Clearwater Lakeshore in Mackinaw City, Michigan: A Great Travel Option

My husband and I wanted to visit Mackinac Island, so after our four night stay at The Homestead in Glen Arbor, Michigan, we moved further North to the Clearwater Lakeshore in Mackinaw City, Michigan. The Clearwater was one of many options available in this area, and while we did think it was decent, we plan to try some of the other options next time we visit the city.

The Location
When you look at Google Maps, it appears that Clearwater Lakeshore is just a two minute walk from the ferry lines that take you to Mackinac Island. However, upon arrival we learned that this hotel is actually about a mile further (see photo). It may not seem that far, but walking one mile, either in the sand side or on the road, gets tiring especially in the hot summer.

When we visited the mall and local area for the day, we drove into town. However the day we went to Mackinac Island, we did manage to walk so that we wouldn't have to worry about parking. Walking from this location was tiring, especially since we also planned to walk/bike around Mackinac Island all day. When we were walking home from the ferry after a long day at Mackinac Island, it certainly was exhausting. Next visit I plan to look for hotels closer to the ferries and closer to the "things to do" just to make it more convenient.

Things to Do Nearby
Just a mile or two south of the resort, you will find Lumberjack Shows. This show was pretty nifty and worth seeing. Just a mile north, you will find the Mackinaw Crossings Outdoor Mall. This mall is a nice visit because they do have some unique stores and I bought a lot of gift items and shirts, as well as a whole lot of taffy! A little further north is the Mackinaw Bridge (the Mighty Mac) and associated historical parks. You can visit to just enjoy the water and the bridge, or check out the historical landmarks when they are open.

The Rooms
We got a king bed jacuzzi room since there were only two of us and I love Jacuzzis. The jacuzzi is actually in the bedroom area, so you can watch TV while you relax in the tub! I used the jacuzzi on one night to relieve my achy muscles. It seemed to take forever to fill half way up, and it was a bit hard to judge how hot or cold to make it. I didn't use it the second night because it seemed like a major waste of water once I realized how much was needed.

Other than that, the room had a regular small shower and toilet area, a sink area, a fridge and a microwave. The bed itself wasn't all that comfy, but it wasn't majorly uncomfortable either so we did manage to get to sleep. Outside of the room we had a small balcony overlooking the Lake, the Mighty Mac Bridge and Mackinac Island. I got some really good pictures of the bridge at night. The view made up for the location, but next time I will choose location over view.

The Yard
Right outside of our rooms, there was a lot of grassy yard where some beach chairs and wooden swing sets could be found. This was nice for relaxing outdoors as the evening set in. They claim to have nightly campfires, but on the 2 nights we were there we didn't see the owners setting up fires but rather the guests were. The pits were available and wood was available so it seemed like anyone could set up a campfire if they wanted.

There isn't really a beach, and you won't want to walk right up to the water which is kind of disappointing. I didn't plan to swim in the lake but thought it would be nice to walk in the water a bit. We found that the hotel down the way had a nice beach and there's no reason why you couldn't go north a few minutes to use this nicer beach area.

The Pests
There are two types of pests that you'll find at this hotel, and probably every hotel along the water. First was the seagulls. Even though there are signs all over asking NOT to feed the birds, people still must because birds are outside your window begging all day until it gets dark. They are loud and obnoxious, even when we were in our room and we never saw anyone feeding them.

The second pest was the mosquitoes. In the mornings the screen door was covered with them and we couldn't open it to go out on the balcony at all. One evening I went out later at night and came in with a few of them biting me. They were larger than the ones I see around here! We learned we couldn't go on the balcony at night or early in the morning unless we wanted to be attacked by them. Luckily, they didn't pile up around the entrance door (which was actually on the opposite side of the water) so we could still leave the room without them finding us.

The Amenities
I picked this hotel because it claimed to have an indoor and outdoor pool. I was very disappointed once I saw the pools. The indoor pool was nothing special, and the water was cold even tough it was hot outside. The indoor spa was broken at the time. This pool didn't look the greatest so I didn't even bother swimming and didn't see anyone else going near it. The outdoor pool was worse. It is actually located at the resort next door which is owned by the same people. There were a few ladies tanning and one even dared to get into the bug filled pool. This poll was also cold, and it didn't look like they even ran the filter because there were so many bugs. As you can guess, we stayed out of that one two.

Breakfast was served in the mornings, but it wasn't much. We had our choice of a few bagels or bread or cereal. The first morning we went everything was picked over and we drank the last of the orange juice. The second morning, we went earlier, and things were still gone already. If you have a family to feed, my advice is to send someone to the kitchen early to grab the food and bring it back to the room. That way you know you'll get your fir share.

Overall
The Clearwater Lakeshore wasn't horrible, but it wasn't wonderful either. In doing my research I noticed many of the hotels along the water offered the same things (free breakfast, pool, etc) and some even offered more (i.e. indoor waterpark). Since there were so many options, we will definitely be checking out a different one next time we visit Mackinaw City. In conclusion: It's decent, it works, and it has a good view but there's nothing special that makes me want to go back.