Grand Hotel Mackinac Island: It Really is Grand
by DueSer
This was fun. It was a gift from my mother after graduating with my Masters' degree. She knows I like to travel and this was the perfect gift because while I do travel a lot, I don't travel at quite this level of elegance ever. And the Grand Hotel *is* elegant, old-school elegant (it was built in 1887 and people like Mark Twain have stayed here). The whole island is like travelling back in time and this hotel definitely fits in that theme.
The rooms are comfortable, the mints they put on your pillow are FANTASTIC, the meals are wonderful (more on that in a moment), and you have to dress for dinner. I think that's cool. Coming from Southern California where everything is casual, going somewhere that required dressing for dinner I just found extremely classy and fun. They have a pool and other activities and they can provide a picnic lunch if you request it, but it's not included in the price.
What is included in the price is dinner and breakfast. Breakfast was fine. Dinner was mind-blowing. Write this down - Grand Pecan Ball. Seriously. It is amazing. The island is known for its fudge and so here is this huge thing that they bring out to you for dessert. It's a softball-size ball of ice cream rolled in pecans and sitting in a bed of Mackinac chocolate fudge. It was mind-blowing. Really.
It has the longest front porch, so they claim, and the view from there is pretty impressive. They also have an art gallery in the hotel so if you're every looking for something to do, you can wander over there (it's near the dining room) and see what exhibit they have on display.