Michigan Breweries: Ann Arbor/Saline, Lansing, Jackson

 February 2021, Weekdays after restaurants and bars reopened at 25% capacity

We tend to go out on less busy days, and finding open locations during the pandemic has proven to be a challenge. Even with the allowed opening, some places have opted for much shorter hours and/or fewer open days. We found several places that are only opening a few days a week, and many have not been opening until 3PM or later. I am sharing information about some of the places we looked into or visited shortly after inside seating reopened.

Salt Spring Brewery in Saline, MI

Ann Arbor/Saline

Most of the breweries in this area were not open in the afternoons and/or on weekdays. We had hoped to visit Mothfire Brewery Company, since it was only two miles from our hotel; however, their current temporary hours are Thursday - Saturday from 5PM to 8PM. Townies Brewery, and most of the locations downtown had similar hours. The only downtown brewery that we found with weekday afternoon hours was Grizzly Peak Brewing Company, and we did not end up making it downtown.

Salt Spring Brewery in Saline, MI

We visited two locations that were open on weekday afternoons: Salt Springs Brewery and Wolverine State Brewing. Although Salt Springs Brewery has a Saline address, it is only five miles from south Ann Arbor. This is a location we would visit again. It is in a beautiful old church with inside and outside seating. The beers were good, the service was good, and they have a fabulous Happy Hour starting at 3PM; specials on appetizers and beers. I wish we had been hungry when we visited, because the food smelled fabulous. Wolverine State Brewing also had inside and outside seating, along with food and beer. Plexiglass barriers were installed at the bar for bar seating. 

Neither location was very busy during our afternoon visits. I had been wondering if we would run into wait times with only 25% capacity, and we have not experienced this yet.

Grand River Brewing in Jackson, MI

Lansing, Michigan: Crowne Plaza Lansing West

February 2021, weekday, 1 night, king corner guestroom #436

We have stayed in this hotel a few times before this stay, and I have previously posted hotel info in this blog. You can find my most recent post with more photos here. This is a brief post with just a few bits of additional information, since this was our first stay during COVID-19.

Reservation, arrival, platinum perks

I booked the IHG member rate with breakfast. I made our reservation over the telephone with the hotel directly, because when I looked online, deluxe rooms were available; however, there were no corner rooms for any night that I chose (we had been considering and searching several different dates). The agent was able to make us a reservation for a corner guestroom when I called. There are only a couple of corner guestrooms in this hotel, and portions of the hotel were shutdown to conserve energy due to the decreased business caused by the pandemic.

I received an email for mobile check-in the day before our arrival; however, I received an error message when I tried to complete mobile check-in. Checking in at the front desk when we arrived was friendly and efficient, so this did not present a problem for us. During check-in, we received a couple of chocolate hearts and a small package of Brach's candy, as our stay was an early Valentine's Day getaway. Hand sanitizer was available throughout the hotel, and plexiglass barriers were installed at the front desk. The platinum bonus points posted to my account immediately after check-in.

Guestroom 436

This one of our favorite guestrooms in this hotel. I did not take any photos of the room this stay, as the guestroom was mostly the same as last time we had stayed in it. You can follow this link to see photos from our stay in 2016. 

The bedding has been updated since those photos were taken, and there was a new flat iPhone charger next to the bed. The guestroom layout was the same.

Delicious Bloody Mary at Bordeaux restaurant 
inside Crowne Plaza Lansing West!

Ann Arbor, Michigan: Staybridge Suites Research Park

 February 2021, weekday, 1 night, king bedroom suite #409

Reservations, arrival, platinum perks

I made a reservation online for a king bedroom suite with points. We arrived to check-in around 4PM. Our key packet had not been prepared, although the agent did ask our preference for guestroom location. She did not recognize my status or offer any platinum perks. 

Suite 409 at Staybridge Suites Research Park Ann Arbor

Guestroom 409

Suite 409 is on the top floor, near the end of the hall. It contained the usual Staybridge Suites amenities: full size fridge, stovetop, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker with supplies, dishwasher, bar counter with stools, desk and chair, sofa, and flatscreen TV. The coffeemaker looked kind of nasty, and I had to run the dishwasher when we arrived, as there were dishes in the dishwasher that did not appear to be clean.

Bedroom in suite 409 at Staybridge Suites Research Park Ann Arbor

Our living room TV did not work when we arrived. After a staff member came up to look at it, he left, and then returned again with a new box, or something, which he installed, and then got the TV working. 

Coffeemaker in suite 409 at Staybridge Suites Research Park Ann Arbor

There was a second TV in the bedroom, along with a full length mirror, soft chair, and footstool. I think this is the only hotel I have ever stayed in, which did not have a clock in the bedroom. The only telephone in the suite was on one of the nightstands in the bedroom. The bathroom contained a nice walk-in shower.

Guestroom diagram from back of door in suite 409
at Staybridge Suites Research Park Ann Arbor

Grand Rapids and West, Michigan: World of Winter and Outdoor Dining

 December 2020 - January 2021

I am sharing a few of our outside experiences during COVID-19 in Michigan. Restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries, etc. have all been closed in Michigan since mid-November. The current reopen date is February 1, 2021.

Rosa Parks Circle where ice games were set up
(photo taken before games were out)

Grand Rapids World of Winter

We visited Grand Rapids two times after Christmas; once in December, and once in late January. We were surprised to see the city so empty after Christmas. Downtown was mostly empty in January also, although the area was getting a tad busier on Saturday afternoon before we departed. 

Before our second visit, we had seen photos online of some of the ice games, such as fuse ball, and bag toss. We had hoped more of the ice sculptures might be out early (they are usually out around the start of February); however, they were not. In fact, we did not see a couple of things that were on the World of Winter calendar, even though the start date for them was before we were there: the Ice Piano (Canal Park), and Grand Illuminations (Gillette Bridge behind DeVos Hall). The Singing Tree was not lit or signing when we walked through Canal Park. The original start time for this display was 11AM, so possibly it shuts off overnight until 11AM, although it does not specify that on the calendar. We walked through Canal Park in the late morning before 11:00. Our favorite display was the interactive seesaws--much cooler than portrayed in the video above! Yes, we went on one. 😊

Blue Water Bridge in distance

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Amway Grand Plaza Hilton Curio Collection

January 2021, Friday, one night, King guestroom #929

Grand Rapids sunset from our son's house, since we missed it
downtown. This was our stay after the Amway!

Reservations, arrival, diamond perks

This was our first time staying at this property, and I had a difficult time choosing a room type when I made the reservation. I ended up just going with a king guestroom, as I was unsure what the actual differences were between the several different king guestroom descriptions. I received a welcome email from the front desk a few days before our stay listing COVID-19 guidelines and limited amenities. At that time, I learned the tower wing, which is where the fitness center and pool area are located, was closed for remodeling. We were somewhat disappointed, as I had not noticed that when making the reservation. I replied to the email, asking a few questions, and requesting late checkout. I received an immediate reply, which answered my questions, accommodated the late checkout request, and assured me we would be assigned a nice remodeled guestroom.

The morning of our stay, I received a text via the app telling me to check in. The guestroom being assigned to me was 929, which looked like a small corner room on the app, so I replied to the agent via chat before checking in. I inquired about the guestroom and an upgrade. The agent assured me that guestroom 929 is a nice remodeled corner room with a sofa. She said there were not any upgrades available. I used my phone for the room key, so we did not stop at the front desk when we arrived. Shortly after we arrived in the guestroom, I requested a bathrobe. An agent immediately delivered the robe, along with my diamond perks: breakfast coupons and bottled water.

Entrance door in main hall above.

Private hallway below.

King guestroom 929

This guestroom is in the Pantlind section of the hotel on the 9th floor in the northeast corner of the building. The hotel has 29 floors, although I think this section has only 12 to 15 floors (I do not recall exactly how many floors were above ours in the elevator). We had a view of the downtown buildings across the streets. We could not see Rosa Parks Circle from the guestroom; the lighted [Valentine's Day] heart dome on top of the building across from Rosa Parks Circle was barely visible from one of our windows.

Holland, Michigan: Staybridge Suites

December 2019, King bedroom suite #401, Weekdays, 2-nights

Sunrise from guestroom 401 at Holland Staybridge Suites

Reservations, arrival, platinum perks

I had reserved a one-bedroom king guestroom, as the price was good, and I did not want to hope for an upgrade from a studio suite. I think the only room type better than this for an upgrade, would be a two-bedroom suite, which we did not really need for the two of us. This was not offered, and we did not ask. The 500 platinum bonus points posted to my account shortly after check-in. The check-in process was efficient, and the associate was friendly.

View from suite 401 at Holland Staybridge Suites
Small creek along treeline

King one bedroom suite #401

This suite is located on the top floor in the corner, which is exactly my profile preference. The setup was comfortable and spacious. I was glad we had a top floor guestroom, as I had read reviews from other guests about the noise overhead. We did not hear any bothersome noise during our stay. The only noise we heard was an occasional door closing in the hallway, and the noise by the trash dumpster in the mornings. The first morning, we heard the dumpster being emptied, and the second morning, the person plowing the parking lots parked in that area. Neither of these noises bothered us much, and we fell right back asleep. I only mention this, in case you are a super light sleeper and want to stay away from this corner of the building. Although we were near US-31, we did not hear any traffic noise.

Suite 401 at Holland Staybridge Suites

The ice maker was not on in the fridge when we arrived, and the front desk agent gladly fulfilled my request for ice when we first arrived. Coffee, condiments, two dishwasher tablets, dish soap, paper towel, and dish cloths were provided. We not have housekeeping come to our room, and we were able to get a second day's supply of coffee from the front desk.

Bay City & Midland, Michigan: Holiday Inn, Tri-City Brewing, Midland Brewing

 December 2020, Weekend, 1-night

Michigan restaurants, breweries, wineries, and the like are all currently closed for inside service due to COVID-19. Many businesses have gotten creative with how they are offering service. We were getting a little stir-crazy at home, and decided to visit a few places that were offering outside service. I neglected to take photos the day we started, so this is more of a brief informational post.

Breweries

We loved the beers at Tri-City Brewing Brewing Company in Bay City. Giant Slayer and Cherry Torchon were two of our favorites. The service and pricing were also excellent. We were able to get our beverages at the bar (after waiting a safe distance with masks on behind patrons filling their growlers to-go), and then take them outside to their patio area. The outside area has seating, fire pits, and heated lamps. A couple of other souls were also braving the cold to support this local business while we were there. 

Midland Brewing Company has a spacious outside area with a very large gas fire pit. The service was also excellent, although my husband and I both preferred the beers at Tri-City Brewing. We were not cold at either location, and it was not crowded at either location. Both breweries are in the 2020 and 2021 Hop Passport. Midland Brewing would only let us use the passport discount on their staple beers, which no other brewery has ever told us before. 

Holiday Inn Midland, king whirlpool suite #525

This was another good choice this trip. We reserved a whirlpool guestroom, because we thought it would be safer than going to the public pool area, even if the capacity was limited. I brought disinfectant with us; however, I am not sure if we really needed it. Our guestroom looked clean, and it smelled fresh. The bedsheets were silky, and the pillows were comfy. 

Shower across from beverage area in
whirlpool suite 525 at Holiday Inn Midland