The Apple Tree Inn is not a terrible hotel, and easy going travelers probably find it quite acceptable and a great value (which explains the current ratings, in my opinion).
But, I cannot recommend this hotel to families or to discerning travelers. During our ski weekend stay, I noticed several issues that travelers could find bothersome. In particular the arbitrary and inflexible rules the owners impose on the guests (towards the end of my review) are a deal breaker in my opinion.
Here are a few observations:
(a) while breakfast is included, there are only 4 tables in the breakfast area for a hotel with 40 rooms. So, it's over-crowded and many times you end up having to carry your breakfast back to your room. While the breakfast is nice, there aren't any proteins in the offering and waffles are the only hot breakfast option.
(b) Our shower head had four settings, but it was broken so it only flowed in the one setting it was stuck in. The pressure was fine, but it looked like it was long overdue a replacement.
(c) If you have electronic devices, it's difficult to find plugs that are easy to access. We could only find one plug down on floor level between the refrigerator and the TV, and another one behind the night stand (and you have to pull the stand forward to access the plug). If you bring your laptop, you are pretty much out of luck expecting to sit at the table.
(d) The wifi was erratic and slow. It was barely acceptable to check out news and social media, but forget about doing anything productive.
(e) We could hear the people above walking in their room the whole time, so we could tell what time they wake up as well as how often they go to the rest room. Not the best conditions for light sleepers.
(f) The indoor pool was quite cold and the hot tub had so much chlorine in it you could only sit about 5 minutes in there before your eyes started to burn.
Admittedly, none of those are deal breakers. For a hotel of this caliber (i.e., an Inn with no star rating), this is what you would expect in most places.
The real deal breaker for me is the owners and what seems like their completely arbitrary rules, particularly targeting families. Here are a few examples of these rules:
(i) Under 18 cannot enter the fitness room, even with an adult with them.
(ii) They will not put extra beds in the rooms, claiming that it's a part of their "high standards". When I pointed out that even 5 star hotels will put an extra bed, the response of the owner was that I was free to go and stay in one of those hotels but that it would not happen in their hotel.
(iii) This also means that if you have a young child, you cannot stay in a jacuzzi suite (all of which have king beds), since they don't let two parents and a kid sleep in a king bed, nor would they let you put an extra bed in there (or let the kid stay in a sleeping bag -- again another one of their rules).
(iv) They advertise the location of the hotel as in the middle of three great Northern Michigan ski resorts (and have discounts for lift tickets so ask about that in the front desk), but won't let you keep your ski boots in your room (and no storage either). So they expect you to keep them in the car overnight, where they will stay humid and freeze your feet the next morning.
Given these arbitrary rules, my question is why bother? There are many hotels in the area, many of which are much more customer-friendly then this. Yes, it is possible that you won't run into one of these rules, but there is always a chance that there are other arbitrary rules you could potentially run into. Is it really worth the risk when there are so many alternatives?
We think not. We did stay there this time, but will look for another hotel the next time we are in the area.