Mackinac Island, Michigan
Historic Hotels & Inns on Mackinac Island
Nine historic hotels and inns on the car-free island where the British began building Fort Mackinac in 1780, from the 1852 Island House on Main Street to the 1887 Grand Hotel on the hill.
The short answer
Book the Grand Hotel, the 1887 National Historic Landmark on the hill, for the full Mackinac stay: rates come with meal-plan or bed-and-breakfast options, and evening dress is required after 6:30 p.m. in its parlor-level areas. Downtown, about three blocks from the ferry docks, the Island House (1852) is the oldest building on the island built as a hotel, and the Lake View, the Chippewa and the Hotel Iroquois are on the same stretch of Main Street. For something small, Cloghaun Bed & Breakfast is an 1884 family house on Market Street with 11 rooms; for a resort, Mission Point Resort fills the 1950s Moral Re-Armament conference center on open shoreline at the east end. Plan around the season: the ferries ran April 21 to October 31 in 2026, and most island hotels close for the winter.
Our top picks
Best overall
Grand Hotel
Built 1887
Two railroads and a steamship line opened it in 1887; Mark Twain lectured here in 1895, and 2026 was the National Historic…
Best small inn
Cloghaun Bed & Breakfast
Built 1884
Thomas and Bridget Donnelly's 1884 house on Market Street, named for his County Galway hometown and run by their great-grandson; 11 rooms.
Oldest
Island House Hotel
Built 1852
Charles O'Malley's 1852 hotel on Main Street, the oldest building on the island built as a hotel, per the National Historic Landmark…
Best resort
Mission Point Resort
Built 1954–58
Built 1954–58 as the Moral Re-Armament movement's conference center, then Mackinac College; Somewhere in Time was filmed here in 1979.
Compare them side by side
| Inn | Area | Built | Rooms | Type | Price | Haunted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Island House Hotel | Main Street | 1852 | 94 | Inn | – | Rates | |
| Lake View Hotel | Main Street | c. 1858 | 85 | Inn | – | Rates | |
| Cloghaun Bed & Breakfast | Market Street | 1884 | 11 | B&B | – | Rates | |
| Grand Hotel | The hill | 1887 | 397 | Grand hotel | – | Yes | Rates |
| Windermere Hotel | Windermere Point | 1887 | 26 | Inn | – | Rates | |
| Chippewa Hotel Waterfront | Main Street | 1902 | – | Inn | – | Rates | |
| Hotel Iroquois | Main Street, west end | 1902–03 | – | Boutique hotel | – | Rates | |
| The Inn at Stonecliffe | Island interior | 1904 | – | Inn | – | Rates | |
| Mission Point Resort | East end | 1954–58 | 243 | Resort | – | Yes | Rates |
Price is a typical nightly rate: $ under $200, $$ $200–349, $$$ $350–549, $$$$ $550+. Rates vary by season; check the inn for exact prices.
Where they are
The neighborhoods
Where to stay, by area
Downtown and Main Street
The village curves around Haldimand Bay below Fort Mackinac, tied together by Huron Street, which is signed Main Street downtown, with Marquette Park (1905) in the middle; the tourism bureau puts downtown about three blocks from the ferry docks. Six of the nine stays are here: the Island House (1852) east of Marquette Park; the Chippewa Hotel Waterfront (1902) at the business district’s east end, next to Arnold’s Mackinaw City dock; the Lake View (c. 1858) at its west end, across from where the St. Ignace boats land; the Hotel Iroquois, one block from Shepler’s dock and facing Round Island Lighthouse, and the Windermere, both on the waterfront road toward Windermere Point; and Cloghaun (1884) on Market Street, the main street of the town the British laid out around 1780. The waterfront is mostly flat, with curb cuts downtown.
East Bluff and West Bluff
Fort Mackinac’s whitewashed limestone walls, begun by the British in 1780, crown the bluff above downtown, flanked by rows of Victorian summer cottages on state-park land: the East Bluff’s (1885–1900) along Huron Road and the West Bluff’s (1886–91) running west from the Grand Hotel. No verified inn is on either bluff; the cottages are private homes, seen from the harbor or on foot. Expect to climb: the fort’s south entrance is a steep ramp and 27 steps, and the north entrance off Huron Road is the more accessible one.
Mission Point and the east end
Past Mission Church (1829–30), the east end opens onto shoreline and the five red-roofed Modern buildings the Moral Re-Armament movement built as a conference center in the 1950s, later Mackinac College and now Mission Point Resort, with the 1825 Mission House among them. The resort called it a 15-minute walk from downtown in 2025, and the shore road continues as the flat 8.2-mile loop around the island, a 60- to 90-minute bike ride.
The Grand Hotel and the hill
The Grand Hotel’s 1887 white-pine building and its 627-foot porch sit on a bluff northwest of the village, up tree-lined Cadotte Avenue past the 1917 golf course and the fieldstone Little Stone Church (1905). The hotel calls it a 15- to 20-minute walk from the docks and runs horse-drawn carriages between the docks and the hotel for $9 a person, cash; non-guests pay $14 for adults and $7 for ages 6 to 12 to enter the hotel and grounds.
Stonecliffe and the island interior
More than 80% of the island is Mackinac Island State Park, mostly forest broken by the airport and golf courses. Northwest of Harrisonville, The Inn at Stonecliffe fills the Tudor Revival house meatpacker Michael Cudahy built in 1904 as the centerpiece of a 150-acre estate, about two miles from downtown by the inn’s count; only its 16 Mansion rooms are in the 1904 house. In 2025 the inn said its own horse-drawn carriage left downtown every hour on the hour.
The inns
Built 1852 · Victorian; Queen Anne west wing with corner tower · Main Street · Inn
Island House Hotel
Why stay Charles O'Malley's 1852 hotel on Main Street, the oldest building on the island built as a hotel, per the National Historic Landmark nomination.
Good to know Breakfast: available · Elevator · No pets
Built c. 1858 · Victorian hotel with corner towers and full-width porch · Main Street · Inn
Lake View Hotel
Why stay Built about 1858 as the Lake View House and given corner towers in the 1890s; it calls itself the island's oldest continuously operated hotel.
Good to know Elevator · No pets
Built 1884 · Colonial Revival · Market Street · B&B
Cloghaun Bed & Breakfast
Why stay Thomas and Bridget Donnelly's 1884 house on Market Street, named for his County Galway hometown and run by their great-grandson; 11 rooms.
Good to know No pets
Built 1887 · Victorian resort hotel (white pine frame) · The hill · Grand hotel
Grand Hotel
Why stay 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.
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.
Good to know Elevator · No pets
Built 1887 · Victorian cross-gabled frame with Ionic porch · Windermere Point · Inn
Windermere Hotel
Why stay The Anthony family's 1887 summer cottage, made a hotel after Patrick Doud bought it in 1904 and still managed by Margaret Doud; 26 rooms.
Good to know Breakfast: included · No pets
Built 1902 · Commercial block with galvanized-iron front imitating concrete block · Main Street · Inn
Chippewa Hotel Waterfront
Why stay A four-story 1902 Main Street hotel with a galvanized-iron front made by Geo. L. Mesker & Co.; its Pink Pony bar looks out over the Straits.
Good to know Elevator · No pets
Built 1902–03 · Victorian, three-story frame with wraparound porch · Main Street, west end · Boutique hotel
Hotel Iroquois
Why stay Blacksmith Robert Benjamin's 1902–03 house on the water at the west end of Main Street, made a hotel by Samuel Poole; breakfast included.
Good to know Breakfast: included · No elevator · No pets
Built 1904 · Tudor Revival · Island interior · Inn
The Inn at Stonecliffe
Why stay The 1904 Tudor Revival house of a 150-acre summer estate; book one of its 16 Mansion rooms, since the Summer House and 2024 cottages are newer.
Good to know Breakfast: available · No pets
Built 1954–58 · Mid-century Modern with log and stone (MRA conference center) · East end · Resort
Mission Point Resort
Why stay Built 1954–58 as the Moral Re-Armament movement's conference center, then Mackinac College; Somewhere in Time was filmed here in 1979.
The ghost story The resort's best-known ghost story, per WDIV ClickOnDetroit, is Harvey, a heartbroken man said to have died behind the property in the late 1960s and not been found for six months. Visitors to Mission Point's theater, where Harvey is said to linger, have reported being pinched or poked.
Good to know Pets welcome
No inns match that filter.
Before you book
Planning your stay
Getting there
There are no cars on the island. Arnold Transit (the former Star Line) and Shepler’s run passenger ferries from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, both from April 21 to October 31 in 2026, about every half hour in season; fast boats take about 16 to 25 minutes, adult round trips cost $37 (Arnold’s fast ferry) or $39 (Shepler’s basic), and tickets are good for any departure all season, with no reservations. Both lines carry luggage free: check bags at the mainland dock, keep the tag stubs, and collect them on the island or let your hotel’s porter take them; the Island House, the Hotel Iroquois and the Windermere send porters to the boats, and the Grand Hotel delivers tagged bags to your room within about three hours for a per-person fee. All parking is on the mainland at the ferry lots, with free shuttles to the docks: in 2026 overnight parking ran $20 a night in Arnold’s standard lot and $25 in Shepler’s, whose parking can’t be bought online. When ice closes the Straits, air taxis from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island Airport, about seven minutes, are the only way over.
Getting around
On the island you walk, bike or ride. More than 1,500 rental bikes cover the flat 8.2-mile shore loop (e-bikes are banned without a mobility-disability permit), and Mackinac Island Carriage Tours runs the horse-drawn taxis, which can’t be hailed and take cash only; call 906-847-3323. The Grand Hotel is a 15- to 20-minute walk up from the docks, or $9 a person by its carriage, and the Hotel Iroquois puts Fort Mackinac and the Grand Hotel each about a half-mile walk away.
When to go
The season runs May through October: horses and seasonal businesses arrive in May, the island is in full swing by Memorial Day, and it winds down through October to Halloween Weekend (October 23 to 25 in 2026). The Grand Hotel opens in early May and closes in the third week of October, the Lake View runs from early May to late October, and Cloghaun’s 2026 season was May 8 to October 24; most island hotels close for the winter, when Arnold runs a reduced schedule from St. Ignace starting November 1 and planes take over once the Straits freeze. The ten-day Lilac Festival in June and the Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day weekends are the busiest; the tourism bureau suggests spring for deals and fall for foliage, smaller crowds and the Fall Fudge Festival.
Accessibility
The shore loop and downtown are mostly flat with curb cuts, but interior sights sit on hills and bluffs, and many 19th-century buildings have steps or narrow doors. Both ferry lines are wheelchair accessible and carry wheelchairs and mobility scooters free, and Mackinac Island Carriage Tours has one accessible carriage. The Grand Hotel has 12 accessible rooms and an elevator to all floors, and the Lake View has an elevator to all four levels, but the Island House’s elevator reaches only the lobby, second and third floors (some room types are stair-only), and the Hotel Iroquois has no elevator, though it offers full porter service.
Before you book
At the Grand Hotel, evening dress is required after 6:30 p.m. in parlor-level areas such as the Front Porch, the Parlor and the Main Dining Room (no denim or shorts). Rates come with meal-plan options (breakfast and dinner, or all three meals) or as a Bed & Breakfast package; the balance is charged 30 days before arrival and is non-refundable after that, and earlier cancellations are refunded less $100. Elsewhere, the Lake View bills the first night at booking and the rest seven days before arrival, the Windermere takes 50% down and refunds only with two weeks’ notice (less $30 a room), and the Hotel Iroquois refunds less 5% with two weeks’ notice. At The Inn at Stonecliffe, book a Mansion room to sleep in the 1904 house.
Questions travelers ask
What is the oldest hotel on Mackinac Island?
The Island House, built on Main Street in 1852, is the oldest building on the island built as a hotel, according to the island’s National Historic Landmark district nomination; it closed as a hotel after 1938 and reopened in 1972. The Lake View, built around 1858, calls itself the oldest continuously operated hotel on the island, and the Grand Hotel (1887) marked its 140th season in 2026.
What is the most haunted hotel on Mackinac Island?
There’s no official ranking. WDIV ClickOnDetroit’s roundup of island lore puts the Grand Hotel first, with legends of human remains found while digging its foundation, a black mass with glowing red eyes on the theater stage and a man in a top hat playing the bar’s piano, and tells of ‘Harvey’ in Mission Point Resort’s theater, where visitors report being pinched or poked. These are stories guests and staff tell, not documented fact.
Is it better to stay on the island or on the mainland?
On the island, if you can: the tourism bureau says you haven’t really experienced Mackinac until you’ve spent the night, and the last boats off leave around 8 p.m. in slower months and as late as 10 p.m. in peak season. Overnight guests pay for mainland parking (from $20 a night at Arnold, $25 at Shepler’s), but the ferries carry bags free and several inns send porters to the dock; staying on the mainland means day parking ($10 to $15) and a round-trip fare ($37 to $39 per adult) each day you cross.
How do you get to Mackinac Island?
By ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace with Arnold Transit (the former Star Line) or Shepler’s: fast boats take about 16 to 25 minutes, and tickets are good for any departure all season with no reservations, though Arnold asks you to arrive 45 minutes early and Shepler’s an hour. You can also take an air taxi from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island Airport, about seven minutes, the only way over when ice closes the Straits; the nearest airline airports are Pellston (PLN) and Chippewa County (CIU).
When is Mackinac Island’s season?
May through October: horses and businesses arrive in May, the island is in full swing by Memorial Day, and it winds down through October to Halloween Weekend. The ferries ran April 21 to October 31 in 2026, and the Grand Hotel is open from early May to the third week of October. A few restaurants and lodgings stay open in winter, when ferries run a reduced schedule from St. Ignace and planes take over once the Straits freeze.
Keep exploring
How we chose these inns
Every place on this page is at least 50 years old, holds a credential we can check (National Register listing, a listed historic district, landmark status, or Historic Hotels of America membership), and takes bookings today. We verify each one against primary sources before it goes on the list, and last checked this list in October 2026. Read our criteria.
Planning details on this page (parking, transport, seasons and events) come from: mackinacparks.com, catalog.archives.gov, mackinacisland.org, arnoldtransitcompany.com, sheplersferry.com, grandhotel.com, theislandhouse.com, lvmackinac.com, chippewahotel.com, hoteliroquois.com, windermerehotel.com, clickondetroit.com, en.wikipedia.org, 9and10news.com.
Sources (13)
- Mission Point Resort: catalog.archives.gov
- Island House Hotel: theislandhouse.com
- Cloghaun Bed & Breakfast: web.archive.org
- Lake View Hotel: www.lvmackinac.com
- Grand Hotel: www.grandhotel.com
- Grand Hotel: catalog.archives.gov
- Mission Point Resort: www.clickondetroit.com
- The Inn at Stonecliffe: www.windermerehotel.com
- Chippewa Hotel Waterfront: www.chippewahotel.com
- Hotel Iroquois: www.hoteliroquois.com
- The Inn at Stonecliffe: www.theinnatstonecliffe.com
- Mission Point Resort: en.wikipedia.org
- Mission Point Resort: www.missionpoint.com
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