not a problem especially since there were two separate nice bathrooms available and sinks in all the rooms.)

We have a vacation rental condominium not to far from this hotel so we never had a reason to stay…read morehere. Recently we booked a room here for two nights prior to our stay at a cottage we were renting in Onekama. The Casino nearby had rooms that were 2 x what we paid to stay here. This hotel is clean and has a comfortable living area. The complimentary breakfast is good and it includes coffee, juice, bagels,waffles, breakfast sandwiches, and cereal. The location is close to downtown Manistee (including Lake Michigan beaches, etc.) The staff is professional and friendly. Very soon there will be a Starbucks adjacent to the parking lot. What more can you ask for?

We experienced very disappointing customer service during our stay. After three nights in our…read moreroom--and with two nights remaining--we were informed at 8:30 p.m. that we were required to switch rooms due to scheduled construction. While the timing was inconvenient, the larger concern was the staff's complete lack of empathy regarding the disruption and the effort involved in relocating all of our belongings, including clearing out the kitchen and food items. I requested a refund for the remaining nights so we could move to another hotel, which required approval from the property since the reservation was made through a third-party booking service. Although staff verbally stated they were willing to accommodate this, they repeatedly refused to answer the calls needed to authorize the refund. This lack of cooperation made an already stressful situation unnecessarily difficult.

Another amazing dinner at our favorite restaurant! Celebrating Mothers day early with coconut…read moreshrimp. The S'more's cheesecake was fantastic but I was defeated by the last three mouthfuls! Delicious!

Recently had dinner at this restaurant in early January of 2026 when many other places were closed…read more(winter hours). Outstanding food and service with a cozy ambiance (we sat in a booth by the fireplace). The walleye was perfect, along with baby potatoes and mixed veggies. Fresh bread and butter were also delicious. Rumor is that they are renovating the basement ballroom to become a "speakeasy". Will definitely go back.