Traverse City, Michigan: Hotel Indigo

January 2020, weekend, 1-night, king guestroom warehouse district #407

We stayed in this hotel shortly after it first opened in June 2016, and this is the first time we have been back since then.

View from Hotel Indigo guestroom 407

Platinum perks and check-in

I did not receive a room upgrade or status recognition, other than the front desk associate asking if I wanted points or drink coupons for my on-property benefit. I chose points, and they posted to my account that evening. The valet parking charge has increased to $15 since our last stay. Information I found online for Traverse City parking said that there is no overnight parking in town, so we valet parked our car. The next morning, we noticed cars that had been parked in a lot overnight kiddy corner from the hotel (across the street on the right in the photo above). We checked out that parking lot before we left town, and there were no signs that said no overnight parking, nor were there any fees posted to park there. If we had seen this when we first arrived, we would have parked in that lot. If anyone has done this, please share your experience!

Another view from guestroom 407

Guestroom 407

This hotel has five floors; our guestroom was on the second floor from the top. It is near the end of the hall and overlooks the hotel entrance. This guestroom is considerably smaller than guestroom 432, which we had in June 2016. If you follow the link above to that post, you can see photos of that guestroom and the guestroom diagram.

Shower in guestroom 407

Orange Beach, Alabama / Grand Pointe Condominium #605 through Liquid Life

November 2018, 7-nights, Unit 605

View of gulf and pass from unit 605

This unit has the same 3-bedroom floor plan as unit 601 where we stayed in 2017, and it is located on the same floor with a view of Perdido Pass. I had contacted the manager for the unit we stayed in the prior year, and did not hear back from him before we decided to try a different unit. The cost for unit 601 in 2018 was higher than it had been in 2017, and the cost for this unit was similar.

One of the amazing sunsets from the beach at Grand Pointe

Reservation process with Liquid Life

I liked that we were able to do everything online for this rental, including the deposit payment and making the final payment. Additionally, we did not need to send in a security deposit. The contract we signed said that if there was any damage, our credit card would be charged, and evidence/photos provided. The only uncertainty with this process, is that we did not know when they had completed checking the unit after our stay. We did not damage anything; however, there were a few minor damages and some wear when we arrived (wall gouges/damage, carpet stains, cracked fridge shelves, etc.). Since we have not had much experience with property rentals, I am still unsure what to expect. When we rented unit 601 through Alabama Getaway in 2017, we had to mail in a security deposit check, which was returned after our stay. We also had to mail in the payment, and we preferred paying online by credit card.

Mobile, Alabama / Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza

November, 1-night, weekend, king guestroom 1106

View from guestroom 1106 after check-in

Gold perks and check-in

We booked the pre-cruise package at this hotel, which includes parking while on the cruise. I had checked several area hotels, and decided this one provided the best value at $149. When I checked in on the app the morning of our arrival, I noticed our room was listed as a riverview guestroom, as if we had already received an upgrade. The app also said that the reservation was for only 1 guest, and my reservation was for 2 guests, so I was not sure how accurate the room type would be. Seems there is still some difficulty with information displaying correctly on the app since the Marriott/Starwood merger.

View from guestroom 1106 in the morning;
Carnival Fantasy in the distance returning to port.

I had received a notification via the app saying that our room was ready, so we went to the front desk when we arrived around 1:00 PM. Our room was not ready, and it took a bit of shuffling by the front desk agent to find us an available guestroom. She said she was giving us a riverview guestroom because we had booked the cruise package. I am not sure if all cruise guests get a riverview room (it did not say that when making the reservation), or if that was actually a Gold member upgrade. She provided a parking key card to exit the garage when we returned, and she said she would sign us up on the first shuttle to the cruise port (after I requested this).

Guestroom diagram from back of door

King guestroom 1106

Guestroom 1106 is a basic room on the 11th floor overlooking the river. The 11th floor is only about half way to the top of the building; however, I cannot really complain about not having a higher floor, since we arrived before check-in time, and the hotel was quite full. In fact, I had looked online to see if I could add a second night--the night before--to our stay, and there were no rooms available. The king corner rooms at this hotel look amazing!

Guestroom 1106

Orange Beach, Alabama / Grand Pointe Condos through Alabama Getaway

November - December 2017, 1 week

One of the amazing sunsets from the beach at Grand Pointe

Choosing a property

After viewing many properties, we had our desired property narrowed down to a few: Grand Pointe, Caribe Resort, Phoenix VII, and Turquoise Place. We liked Caribe and Turquoise for the resort atmosphere and luxuries; however, the cost was much too high for only two people. We actually had a difficult time finding a condo with a good rate for only two people, as most of the units in this area have more than one bedroom. The prices are great, if you are looking for something with more room. Some of our criteria: A balcony with a view of the water, and access to the balcony from the bedroom and living area. We also wanted a heated whirlpool tub onsite, preferably outside and open all year.

We did not like the layout of the one bedroom condos we found because the bedroom was located by the entrance instead of the water and balcony. We then started to look at two and three bedroom condos. Something else we had to take into consideration, is that the add-on fees, taxes, and such, were higher than what we had paid when we stayed in Panama City Beach, Florida a couple of years earlier. After much time searching, we were very happy with the end result.

One of the murals on the inside wall at Grand Pointe

Grand Pointe Condominium amenities

We absolutely loved this property! It is peaceful, well maintained, and we liked the location.

Traverse City, Michigan / Hotel Indigo

June 2016, Weekend, 1-night, King bay view guestroom #432

Sunrise from guestroom 432

I had to put forth quite a bit of effort to secure a room at the new Hotel Indigo, as the opening date had been delayed several times. I had previous reservations, which I ended up having to cancel and then re-book each time the hotel did not open. I was unsure the hotel was going to be open for this stay up until about a week before our stay.

Arrival, check-in, status perks

The address for this hotel is on W. Grandview Parkway; however, the [drive] entrance is on Hall Street. You can enter from the sidewalk on W. Grandview Parkway, if you are walking. If you are arriving by car via US-31 from the south, I suggest taking Front Street to Hall Street before you get to W. Grandview Parkway. I observed a few parking spots near the hotel entrance, when we arrived. I assume the spots are for staff members or guests visiting the restaurant, although there were no signs in the parking lot. We were told the only parking option was valet parking for $12 a night. 

I observed two agents working at the front desk when we entered the spacious lobby. One agent was assisting a guest, and the other agent was on the telephone. The check-in process was quick, after I was greeted a couple of minutes later. The agent recognized my status, and my key packet had already been prepared. She did not ask what I wanted for my Platinum perk, and I forgot about this until later. I inquired about this when I stopped at the front desk later that evening. The agent working at that time asked which perk I wanted, and I told him I wanted the points. I did not receive the points when my stay was credited to my IHG account, so I am planning to submit an inquiry, if I do not receive it in the next few days. This is not usually processed with the overnight stay; however, I usually receive the points around the same time or before I check out. This hotel did not appear to be full, and I did not receive a room upgrade.

Guestroom descriptions from website

Guestroom 432

This guestroom is located on the top floor near the east end of the hall. It felt like we had walked into an icebox when we entered the guestroom, so I quickly located the thermostat to turn off the air. The temperature had been set on 66°F!

The information on the hotel website for this room type is inaccurate (see screen shots above), as our guestroom did not have a sofa, fireplace, or dining room table. Looking at the guestroom diagram, it looks like there are three types of bay view guestrooms on the 4th floor; two king bay view rooms, one smaller room (possibly a queen), and seven bay view connecting room suites. Any picture in this blog can be enlarged by clicking on it.

Guestroom diagram

The tile bathroom in guestroom 432 was spacious. It contained a decent size vanity, toilet, and large walk-in shower. The lighting in the bathroom was not very bright; hopefully, a small lighted makeup mirror will be added to this guestroom. 

Aveda bath amenities were provided on the vanity, along with several plush towels and washcloths. A hairdryer was not provided in this guestroom. It is possible some items were still being added to the guestrooms, as the hotel had just opened the weekend before our stay.

We loved the large shower, although the water pressure from the water-saving shower head was so light that it took me a while to get the shampoo rinsed out of my long hair. The sliding wood bathroom door was trendy and cool looking. The wood door is partially visible [in the mirror] in the photo of the coffee setup.

Northern Lower Michigan / Wilderness State Park in Carp Lake, Michigan

May 2016, Weekend-Weekdays, 3-nights, Lakeshore site 88

View NE from site 88

This was our first visit to Wilderness State Park. It looked like there were several great campsites in the Lakeshore section, and we had a difficult time choosing one. I initially looked at the east Lakeshore section, as there are more 30' sites in that area. We then decided upon site 88 in the west section, and made a reservation online a few months in advance. You can find more photos and information about campsites and this park in the Wilderness Park Facebook album.

Arrival and check-in

Getting to Wilderness State Park was about a 10-mile drive along the straits from Mackinaw City. The road from Mackinaw City/I-75 was in pretty good condition, although Cecil Bay Road and M-31 south when we departed were in deplorable condition! 

The office was not staffed when we arrived, and we used the yellow phone to check-in. A sign posted on the building said something about the water not being on, and that water could be obtained from headquarters. We had a full tank of fresh water, so I did not pay much attention to the information during check-in. The sign had been removed when we walked by a couple of days later.

View NW from site 88

Site 88

All of the waterfront sites in the Lakeshore sections have a great view of the straits. Site 88 is sandy with a bit of grass. It is slightly unlevel, although not unmanageable. There was one tree located near the road, which did not present a problem, as the site is wide enough to park sideways. The tree is visible in photos on the Michigan DNR reservation web page.

Panama City Beach, Florida / Long Beach Resort and area info

November - December 2015, 1-week, Unit 1-902, VRBO #394399

More photos and detail about this resort, the condo unit, and the area can be found in the Panama City Beach Facebook album.

sunrise from the bedroom

Pre-trip research

I started investigating condos and resorts in Panama City Beach February 2015 for our fall trip. This was quite a bit in advance of our trip; however, since we had never done this kind of vacation before, there were a lot of things to consider. Which property? Room type? Which manager or owner to go with? 

By March we had made our decision of where we wanted to stay. We chose Long Beach Resort for several reasons: we liked the floor plan with the large private balcony, we liked the pools and hot tubs, and all the units we considered said non-smoking, and no pets allowed (more detail about this later). We studied several condo photos and reviews, and eventually decided we wanted to rent with Bill Pedersen. He had two units we were interested in: #457462 and #394399. We initially chose 457462; however, repeat guests had priority for that unit, and Bill told us he would let us rent 394399 for the same price (at the time of our research, the weekly rate for 457462 was $100 less than the current price). We accepted the offer, and he marked the unit as rented for the week of our stay.

screen shot of the unit we chose during our research

After this, the reservation process did not continue as I expected.  Bill said he had the unit reserved for us, and he would get the paperwork out to us when summer activity slowed down. It was about the end of April at that time. I had not heard from him by the end of August, so I contacted him again then, and then again in September. Apparently, we had slipped through the cracks (just the paperwork; the condo was still reserved for us), and we completed the paperwork in September. 

This was our first experience with VRBO and with renting a condo. My main disappointment with the reservation process was that we had to send a check for the payment and deposit. We were receiving a discounted rate because the rates had increased since our initial contact, and Bill said that VRBO charges a 2.5% credit card fee. Our credit cards have included vacation/travel coverage, so we do not need to buy travel insurance for our trips. This time, we took a chance with no coverage.

photo taken 11/2015

Long Beach Resort Unit 1-902

This is a one bedroom unit in tower one (the SW end of the property) on the 9th floor. We loved the floor plan. We also liked being on the 9th floor, as we thought this was a good height for beach and water viewing - we saw dolphins swim by a couple of days! Overall, we were happy with this resort and the specific condo, although we experienced a few minor imperfections. Keep in mind, that I am probably pickier than most people!

St. Ignace, Michigan / Straits State Park Campground

May 2015, Weekend, 2-nights, Lot #3

We initially thought we wanted to reserve a campsite directly on the water at Straits State Park; however, the waterfront sites do not have electricity, and generators are not allowed. We figured the weather would be cool at the time of our stay in the beginning of May, so we chose a lot with electricity, which does not have a camping lot across the street from it.

More photos for this campground and area can be found in the Straits State Park Facebook album.

photo taken from the beach access area across from lot 3

Arrival and check-in

There was not anyone working in the entrance booth when we arrived Friday afternoon. We found our name on the posted list of arriving campers before proceeding to our lot. The road splits after passing the booth, and the posted signs did not contain lot numbers or the campground section names. We should have looked at the campground map more closely before we arrived, because we turned the wrong way! The road that veers left goes to the lower campground, and the road that goes straight ahead/to the right goes to the upper campground.

Garden, Michigan / Fayette Historic State Park and Campground

May 2015, Weekday, 3-nights, Lot #32

water near campsite 32

Arrival and check-in

The entrance into Fayette Historic Park from the main road is paved and it is over a half mile long. Unfortunately, we did not see any wildlife along the way. There was not anyone in the office when we arrived, and I did not see a posting with our name or lot information. We had reserved and paid for lot 32 online, so we continued to our lot and settled in. 

There were two other campers in the park when we arrived, and a few more arrived during our stay. Every time guests arrived at a campsite, a campground employee stopped to see them a few minutes later. I assume, to give them their campsite documents and such. We expected someone to stop and talk with us; however, no one did until the night before we departed. At that time, someone drove by after checking with another camper who had just arrived. He asked if we had checked in, and we said that we had made our reservation online. He asked if we wanted him to bring us our check-in papers. We said that we had our online receipt, and that it did not matter since we were leaving in the morning. He must not have been concerned about this either, because when he returned with paperwork for the other campers, he did not bring us anything.

When we had walked by the Old School Site that morning, it looked like there was a sign in the window at the contact station that said something about checking in at 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. It seems like we were probably supposed to have completed our check-in at the office our first morning, and we did not realize it. Since we had not seen a sign about reserved lots, and there was not a cone on our lot when we arrived, we were glad that our lot had been open when we got there!

Camping on Gun Lake in Middleville, Michigan / Yankee Springs Recreation Area and Campground

April 2015, Weekend-weekday, 3-nights, Site 60 and 42

I have included a few photos in this blog post, and there are many more in the Yankee Springs Recreation Area album on my Facebook page.

We had initially planned to camp in Petoskey State Park the weekend of this stay; however, the temperature in Michigan dropped to below 40° (during the day) in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan this week. After researching several lower Michigan inland parks and towns, we decided on Yankee Springs Recreation Area instead. When we made our decision, four nights before our stay, site 60 was the only waterfront campsite left, so we booked that. We considered waiting before booking site 60, and we should have. Before our stay, and after we had made our reservation, two more waterfront lots became available from cancellations; site 50 and 78. Site 50 looked like a better site with more of a lake view instead of channel view, and it has a tar pad. There is a $10 reservation change fee online, so we decided to wait until we arrived at the park to ask about changing lots.

Arrival/check-in

We arrived around 12:30 p.m., and site 50 had already been filled by someone that morning, so we stayed on our original site for the weekend. The first entrance booth to the boat launch and campground was not staffed at the time of our stay; the campground check-in station was staffed, and staff members were also working in the campground during the days. It only took us a few moments to check-in.

view from campsite 60 toward Gun Lake

Campsite #60

This is a spacious site with full sun. We wanted the sunshine, since it was only 40° to 50° during the day, and the temperature dropped to around freezing overnight. Gun Lake was slightly visible from the fire pit looking behind our RV.

view from the back of lot 60

Even though all of the channel lots except 78 had been booked for the weekend, it was quiet because several people did not show up. Campsite 58, right next to us, and site 54, were both empty all weekend. Campers in a tent stayed on site 56 Friday night, and then they left on Saturday. This left all three lots between 60 and the lake open. Someone had taken lot 78, which is farther inland, after we arrived.

Pensacola Beach, Florida / Hilton Pensacola Beach

November 2011, Weekend, 2-nights, Guestroom #942 - Gulf View Queen Suite 

Status perks and check-in

I had a room reserved for 2 nights--one night with points, and one with the AAA rate. The points night room was a gulf view, handicap accessible guestroom with 2 queen beds, because that was the only points room type available when I made the reservation. For the second night, I had reserved the least expensive non-view king room. I contacted the hotel by email prior to our arrival, to let them know that we had two reservations so they could be combined. I received a reply the same day, telling me that our reservations had been combined into a king gulf view room, and that we would not need to switch rooms during the stay. We were upgraded to a suite at check-in. The front desk agent also provided two bottles of Fiji water; however, I had to request the continental breakfast coupons that are listed on my profile.

Guestroom 942

view from balcony

The agent did not confirm what room type we were receiving at check-in, so when we arrived at our room on the 7th floor with 2 queen beds and a doorbell, I initially thought we had been assigned a queen-bed handicap room, and that our reservations had not been combined correctly. 

When I went back to the front desk to ask about this, the agent who assisted me then, explained that we had been upgraded to a suite. He said that all of the suites have 2 queen beds except the suites with separate bedrooms, which have a king bed. He said there was a king room available in the side of the hotel behind the front desk; however, he said those rooms are not as new, and that they are standard hotel rooms rather than suites. I asked if there was a higher floor suite available, and he said that the top 5 floors of the hotel are 1 and 2-bedroom suites. He did not offer an upgrade to one of those rooms, and I did not ask since the standard suite was already an upgrade. He offered to show me a standard king room in the other side of the hotel, and I said that we would keep the queen suite. He re-checked the computer, and then reassigned us a guestroom two floors higher--suite 942.

All of the suite rooms have doorbells, so the bell was not a handicap room bell like I had thought when we arrived at our first assigned room. Room 942 is located closer to the gulf than the first room we had been assigned on the 7th floor, so we did end up with a better view. 

I observed two queen beds and a desk with chair when we entered the guestroom. The bathroom--which contained a tub and separate shower--was next, and the kitchen/living area was beyond that. There was a sink, microwave, small fridge, and table with two chairs in the kitchen area. The living area included a couch, flat screen TV, end tables, coffee table, and two soft chairs. We liked the table and four chairs on the balcony. We had a fabulous view of the ocean, pool area, boardwalk, and air show from our balcony.

view of shallow pool from our guestroom

The bed and balcony seating were both comfortable, although there were a few issues with the guestroom: both sinks were stopped up--the one in the bathroom and the one in the kitchen, and the carpet was worn with a several loose frays. The sink water eventually drained; just not like it should have. We always prefer a walk-in shower, although the one in this room was not very big. 

There was an ethernet cable at the desk in the sleeping area; however, wireless Internet was not available in the guestroom. Wireless Internet was available for no charge in the hotel public areas, including the pool decks.

There were no bathrobes in the guestroom, so I called to inquire about this. I was told that housekeeping would bring one right up, and someone did. It was cool outside, so I wore the robe over my swimsuit to the hot tub later, and a guest asked where I had gotten it because there were not any robes in her guestroom either. 

I think we missed out on some of the housekeeping benefits because of our room switch and/or the fact that I originally had two reservations. When it looked like housekeeping had bypassed our room the next morning, I stopped at the front desk before we went to lunch to make sure that there was not a problem because of our room change, and I was told no. I called the guest service line when we returned to our guestroom around 3:00 p.m. to ask again, because no one had been to our room. We were in need of clean towels and glasses by this time. The employee who answered the call, said he would send someone right up. Our room was cleaned over an hour later, and we interrupted the process when we returned to the guestroom again just after 5:00 p.m. At this time, I observed another housekeeper thoroughly cleaning a guestroom in our hall, which I had seen someone cleaning that morning. It appeared that guestroom had been refreshed twice, and we barely received service one time. At check-in, our guestroom was missing an ice bag and a recycle bag. On stayover, we received only 2 bath towels; we received 3 floor mats instead. We did not receive any coffee stir sticks for the second morning.

Pool & beach

The water temperature was kind of cool in both outside pools, and we observed only one person swimming during our stay. The inside pool was small, and there was no hot tub inside. There were several people in the outside hot tub the day we arrived, and a few people used it on and off after that. The water temperature in the hot tub was pretty good (it could have been just a little warmer); however, there was a considerable amount of sand in the tub--small mounds on the floor and on the seats. Even though this is a resort on the beach, I thought most of the sand could have been removed. It appeared that the pool area was somewhat neglected because it was off season. I was shocked when I observed an employee from the pool bar walk through the pool area past a couple pieces of newspaper that were blowing around and not pick them up. I had been thinking about walking over to pick them up myself so that they wouldn't blow into one of the pools or onto the beach. There were several used pool towels piled on lounge chairs for more than 24 hours. Guests needed to request pool towels from the front desk, and there was not a bin in the pool area to place used towels. The pool area was not dirty; just messy. There were items that needed to be picked up or straightened. The hotel looked quite full the day we arrived with lots of activity at Latitudes Beach Bar (the pool bar, which was open every afternoon during our stay), and in the public areas. It was quiet the next afternoon and our second night. 

There was a walkway out to the beach, and a beach sand volleyball net was set up between this resort and the Hampton Inn next door. There was a walkway between the two hotels, and between the Hilton and the Holiday Inn Resort on the other side as well. All three hotels are owned by Innisfree Hotels, although it did not look like guests could stay in one hotel and use another's facility. There were signs at the gates that said that the lounges and restaurants are open to the public, and that the pool area and chairs are reserved for hotel guests. 

Food & Beverages

We thought the food and beverages in this hotel were excellent! There is a local beverage called the Bushwacker, which contains rum and Kailua, and I'm not sure what else. An online search for Pensacola Bushwacker yields many recipes. I did not know this until I asked the bartender at the Bonsai Lounge (Hilton lobby bar) what the drinks were that I observed many people drinking. I then ordered one, which was excellent! I had two more at area bars before the end of our stay, and the one I had at the Hilton was by far the best. One of the others that I had was at the Sandshaker, which claims to be the home of the original Bushwacker. This is copied from the Sandshaker webpage: --today as it was back in 1975, there is no “pre-mixing”… all Bushwacker batches at the Shaker are made by hand. I was excited to try one there, and extremely disappointed afterward. It tasted awful, and was not freshly prepared. My drink glass was filled with an already prepared frozen blend, and the rum was added to it. It did not taste like it had any Kahlua in it. It tasted like frozen rum water. The cost of the drink at the Hilton was less than $2 more, it was almost twice the size, and more than twice as good.

We were able to upgrade our continental breakfast coupons to a full breakfast for $3 each, so we did that the first day. After I saw the many great food items on the cold food bar, I did not upgrade the second morning, although my husband did both days. We thought the breakfast bar was impressive. The continental bar included many pastries, muffins, breads, and bagels, mixed nuts, fruits, yogurt, cold meats and cheeses, and salmon with all the fixins. 

Overall & misc.

This resort is in a great location. We walked to the boardwalk across the street where there is entertainment, dining, and shopping. There are also a couple of restaurants and bars on the beach located on the other side of the Hampton Inn, and Peg Leg Pete's (where we dined one afternoon) is a 2-mile walk one-way. This is an easy trip on foot, if you enjoy walking. We walked the sidewalk on the way there, and the beach on the way back. 

I observed employees tending to the outside landscaping and washing windows everyday. This resort was well maintained and clean for the most part. Other than the pool and housekeeping issues I already mentioned, the only other area I observed that needed attention was room service pickup. There were a couple of used glasses on the table by the elevator on our floor in the afternoon the day we arrived. By the time we departed two days later, this had grown to quite an assortment of 10 or more used beverage glasses.

The beach is beautiful, and I read about many events in the area prior to our stay. We liked the rates in November; however, I think we would enjoy the weather more before it is this late in the year. I received a nice tote bag for "liking" this hotel on Facebook, and then posting a comment about the hotel during our stay.

February 2016

I am glad I keep this blog, as it helps me when I revisit an area, too. We are considering a visit to Pensacola again, so I am revisiting the area and hotels.