We stayed for 3 nights in August 2023 and really enjoyed the inn and the Elk Rapids point of view of the Traverse City, Old Mission Peninsula, and Leelanau areas. I'm not a fan of staying in downtown Traverse on the highway and always look to stay in a more quiet, quaint nearby area. We have stayed in the Leelanau area many times but this was our first stay in Elk Rapids. The inn is right on a beautiful section of the east bay. Sunsets right there in the yard are breathtaking and there is a small beach a few steps from the inn's yard that felt like our own private beach. It's sandy in spots but water shoes are needed. Elk Rapids itself was a surprise, we enjoyed Bos Wine, Cellar 152, Pearl's (Cajun food), River Walk restaurant, and we picked up fish & chips one night from Town Club and ate it in the kitchen at the inn. While we ate, another couple staying at the inn came in with pizza and joined us. We had a lovely fun chat while getting to know this couple. We also visited with this couple over wine at the gas fire table the next night while watching the sun set. Everyone is so happy to be at the inn. Darcie made us a lovely little cake one evening for our anniversary. We stayed in the Huron Room and while the room is the smallest at the inn, there is a storage space for everything. People should just know - the temperature of the rooms are not individually controlled, they are controlled by the inn keeper but you can express your temperature needs. Loved that each side of the bed has a USB charging station, light, drawers. Love the big closet, we stored all our clothing and shoes, etc. in it. We left our window and exterior door open all night so we could hear the waves. Since I have a Nespresso at home I really enjoyed having one in our room as well as in the main kitchen. My favorite part of the room is the steam shower, I took several because it was so relaxing to warm up after a long day touring wineries, hanging out on the beach and swimming, golfing, etc.
Downsides:
The LED ceiling fan that is obviously faulty should have been replaced before our stay, the light glows brightly all night even when the power is turned off. Also, we have a hard time as a couple sleeping in a queen bed. The bedding (sheets and comforter) could be softer, the pillows should probably be a better quality. On a scale of 1 to 10 the comfort of the mattress was a 7 (but we have a tempurpedic at home so we may be jaded). I personally would prefer not to eat breakfast family style around a dining table with the other 6 guests who are strangers, and I'm not anti-social by any means. It just felt odd to us. This was a first for us and we have stayed at several B&B's. We rolled with it but I think people should know this is the breakfast setup.
All in all, we had a fun stay at this absolutely beautiful inn and a lot of fun in the area. The second one of the rooms have the bed replaced with a king sized bed, we will be back. read more