Honored as the USA’s Best Summer Travel Destination three years in a row, car-free Mackinac Island offers a charming, one-of-a-kind experience for visitors from all walks of life. Yet, Mackinac Island also caters to guests seeking a more exclusive getaway highlighted by upscale resorts, delectable fine dining and customized adventures.
Although most visitors take a Mackinac Island ferry boat from the mainland, for example, chartering a private plane into Mackinac Island Airport is another option. While the most popular Mackinac Island attraction is a narrated, horse-drawn carriage tour with up to 35 other visitors, you can order up a private carriage all to yourself instead. And just as many visitors enjoy hiking or biking through Mackinac Island State Park, you also can hire a guide for a personalized tour to your own preferred Mackinac Island sites and landmarks.
For the most extravagant experience of Mackinac Island, here’s a handful of luxurious activities and attractions to shape your itinerary:
Luxurious Places To Stay On Mackinac Island
This list starts with perhaps the most recognizable sight on Mackinac Island, the world-renowned Grand Hotel, named one of the 25 Most Iconic Hotels To Visit On Earth. Built in 1887 in just 93 days, the stately resort features the longest front porch on earth, full of rocking chairs with breathtaking views of the Straits of Mackinac. Grand Hotel still has a 19th-century Victorian air about it with afternoon tea, ballroom dancing to a live orchestra and outdoor activities on the lawn such as croquet and bocce ball. The hotel offers 388 rooms each with its own unique interior design and furnishings, including seven suites named in honor of famous American First Ladies.
While Grand Hotel may be the best known, it’s far from the only luxury accommodations on Mackinac Island. Prosperous travelers also enjoy the historic lodgings at Mission Point Resort, at the far southeast corner of the island with a Great Lawn full of Adirondack chairs, and Island House Hotel, which dates to the 1850s and features stunning views of the harbor. Hotel Iroquois, which sports a luxurious deck stretching 250 feet out into the water, and the Inn at Stonecliffe, located outside of town overlooking the Mackinac Bridge, are two more of Mackinac Island’s most magnificent places to stay.
More Historic Places To Stay On Mackinac Island
World-Class Dining On Mackinac Island
World-famous fudge often comes to mind when thinking about Mackinac Island delicacies. Many of those lavish treats remind us of earlier times when such indulgences signified a life of luxury. Yet, culinary opulence abounds all over Mackinac Island these days.
Foodies relish Mackinac Island’s exceptional eating opportunities such as the elegant Main Dining Room at Grand Hotel, The Straits inside the historic Stonecliffe mansion, and Island House Hotel’s 1852 Grill Room, where locally-sourced fresh fish complement stunning views of the harbor. Other esteemed fine-dining options include The Carriage House at Hotel Iroquois with waterfront seating and live piano music nightly, the remote and sophisticated Woods Restaurant and Chianti at Mission Point Resort with its handcrafted, five-course prix fixe menu.
Where To Eat Lunch And Dinner On Mackinac Island
Personalized Excursions On Mackinac Island
Many luxury travelers appreciate the personalized touch of curated adventures. Not only does Mackinac Island offer private horse-drawn carriage rides (or even drive-your-own carriage options) and guided hiking and biking tours, but also special lodging and dining experiences as well as luxury spa treatments.
Grand Hotel hosts many themed events such as murder mystery weekends and the annual Somewhere In Time Weekend while Mission Point Resort welcomes guests to extraordinary epicurean experiences built around the property’s ethic of farm-to-ferry dining.
As a historic destination that’s home to a military fort and a state park that was established as America’s second national park, Mackinac Island offers visitors many intriguing one-of-a-kind opportunities. Sunset cruises under the Mackinac Bridge, tours of the Michigan Governor’s Summer Residence and treks to natural landmarks such as Arch Rock and Sugar Loaf are just some of the immersive and enriching encounters to have on Mackinac Island.
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