Ludington, Michigan / Summer's Inn

July 2013, Weekday, 1-night, Queen deluxe room #14

Check-in

I could not find check-in times on the website, and I did not receive the confirmation email after I had made our reservation on the telephone, so I sent an email to the hotel before our stay to ask about this. The reply provided our confirmation details; however, there was no reference to check-in time or my other question (I had also asked if there is a hairdryer in the guestroom).

We arrived between 2:30 and 3:00, and our room was ready. Suzette cheerily checked us in, as she provided information about the property and Ludington area.

Guestroom #14

This guestroom is located in the same building wing as the office, which is in the West building. There is parking in front of the entrance door, and two outside chairs were set up between each guestroom.

The guestroom was spacious and tastefully decorated. It contained a flatscreen TV on the wall, a low armoire, two chairs, a small coffee table, queen size bed, two nightstands attached to the wall, a clock, and lights at the head of the bed. There was a hanging lamp in the seating area. A few hangers were hanging on hooks behind the door, and there was a large mirror on the floor near the armoire leaned up against the wall. 

The large windows along the entrance wall had dark closing blinds for privacy. There were nice looking wood blinds high on the opposite wall by the bed. There were windows behind the blinds; however, the blinds were permanently attached, so we could not open the windows. A wall HVAC unit was mounted on the wall under these windows. The floor was laminate wood with a throw rug/runner at the entrance, and a rug in the seating area.

The bathroom was tiny. It contained a tile walk in shower, a toilet, sink, small amount of counter space, ice bucket with plastic cups, and a basic quality hairdryer mounted on the wall.

The shower was a good size; it was just the outside area that was small. There was no light in the shower, so it was kind of dark with the curtain shut. There was not an exhaust fan in the bathroom, so we were glad that the bathroom window opened. 

The guestroom had several well thought out items, such as a box of tissues, folding luggage rack, clean towels and washcloths, good quality bedding, and the lights over the bed.

The guestroom was comfortable until we went to bed. The bed was extremely hard, and we had a difficult time sleeping. In addition to the hard bed, the guest in the next room (#16, I believe), had the TV on almost constantly. We were awakened at 4:50 a.m. when he turned the set back on in the morning. I did not expect to encounter any disturbing noise, because when we booked our stay, the inn was listed as "adults only," and quiet times were posted on the website. The website is in the process of being updated since our stay, and I no longer see that information online. The Summer's Inn website looks nicer now, and it will probably provide even more valuable information than it did before our stay.

The guestroom was clean and well maintained for the most part. We observed only a few minor oversights: The entrance rug contained several small bits of debris, there was a hair on the register in the bathroom, and the floor strip between the bedroom and bathroom was missing. A piece of strong tape was on the floor between the rooms. 

Food & Beverage

The inn offers three room options: just the room, room with continental breakfast, or room with hot breakfast. We opted for just the room, so I do not have any breakfast details to share.

Good quality coffee and tea with condiments was available in the office after 7:00 a.m. Suzette had told us that this is usually ready between 7:00 and 7:30, and it was out when my husband checked shortly after seven.

The inn sells Michigan wine, and they offer wine tastings. Suzette had told us that there is wine tasting from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. when we checked in. When we arrived at 4:00, we saw a sign on the counter that said wine tasting was available after 2:00. Wine tasting prices were listed on the sign, although I see that the new website says that wine tasting is free. I thought we could have gone earlier than 4:00, after we had noticed the sign; however, the new website also has the wine tasting times listed as 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. We purchased a bottle of wine, which actually costed a few dollars more than what it sells for in the local market. We were not charged for the wine tasting though, and the inn had everything ready for us when we returned that evening--the wine was the right temperature, and they provided two wine glasses for us to use in the room or in the garden.

Amenities and Secret Garden

There is an ice machine and microwave in the East wing of the inn. A spacious sitting area and pond are located behind this wing. It contained several cushioned seats and tables. The pond view was beautiful and serene. Some of the guestrooms in this wing overlook the garden. We did not see anyone in this area both times that we visited, even though there were several vehicles in the parking lot.

An inside library room in the South wing is accessible from the garden, or from the South parking lot. We did not initially realize and see the inside sitting room/library from the garden because we did not see a sign. We then remembered that our host had told us about the library when we checked in. We easily found where it is located when we returned to the garden, and looked for it.

Misc. and overall

This inn is located one mile from Lake Michigan on the North side of the road. It was an easy walk to town for dining and shopping. We had found a post on TripAdvisor for a guestroom special of $69. The $69 guestroom was a small queen bedded room with no sitting area, so we paid $10 more for the deluxe queen guestroom. I was happy with the price that we paid, and if plush mattress pads were to be added to the beds, we would stay here again!