Birch Run, Michigan: Best Western Plus of Birch Run/Frankenmuth

January 2022, weekday, 1-night 

I do not typically stay in Best Western hotels, and after this stay, I am even more convinced to avoid them. Last year, I traveled to a remote city for work. My lodging choices were either Best Western in the area, or I would need to add about two hours drive time to each day, if I wanted to stay in a Hampton Inn or SpringHill Suites (I also checked all the local hotels, including Bed & Breakfasts, Airbnb, etc.). I decided to see if I could get a status match at Best Western, and then I chose that hotel. With the status match and promotions Best Western had last year, I ended up with $75 in lodging credits to use before the end of March 2022. We had a few days with no plans after Christmas, so I looked at all the Best Western hotels in Michigan, to try and see which one looked best. Unfortunately, this hotel turned out to be a poor choice.

Diamond perks and check-in

The front desk agent asked if I wanted a ground floor room, or the top floor. I told her top floor. I had written top floor in my reservation requests, and I assume she had not read that. She said there is no elevator, and we said that was okay. She said something about depositing my 500 points, although she did not actually recognize my status, and she did not offer bottled water. The front desk area smelled musty damp, and I hoped our guestroom would not smell like the check-in area. 

Whirlpool suite 5 in Best Western in Birch Run, Michigan 

King whirlpool suite 5 in Best Western Plus

This guestroom is across the outside drive from the lobby and check-in desk. The employee had said she was putting us in the "tower building," which did not sound like a bad thing. The guestroom was awful, and I would never stay in this hotel again. It was after dark when we arrived, and the room lighting was extremely dim, so everything was not evident when we first arrived. The photo above was taken with every working light in the room turned on. The bed sheets looked clean, the room did not have an odor like the lobby, and it had been snowing a lot, so we settled in to make the best of it.

The bed comfort was okay; however, every pillow on the bed belonged in the trash. I have never slept with such lumpy old pillows in any hotel room--ever. The cover on the bed was thin, and not warm enough for cold winter nights.

Bathroom in whirlpool suite 5 in Best Western in Birch Run, Michigan 

The bathroom was spacious. The toilet is located behind the door on the left. It took a long time for the shower water to get hot, and there were hairs in the shower stall (not observed until the next day). Soap, shampoo, and conditioner were provided.

Whirlpool suite 5 in Best Western in Birch Run, Michigan 

The fireplace did not work well. It made an extreme amount of noise, and it did not give off any heat. The ratty looking chairs in front of the fireplace were okay comfort wise. It was extremely dark where the chairs are located, as well as above the tub.

Desk chair in whirlpool suite 5 in Best Western in Birch Run, Michigan 

Cheboygan, Michigan: Best Western River Terrace

October 2021, weekend, one-night, king guestroom 229

Arrival and check-in 

Check-in was very efficient and quick. I was using gift cards for part of our stay cost, so the agent provided an email address for me to forward the cards to. When I checked out the next day, the card values had not yet been applied. Staff took care of it and emailed my receipt.

View from guestroom 229 in Best Western River Terrace in Cheboygan, Michigan

Guestroom 229

This guestroom is on the top floor near the center of the hotel. It has a private balcony overlooking the river. The room was nice, other than the building is somewhat old, and the room had a sightly damp odor. At least the window and balcony door both had a screen so we could let the fresh air in.

Guestroom 229 in Best Western River Terrace in Cheboygan, Michigan

The bedding, pillows, and mattress were all merely okay. Nothing special, and nothing to really complain about either. I thought the mattress was too hard, although my husband did not think that was a problem.

Refreshment center in guestroom 229 in
Best Western River Terrace in Cheboygan, Michigan

Sandpoint, Idaho: Best Western Edgewater Resort

 September 2021, Weekdays, 2-nights, King guestroom 242

Sunset looking east from guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

Arrival, check-in, diamond perks

I was momentarily confused when I first arrived, because my GPS placed this hotel on the south side of Bridge Street instead of the north side. The Best Western sign was easily visible on the north side, so I pulled into the correct parking lot. I did not see a sign for check-in or the lobby, so my entrance into the hotel was a guess--fortunately, I chose the right door! 😀

I thought the front desk agent was kind of aloof. She did not even offer a greeting or welcome; she mechanically provided my keys and breakfast information after I said I had a reservation and gave her my name. She did not recognize my status nor mention the diamond welcome gift. I got the impression I was taking her away from her phone time. When I walked by later, she was seated back in the corner behind the counter with her phone. She did not look up to acknowledge me then, even though I walked back and forth, as I tried to decide which way to return to my hotel room from the restaurant. I was not sure if the hallway beyond the front desk would take me to my room, or if I had to go out and use an exterior entrance like I had when I arrived. I decided to try the hallway behind the desk, and was able to get to my room that way, as well. 

Guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

King guestroom 242

This guestroom is in the north wing on the middle floor, and is accessible from the parking lot at ground level. I had requested a top floor room, and my first evening, I mistakenly assumed I was on the top guestroom floor, and that the next floor up was a rental/banquet type room. The next evening, when the hotel was quite full, I realized my mistaken assumption! This guestroom is not very soundproof and I heard many voices and noises the second night of my stay.

Coffee and water amenities in guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

When I first entered my room, it was like an icebox. The AC was cranked (the setting was on 64F°), and it smelled musty damp. I turned the AC off, and opened the balcony door. I wish there had been a screen in the door, because I would have preferred to have the door open for the fresh air.

Torn/damaged curtains in guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

The guestroom contained a king size bed, nightstands, work desk and chair, soft chair and footstool, microwave, small fridge, flatscreen TV, armoire, suitcase bench, and coffeemaker with supplies. There were two chairs on the balcony.

Another view from guestroom 242 at Best Western Edgewater Resort

Positives for this guestroom: 

• The view from the balcony was fabulous.
• The room size was good.
• The bedsheets looked clean.
• Provided amenities included two bottles of water, which were replenished during stayover.
• The internet connection was good.

Mackinaw City, Michigan / Lodging and Chamber of Tourism

May 2014

As much as we love the quaint city of Mackinaw, one thing I think that it lacks is a decent hotel. The last time we visited, we stayed in the Holiday Inn Express. We thought the Holiday Inn Express was overpriced and unclean, so I searched for different lodging for this trip. We have also stayed in the Hamilton Inn Select and the Ramada Inn when it was in a different location many years ago.

Some of the locations I researched before this trip were: Best Western Plus Dockside Waterfront Inn, Comfort Inn, Hamilton Inn Select, Ramada Inn, Bridge Vista Beach, Cabins of Mackinaw, Brigadoon Bed & Breakfast of Mackinaw City and Deer Head Inn. Over several days time, I read many reviews, researched properties on Facebook and google, had online conversations with some locations, and I made several telephone calls.

During my research, one thing became clear. Many, many guests who had made a reservation through the Mackinaw City Chamber of Tourism were unhappy. Part of the reason I am writing this post is to make future travelers aware of the potential for disaster when booking through the chamber of tourism. I consider the complaints that I read valid, because they are not specific to one hotel, and all of the complaints are the same in nature: staff members were rude, including the manager who was often not available; they did not have a reservation when they arrived, some guests had even called to confirm a few days prior and had produced a printed confirmation; they were sent to another [unacceptable or lower quality] hotel for the same cost; they were told that there was a water problem in the guestroom, this same story given at different properties; and/or they were given a different room type than they had booked.

Initially, I thought that the Chamber of Tourism site must not be the official booking site for hotels in Mackinaw City, because I did not expect an official site for a city to allow there to be so many unhappy travelers. That is not what I concluded at the end of my research, however. This is what I think is happening, and bear in mind that this is merely my conclusion.

I think that Mackinaw City wants to fill all of their hotels, no matter how this is accomplished. Therefore, the Chamber of Tourism site will accept a reservation at any hotel that the guest chooses for any room type, whether there is a room available or not. When a hotel becomes full, the hotels are not honoring reservations for guests who booked through the chamber site. They are giving some type of story about why the reservation is not being honored, such as, there is a water problem with the room, or the guest is told that they do not have their reservation. The guest is then either assigned a lower quality room than what he or she had booked for the same rate, or the guest is sent to a lower quality hotel for the same cost. [I plan to check this theory of overbooking rooms when it is peak season this summer by attempting to book a room on the chamber site at a hotel that is full.]

Some of these properties do not have their own website, so guests cannot reserve a room through them except for over the telephone. When I entered the web address for Cabins of Mackinaw and for Bridge Vista Beach, for example, I was not taken to a web page for either company; the browser goes to the chamber booking site, and neither property has their own website. This is very misleading, and I can understand why there are so many unhappy guests. A few of the properties, such as Ramada Inn and Comfort Inn, have their own website with the same rates as the chamber. I suggest booking a room through the hotel website, or directly with the property over the telephone to ensure having a guestroom when arriving.

We initially chose the Best Western, and made our reservation through the chamber site because the rate was $10 less before taxes. When I called Best Western (the Mackinaw City hotel and the corporate number), I was told that they could not match the chamber rate (even though BW has a low-rate guarantee, and I also filled out the claim form). It did not sound like booking through the chamber would be a problem, and I was told that my rewards number could be added to the reservation when we arrived. I still had an uneasy feeling, and I decided to call back about a week later and cancel that reservation, as I had read even more complaints about reservations made through the chamber of tourism site. The employee on the telephone at the Best Western provided excellent service and a cancellation number, so I thought everything was fine. We ended up staying at The Deer Head Inn, and at about 10:30 p.m. that night, I received a voice mail from the Best Western about my reservation. I returned the call the next morning, and the employee had no record of our cancelation! I did not have the cancelation number with me, and fortunately, the employee was professional about the situation, and did not try to charge us.

Before choosing Deer Head Inn, we had also considered Brigadoon Bed & Breakfast of Mackinaw City. We decided not to make an advance reservation at either place because of the cancelation policies, since the lake was still frozen in April. Brigadoon has a stiffer cancelation policy; $30 cancelation fee at any time, and there is no refund less than 10 days prior to the stay. Most of the reviews I read for Brigadoon Bed & Breakfast were great except for a couple of minor things. Some people said that the bed was not very comfortable, and that the pillows were hard. When I called there, I found out that they have one guestroom without a fireplace, even though all 8 rooms on the website have a fireplace listed. I assume that they have a 9th room without photos that is not described online. We went with the Deer Head Inn because the rate was less, and the reviews I read said that the beds were comfortable.

All four of the Mackinaw City locations we have stayed in have been similar. I am surprised that there is such a contrast in lodging pride and cleanliness between Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island. We have only stayed in one location on the island (that review will be published soon, too), although all of the properties on the island look like they are excellently cared for.