Good Taste is the Worst Vice

The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island MI

To close out our Mackinac Island adventure from earlier in the summer, here’s a quick spin around the Grand Hotel.

It’s definitely, well, grand!  The porch is said to be the longest in the world, stretching all along the front of the building with a sweeping view down the hill and across the lake. Every morning, the staff hoist the American flags that ripple in the breeze, and every evening they carefully lower and fold them with military precision.

Happily, we found a few spare moments here and there to sit on the porch in the big wooden rockers, enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful scene in front of us.
The ornately furnished interior seems frozen in time – though it’s hard to pin down one particular era.  The architecture and much of the art are from the nineteenth century, but the shockingly bright, not-afraid-to-clash carpets and sofas and walls come straight from the craziest parts of the twentieth.

For example…
Our room, which sort of hurt my eyes

A dining room with wallpaper straight from the Golden Girls

One of my favorite things was the collection of vintage Grand Hotel menus hanging here and there throughout – they were fascinating to read!

A complete dinner was $2, and lucky diners could choose such delights as cold jellied bouillon, Hormel ham with potato salad, minced cod with cream, or piquante lamb tongues.

Hmm.

Well, at least the desserts have stood the test of time.  I’d gladly have dined on a lemon cream pie, fresh strawberry sundae, or Champagne jelly.

There’s still a grand five course dinner every night in the main dining room, with appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert.

Unfortunately, the food was what I imagine cruise ship food would be like – well intentioned, grand sounding, but ultimately just passable.  I suppose it’s understandable that they aren’t cooking to order, given the sheer number of diners, but it’s still a bit disconcerting when your meal arrives within a minute or two of having ordered it.

One night, we headed up to the Cupola Bar just after sunset.  It was fun to wander the hotel corridors and climb seemingly endless flights of stairs until we arrived at the very highest point of the building, with a panoramic lake view in front of us.

It was certainly an experience to stay at the Grand Hotel – a step back in time and into a whirl of color and gilded mirrors, gracious service and stunning views.

Unfortunately, it also features historically accurate uncomfortable beds.  But on the whole, I’m glad we went!
If you’re a movie buff and would like to see the Grand Hotel in action, check out This Time for Keeps or Somewhere in Time.  D watched the latter before we went, and knew his way around the hotel as a result.


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