Alpena, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express and more

December 2024, week night, one night

View from king suite 407 in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan
Sitting area in king suite 407 below

Holiday Inn Express, king suite 407

I reserved a basic king guestroom in this hotel.  As a platinum member, we received an upgrade to a suite. Although we did not have a river view, the extra sitting area in the room was great. I also received the opportunity to pick a gift from the Christmas tree in the lobby, and received an extra 250 points. Some of the gifts were worth 5,000 points, so I guess I was not so lucky on that draw. 😁

King suite 407 in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan

This Holiday Inn Express still had Keurig coffee machines in the guestroom. They did not have a fresh brew machine in the lobby, like the location in East Lansing. The guestroom was spacious, comfortable, and very clean. The bathroom shower had glass doors, and a safe was provided in the entry closet.

Breakfast in Holiday Inn Express Alpena, Michigan

Northern Michigan Color and Brew Tour: West Branch, Harrisville, Alpena, Mackinaw City, Cheboygan, Afton

 October 2021, three days, weekday - weekend

View of Pigeon River
Bridge in the distance goes to Andreae Cabin and Nature Preserve parking lot

We decided to combine our HopPassports with a northern Michigan color and hiking tour. Although we visited a bit past peak colors, this was still a great trip! I am sharing info about some of the places we visited. See my two posts before this one for lodging information.

Hiking, trails, parks, rivers, colors...

We recently learned about Nature Megaphone in Boyd B. Banwell Nature Preserve in Afton, Michigan. This is a structure designed to magnify the sounds of nature. Unfortunately, it was raining lightly when we visited, and there was not much activity in the forest. It was still very cool! The rain in the video above sounds louder than it actually was. There is a bird chirping about 14 seconds in that is also magnified. We did not see any birds during our entire hike, and I am not sure how far away this bird was. I suggest playing the video on full screen with the volume up.

Nature Megaphone

The structure is about 5½' tall at the widest point. I am 5'2" tall, and I could easily stand up inside. The hike from Agnes S. Andreae Nature Preserve parking lot at the end of Riverwoods Trail was under 2 miles round-trip, and it was pretty easy. The only hill was on the way back up to the parking lot after crossing the river, and there are a couple of small hills, if you take the longer path along the river.

View from inside Nature Megaphone above
Trail map in parking lot below

The hike from Boyd B. Banwell Family Nature Preserve parking lot on M-68 is a longer hike. We would have hiked from this area, if the weather had been better, because the roads back to Agnes S. Andreae Nature Preserve are dirt.

Downtown Cheboygan above
Thunder Bay River looking toward Rotary Island Mill Park in Alpena below

In Alpena and Cheboygan, there are riverwalk trails along Thunder Bay River and Cheboygan River, parks, locks in Cheboygan, preserves, and more. In Alpena, you can get to Lake Huron walking most of the way along the river, and in Cheboygan the route has more sidewalk/town walking. 

Tawas Bay

The bay was beautiful the day we drove by Tawas Bay! There are great trails in Tawas Bay that we biked when we camped at the state park here a few years ago.

Entrance door into Alocona Brew Haus below

Breweries and dining

Our favorite brewery this trip was Alcona Brew Haus in Harrisville, MI. I was impressed with the building preservation from the moment we entered. We got a building tour from the owner, and I took way more photos than I am able to post here. I am sharing a couple more below.

Alpena, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Downtown

October 2021, weekend, one-night, queen river view guestroom 320

Alpena Holiday Inn Express from across the river

Arrival and platinum perks

I redeemed points for a river view room with two queen beds, because king river view rooms were not available with points. This hotel was very full, and apparently sold out the night of our stay. I had requested a top floor room in a quiet area, and the agent did not acknowledge my request nor recognize my status. She merely said the hotel was full, after I asked if she had been able to give us a room in a quiet area. Bonus points must be automatic, because I received an email right after check-in from IHG for my 500 bonus points.

Sunrise from guestroom 320 in Alpena Holiday Inn Express

Guestroom 320

This room is a nice size, and it was comfortable. The parking lot is between the hotel and river at this end of the hotel. The windows are soundproof, although there is a gap under the entrance door from the hallway. There was a lot of ruckus the night of our stay from kids running up and down the halls. Fortunately, the guests above us were relatively quiet. 

Guestroom 320 in Alpena, Michigan Holiday Inn Express

The bedsheets were silky soft, and the pillows were good quality. The bed seemed smaller than our queen size bed at home. I was actually surprised that hotel staff did not switch our room out for a single king bed, since there were so many families the night of our stay. I did not ask about this at check-in, although I had written in my reservation comments that we only needed one bed.

There is a work desk with chair in this room, and a single soft chair. A suitcase bench is located at the foot of the bed next to the armoire and TV.

Guestroom 320 in Alpena, Michigan Holiday Inn Express