Pricey to stay on the island, but best way to get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes life! Horse and buggy tour of the island a must! Can probably see most of it there in 2-3 full days. Wish I would have gone into the Grand Hotel (love the movie Somewhere In Time), but $$$ to even tour. If not healthy enough to ride a bike, at least count on walking lots. Iriquois Hotel is quaint, but friendly, and quite hospitable! Changed the sheets DAILY, and offered turndown service. The restaurant in the hotel, The Carriage House, was excellent! Bought a nice picture book of the island's history at one of the butterfly houses. Nice getaway!

We just returned from a fun visit to Mackinac Island. The Main Street Inn and Suites is extremely convenient and located within walking distance of the ferry. The hotel is immaculate, the beds very comfortable, and the shower was very good. We booked a king bed room with no frills, which met our needs. I peeked in other rooms and you have a view of the lake and a balcony. A nice variety of rooms.

Sheppler's Ferry proved to be very good as well. Professional, courteous, clean, and timely. Since just about everything is closed this time of year we did not make advance reservations. There was plenty of parking and there was no problem getting on the ferry. Sit on the left side for the best view going over to Mac Is. We used valet parking and when we were leaving to come back to the mainland Sheppler's called and our car was warmed and waiting for us. Great service.

We lunched at the Grand Hotel. There is a $10 charge just to enter the hotel grounds if you are not staying there. The $10 will be applied to their Grand Buffet ($35.00) if you choose to go for the buffet. We had a soup and half a sandwich which was delicious. The setting is lovely. We spoke with people staying at the hotel and they said it was like staying at your great grandmother's old house. They enjoyed it and said they didn't mind hearing the floor boards squeaking above their heads at night when people moved around.

A bike ride around the island is a must. Or, a long walk.

The Village Inn Restaurant is within 3 minutes of The Main Street Inn and it was a good find. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner there and thoroughly enjoyed each meal. Delicious food (especially the white fish soup!), very courteous and fast service (but not pushy), and ... very reasonable prices. The restaurant is open all but two weeks of the year.

The Pink Pony Restaurant has a lovely view of the lake and we stopped there for cocktails and munchies. Good bruchetta and wine. Fun people working there.

The winds start in October so you need to be sure to have some warm clothing because the wind can be biting.

All in all.. a very worthwhile place to visit. Fun people, pretty place to visit and also VERY clean.

Loved our trip to Mackinac! A few tips:

Definitely take a carriage ride. A little spendy ($24/person), but worth it to get an idea of the layout of the island.
You can also rent your own carriage and horse to drive yourself. I believe that it was $54/hour... looked like a lot of fun!!!

Bring your own bike. Many people bring their own. You can rent bikes for a bit of money. ($5/hour for a one speed, $6/hour for a three speed, etc.) Make sure to take a ride around the outside of the island! It is 8 miles... which sounds much longer than what it really is!

Mackinac is a wonderful experience, but boy is it expensive. We wanted to go this month, but found just to get on the island via ferry, for a family of 5 with a couple bikes it would cost over $100. There are no cars allowed on the island so you're at the mercy of the ferry ($23/person). Everything is way overpriced, from renting a bike ($40/day) to taking a carriage ride, ($23.50/person). Seems like you can't do anything without dropping $100. Stay a weekend and you're easily at $1,000 for hotel, ferry, food and attractions, even for couples.

A wonderful step-back-in-time experience, but they take advantage of the tourist season.