Travel Tips for The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan
Getting to the Grand Hotel
Mackinac Island is accessible only by ferry or
chartered aircraft. Assuming you don't charter a plane, you will be taking
a ferry from either Mackinaw City or St. Ignace. Either way, there are
three ferry lines serving the island -- Arnold, Shepler, and Star Line. We
used Arnold, but it is our understanding the other two ferry companies operate
in a similar manner.
We arrived at the Arnold ferry facility in Mackinaw
City and were directed by the gate attendant to pull up to the pavilion in the
parking lot. Once there, an attendant took our bags and tagged them for
the Grand Hotel with our name. He also took our car (we used the valet
service), and less than ten minutes after arriving we were sitting in the shade
on one of the benches, looking out over the Straits of Mackinac as we waited for
the next ferry. We wouldn't see our luggage again until it was delivered
to our hotel room later that day.
Arnold has catamaran ferries, and we had a quick
ride to Mackinac Island. Upon arriving, we disembarked on Arnold's dock,
which connects to Main Street. To our left, on the dock, was a horse drawn
wagon where luggage for the various hotels was being sorted. To our right
was the Grand Hotel's horse-drawn carriage (see photo below). Since it was
early in the afternoon, we opted to walk around and visit some of the shops
before we made our way to the hotel.
Later in the afternoon, we walked back to the
Arnold docks and took the hotel's carriage to the hotel. The charge was
$4.75 per person. The road to the hotel is a little steep in the last part, but
still walkable for most people, if you decide not to take the hotel's carriage.
Travel Tips for Getting to the Grand Hotel:
1) On the ferry to the island, sit on the
left side. This will give you the best views of the island and the shops
on Main Street as you approach the dock.
2) The hotel's carriage meets each ferry,
so there is always a carriage waiting, either at the Arnold dock or on Main
Street in front of the Arnold dock.
3) Public "taxis" (which are also horse
drawn carriages) also pick up on Main Street - you can easily spot them, since there
will be two or three of them together.
3) You can easily walk to the Grand Hotel.
Just take Main Street to French Lane, turn right, turn left on Market Street,
then turn right on Cadotte Avenue. This will take you up to the hotel.
You can download a map of the area
here.
4) The Grand Hotel's carriage is available
for anyone going to the hotel, whether you are staying there or not.
Reserving a Room
at the Grand Hotel
Getting to The Grand Hotel
Activities
Meals
Families
Photos of the
Grand Hotel
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