Hamilton Inn Select Beachfront

This place was terrible. The beds were extremely hard, the service personal weren’t helpful at all. The pool had way too much chlorine. The housekeeping didn’t clean the room, they just made the beds and restocked the coffee. The ice machine didn’t work. The beach was one long ashtray. I won’t be staying there again.

Loved our room had a great jacuzzi in our room. Gorgeous views nice beach and close to the star line ferry. The people were very sweet and helpful! They did whatever it took to help us and everyone had a huge smile!

Stayed here during a weekend for a roller derby tournament. The staff here went out of there way to help me out. After checking in, I had to go back to the desk because my key cards wouldn’t work. The desk worker said he did it right, but I’m pretty sure he messed up. Either way, he walked with me to my room to make sure the key card worked. My room was huge, I’m pretty sure it was bigger than my apartment. The room was very clean with two beds and a couch. There was a little balcony with a view of the lake.
The breakfast was pretty standard, nothing exciting, but the breakfast room was really big. I found out out you can rent out the breakfast room in the evening for groups of people to hang out, which is pretty cool especially if you’re with a big group of people and can’t cram everyone in a room.
I had to stay here an extra night due bad weather. When I checked in again, I said I was here for the roller derby tournament and I had to stay another day, they gave me the discounted rate that they gave to everyone for that weekend. I really appreciated that as I saved a couple of bucks when needing to spend more.

Clean room, really friendly staff (everyone!) Free breakfast (same thing every day but hey, it’s free) endless coffee in the breakfast room, and there is the hardest working lady ever in the breakfast room. She goes 90mph trying to prioritize everyone’s needs while hearing, ‘Excuse me!’ ‘Miss!’ etc… she deserves a good salary in my book.
The reason for three stars. The most uncomfortable beds in the history of mattresses. OMG. That, and that the front desk gave only a few options when asked who delivers, who is open for business… by stating that these recommended businesses are the only ones available to eat at. Clearly they have some stake in those businesses because the longer I stayed in the area, (one month) the more I realized there are plenty of other places to eat at. Plenty. I didn’t appreciate that.

The room was dark, outdated and the balcony was dirty. It was very disappointing. It also had a72 hour cancellation policy. Not a good value.

We had originally booked a room several months in advance, and as we drove up, realized we had booked for 1 night more than we needed. they would not allow us to cancel the extra night, as it was with in 24 hours, that is not the issue, the issue was how rude they were about it. The room was fine, nothing special, but ended up costing $ 350/​for one night, for that kind of money I just would expect a polite explanation and thank you for staying of which we got none. Next time it will be anywhere but Hambone inn.

We had a good view, but it was very expensive. The staff is dishonest. Our jacuzzi had a disgusting yellow and brown ring. Not very clean room. All of the vending machines were out of order. Was expecting a little more for $ 300/​night.

Check-​in ~ dealt with two different ladies during check-​in. First was alright but completely lost to the check-​in process. The second was rude and wanted to argue with me about running my credit card twice. Printer was out of ink so had to wait on that. Seemed like this was their first rodeo.
Room ~ room was nice but the jacuzzi tub could have been cleaned better. There was a film in the tub and the inside of the jets hadn’t been cleaned in sometime it appeared. Almost looked like a mold growing in it. Not very inviting for the bath.
Breakfast ~ no issues here. Had a descent supply of food and was pretty good.

This place is a dump. They upgraded us to a better room that they said it was new with a hot tube this room needs renovation done, good thing we got that because this room still sucks. What really sucked was the breakfast what a joke a hot breakfast is some stupid bisque with gravy crap. I would never come back here and I advise people to avoid this place its way over priced. The only good point about this dump is the location …

This hotel was ok. The view was beautiful from our room, the room was clean and spacious, although the comforters appeared to be cheap and old. We had a fairly pleasant experience here except for the horrible staff and the mold in the stairwell carpets. Seriously, it reeked and had to have been a health hazard. The staff was so slow it was painful. Overall, if the stairwells were cleaned and the staff was trained properly this hotel could be a 4 star.

This hotel was fairly decent — I stayed here during the pond hockey tournament. The room was clean, and at a fairly decent price. Typical continental breakfast, though plenty of options. Swimming pool wasn’t bad. Only complaints were the low water pressure in the shower, crowded parking lot (though this was likely because of the pond hockey tournament), and the super thin walls (we got to listen to a couple guys try to pick up the girls in the room next door most of the night). I’d stay here again.

The room is a good size and the jacuzzi tub was clean and nice. Décor of the rooms are gaudy traditional, be warned. We were on the fourth floor (b/​c i wanted a balcony) which has no elevator access (you take the elevator to the third floor and then walk up to the fourth). Not a big deal. The balcony is small and should be called a terrace, but the view is lovely.
The complimentary breakfast has many options which is nice, but the coffee was really bad and the coffee cups were the smallest they could find.
The bed looks inviting but it’s in serious need of a mattress topper– i didn’t sleep at all and i was sore in the morning.
Hotels in Mackinaw are a crap shoot, some are really dated and gross, but this one isn’t that bad. It’s clean and has a view– worth it

The room was clean and a decent size. The location is good and directly next to a ferry.
The pool is a total disaster. The air in the pool room is hazy and clearly filled with pool chemicals. The smell is overwhelming. The air causes your eyes and lungs to burn within minutes.
The beach seems a bit industrial. Our balcony is small.
The desk staff was nice but incredibly slow.

Nice room. Great view over ice. Snowmobiles, snowmobiles and more snowmobiles. A nice breakfast is included but wow the staff needs some training in the breakfast room. The waffle mix was watery. The OJ needed replacing for a half hour. They ran out of plastic ware. The staff looked confused. If they get that worked out then this placed would be quite a bit better. The room and the view make up for those short comings but it does taint the experience.

We originally booked a 3 queen bed suite at the Super 8 a few hotels down. When we got there the room was old, was NOT a suite but instead a bigger room with 3 beds in it and looked like a dump. The Bathroom was tiny and the air didn’t work. We checked in and called around. When I spoke to the Hamilton the lady was very helpful and got us into one of the 4^th floor suites for the days we were there including the first night. She even called the Super 8 and cancelled out reservations there for us with no fees. When we got into our room at the Hamilton it was gorgeous. The 2 room suite was brand new, the beds were terrific (and we are very picky about our bed because we own a Tempurpedic) even the bed cover was a nice one instead of one of those old thin covers. The bathroom was huge and had a shower and a tub and a separate toilet area AND a TV in it! Both rooms in the suite had flat screen TV’s AND the deck/​patio was amazing. We had a great time and couldn’t have booked a better room. Will definitely stay here again!
Price was comparable to the other hotels too. We paid the EXACT same price for the brand new decked out suite as we did the crappy Super 8.

This hotel is just okay. Found it on
and was booked under my confirmation number as «Expendia Guest».
The hotel is next door to Star Lines Ferry to Mackinac Island, and has a semi-​private beach access. However, there is no working water spigot, so you track sand back into the hotel :(
I like that there are lots of rooms facing the water, and you can leave your windows open and listen to the waves at night.
In my 2 Queen bed room… one bed was firm memory foam, and the other bed was spring loaded softness so you could choose. The pool and the hottub stayed open late, and was full of young families deep into the night… which many of the teens ended up out on the beach late at night (around 1:30am).
I’m not sure I got near the value of my money for my room… but we did really enjoy it.
The breakeven of the two ends up around 3 STARS.

Stayed here during Pond Hockey. Nice hotel. Swimming pool. Even the maids in the morning were really friendly. I found the rooms to be clean, they had a huge armoire for clothes and then an entertainment center with a flatscreen TV and fridge. Parking is a little tight when it’s busy, we ended up parking in the ferry parking lot right next door. It wasn’t a problem though, I don’t think it’d be a problem in the summer either. I did notice cars parking in spots that weren’t spots, sort of blocking some people in… But it was a full hotel with the hockey.

This hotel is very deceiving from the outside. It looks beautiful, clean, and new, but on the inside, it’s a different story. Their sign out front currently reads «newest in town», which is a downright lie. The carpeting is musty, beds are hard, there were holes in our walls, ants in the bathroom, a spastic heater, a shower that trickled while the tub faucet spewed rusty water, but the lakefront view is lovely. I wouldn’t pay a penny over $ 60/​night for this place, but if you’re only looking for a place to sleep on a hard mattress for a few hours and don’t really care about amenities, this is the place. But me, no way am I returning.

I am writing in regards to my experience with the staff at the Hamilton Inn Select Beachfront in Mackinaw City, Michigan on October 6, 2012. I have sent copies of this letter to both the hotel and the Mackinaw City Chamber of Tourism, in addition to posting it on all major review sites online, as I want to ensure that the owners actually see and address the situation.
My husband and I made reservations in June 2012 to stay for one night on October 6 at the Hamilton Inn Select Beachfront. I am the type of person who always plans ahead and is very organized. Prior to making any reservations, I always call the hotel themselves and get more information. In this case, I booked the hotel room online using my debit card. Prior to doing so, I called the hotel and was told that the card was only to reserve the room and that I could use any form of payment upon arriving at the hotel. I reserved the room online and received a confirmation number.
My husband and I flew from DC at 6am to the Grand Rapids, Michigan airport and drove to Mackinaw City. At approximately 6:30pm, when we were about an hour away, I looked at my phone and saw a missed call from the hotel had come in exactly 21 minutes ago. I immediately returned the call. When I asked to speak to the manager, I was informed that the call had been a courtesy call and that when our debit card was ran, it was declined. I offered to provide the new debit card number we have, but was told that our room had already been given away.
We made these reservations five months prior to our trip. A few months after I made the reservations, our debit card number was stolen and my bank had sent us new cards, which had new numbers. Both my husband and I travel frequently, and it is common to provide a credit card number to hold the room. Either the card is charged immediately, or is held until I arrive, and at that time I can chose to provide a form of payment as I choose. Never in my life have I had a hotel cancel a reservation made months in advance on the day of my arrival.
Had the hotel staff given me more than 20 minutes to return their phone call, I could have easily provided them with our new debit card number. The whole reason guests make a reservation is for ease of mind; when our card was stolen, the last thing on my mind was a reservation I made months ago. A reservation should mean that a guest is assured of a room upon arrival; if at that time they do not have a valid form of payment, the room can be given away. In this economy, vacation time and money are spent carefully, and customer service is a very large part of a business’s success.
I have never written a complaint letter before, and only do so because of the horrible experience my husband and I endured because of the staff at the Hamilton Inn Select. Instead of being helpful, the staff was beyond rude and condescending. They talked to each other about me, while I was still on the phone. When I realized that they really had given my room away and we had travelled 12 hours with no place to stay, they told me that they really couldn’t help me find a comparable room unless I was willing to pay $ 250, which would have been $ 100 more than our original reservation. Unfortunately, this was one of the busiest nights of the fall season, so most of the area hotels were booked.
In the end, we ended up being forced to stay in the Fairview Hotel, in a room in the very back end behind the pool. The room was old, dirty, and filled with the smell of chlorine from the pool, which we had to breathe all night as we tried to sleep. We had to pay about the same for the room we would have had at the Hamilton Inn had our reservation been honored. It was a horrific experience, and completely ruined our impression of Mackinaw City.
This is not an isolated incident. Numerous people have posted that they have had the same experience as we did, and have made a reservation only to not have the hotel staff honor it. Nothing is more upsetting than taking the time to plan ahead, and losing a room reservation the day you are travelling to your destination. If this practice really is necessary, I suggest that you either have guests pay for rooms at the time of reservation or try their cards 24 hours prior, so guests have time to provide you with an alternate form of payment if necessary, as it was in our case with our debit card having been stolen. Customer service is everything to people in today’s economy, and luckily we have review sites that allow us to share our experiences so that others do not have to go through what we did. After this experience, I will never stay at a Hamilton Inn again.

My husband and I have stayed at the Hamilton Inn two times and are planning a third trip to Mackinaw City and will be staying here again.
One of the great things about this hotel is the location, you are right next door to the Star Line Ferry to Mackinac Island and only about a five minute walk to shopping area and restaurants. In fact we’ve never used our car once it’s parked at the hotel! There is a nice, private beach and indoor pool/​hot tub. The rooms are clean and comfortable and some rooms have memory foam mattresses.
There is a free breakfast every morning, it isn’t that good but it’s free and does the job if you aren’t too picky, you can make your own waffles and those are good. However, I would recommend walking to the Admiral’s Table or Pancake House.
The hotel staff has always been friendly and the rooms are affordable.