Mackinac Island ยท The hill
Grand Hotel
Two railroads and a steamship line opened it in 1887; Mark Twain lectured here in 1895, and 2026 was the National Historic Landmark's 140th season.
- Built
- 1887Construction began in 1886 and the hotel opened for the 1887 season; West Wing added 1897, East Wing 1989, Millennium Wing (42 rooms) 2001, Cupola Suites 2014-2019.
- Style
- Victorian resort hotel (white pine frame)
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Rooms
- 397
- Area
- The hill
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; National Historic Landmark; Historic Hotels of America member; Local landmark
The story
The Michigan Central Railroad, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad and the Detroit and Cleveland Steamship Navigation Company formed the Mackinac Island Hotel Company, began construction in 1886 and opened the hotel in 1887, with rooms at $3 to $5 a night. Mark Twain lectured in the hotel’s Casino in 1895. W. Stewart Woodfill, hired as a desk clerk in 1919, became sole owner in 1933; the Musser family bought it from him in 1979, and KSL Capital Partners acquired it in 2019. The 1980 film Somewhere in Time was filmed here, and 2026 was the hotel’s 140th season.
The ghost story
Local legend, as WDIV ClickOnDetroit tells it, holds that construction workers uncovered human remains while digging the hotel's foundation, and that an 'evil entity' appearing as a black mass with glowing red eyes once rushed a maintenance man on the theater stage. Staff have reported a man in a top hat playing the bar's piano and a woman in Victorian clothing roaming the halls.
Source: www.clickondetroit.com
Good to know
- Elevator
- No pets
- Address: 286 Grand Avenue, Mackinac Island, MI 49757
Sources (2)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.