My husband and I, along with some friends, visited the Marina Grand just for a little weekend getaway. We have stayed at the hotels sister property, the Harbor Grand, and overall preferred the Marina Grand. We really enjoyed several amenities: a wonderful dinner at the hotel’s restaurant the Bentwood Tavern, complimentary breakfast at Joe (great coffee), and a fantastic one-bedroom suite. It was cold and snowy outside, so not needing to leave the hotel was perfect for us. We were very pleased with our room: a nicely stocked kitchen (plenty of wine glasses, plates, etc), living room with fireplace, very comfortable bed, and a large bathroom with an amazing deep soaker tub.

The only issue was that the hotel was a bit noisy (we could hear people staying in the room above walking around and clearly hear people in the hallway). In regards to noise, the Harbor Grand beats the Marina Grand. There seemed to be more families with small children (literally) running around at the Marina Grand vs. at the Harbor Grand where there seemed to be more couples on a romantic getaway. Noise aside, the amenities overall do make your stay a bit more carefree at the Marina Grand, especially during the winter when you are not as interested in exploring outside.

I love this hotel. Great service and wonderful rooms. I stay there every time I go to New Buffalo. We stayed in Room 242 last time and it was great.

My husband and I stayed at the Marina Grand Hotel in New Buffalo over the weekend of October 17th. The purpose of our visit was to experience the fall colors and get out of Chicago for a few days. The location of the hotel is great, right on the harbor and easy walking distance to downtown New Buffalo and the beach. I had read reviews re: the service and noise level at the hotel after I booked it (not like me, I usually check before booking) so I was apprehensive as we entered the lobby to check in. I am happy to report I was pleasantly surprised with the front desk associates, they were friendly, engaging, and helpful. We arrived at noon, knowing that check in was not until 4:00pm we expected to be told to come back at 4. Maybe because it was off-season, our room was ready 4 hours early! I told Holli at the front desk that it was our anniversary and she spent several minutes reviewing the restaurant choices in the area with me so that we could have a nice dinner. The room was very nice, we stayed on the first floor in a 1 BDR suite in room 138 and the view of the marina was gorgeous, especially at night. The room was spacious, clean, well appointed. The bed was very comfortable and the linens were of good quality. The bathroom was very large, marble tile, soaking tub and rainhead shower. After unpacking we headed to the beach to explore and watch the sunset. When we returned there was a bottle of champagne and a card from Holli at the front desk wishing us a Happy Anniversary! What a nice thing to do, totally unexpected. Many people on this site have mentioned the paper thin walls and noise level, so I should comment on it. I do think that for the price you would expect to be able to sleep in if you want to but you should know the construction of this hotel does not lend itself to late sleepers, as you can hear everything in the adjoining rooms. We had a family with kids who awoke at 6:15am and we heard them loud and clear. Thankfully, they either fell back asleep or left the room because the noise died down and we were able to go back to sleep. Other than that - it is a great place, we will definitely return. Breakfast was included in our rate, and it was just OK. It included 1 egg dish and an assortment of pasteries, dry cereal, coffee, juice, and limited fruit.

This is the place for you, if you own a boat docked nearby and only need a place to shower. Or, if you are a drunken Norte Dame football fan! WOO - HOO!

This hotel had a very noticeable infestation of fruit flys (Weekend of 9/27-2008) both in the guest rooms and in the halls & Ashby breakfast room.

Considering safety, the hotel layout is very confusing. Stairwells are not located near any of the entrances, but in the middle of hallways. ?? There are red illuminated EXIT signs in the hallways that seem genuinely misleading and never-ending. Do they even meet code?? An obvious death trap, should there be a fire. I advise a jump from the balcony/lanai. The front desk staff love to look at their computer monitors and seem generally disinterested.

The exercise room was nice: LCD TV, Universal, treadmill, elliptical, recumbent bicycle and free weights from 5-50lbs. The game room was lame: No TV, but had table tennis, foosball, a pinball game, shooting game (nasty, filthy plastic guns) and a race car game. Ms. Pacman was broken. The bulb in the underwater light of the indoor pool was burnt out. Outdoor pool recently flooded and was closed for the season, but entirely too filthy, and should have at least been vacuumed!

The modernist decor of Bentwood Restaurant was overall visually stimulating, but the service was very lacking. Cheap looking wooden cafeteria/diner style tables? How about a crisp white tablecloth. . at least during dinner? Why not refill my water glass. . . at least once? Please instruct the Chef on what a "Medium" cooked steak should look like. (i.e. - not bloody/bleeding) WTF?

The overall construction of the hotel was very cheap. The nailgun holes on our interior window trim had not been filled in/painted. Nail pops/uneven ceiling inside corners were evident everywhere in the drywall. White and dark red painted hallway walls? Are you kidding me? Ugh!

A call to the front desk at 0330 hours about an on-going (10+ minutes) VERY LOUD noise disturbance (fist fight??) was met with pseudo-laughter by the mid-night desk clerk "Michael". I guess it must be the norm during the N.D. football season.

This affirms my belief that you are better off renting a private residence while on vacation. Marina Grande-New Buffalo, Michigan? Never again!