Empire Lakeshore Inn

Very nice and clean. Good coffee and easy check in. It’s nice to have a key instead of a card to lock the door. No elevator. Walking distance to restaurants and 🍸 bars.

Great spot to stay when visiting the area. It’s only a few minutes away from the beautiful empire bluff trail. The rooms were clean and the service good – my phone call was promptly answered at 6 PM ahead of a late check-in. Other things worth noting are that the beds are very firm and water pressure in the bathrooms is high (both of which are pluses in my book).

This is the first time I’ve ever left a negative review, but the way we were treated here is simply unacceptable. What’s even more surprising is how this place has so many positive reviews — something I genuinely don’t understand after our experience.

My mother and I arrived on Saturday evening. A lady kindly welcomed us and informed us that our room was in a separate building. She gave us directions, and I asked if I needed to take my car to get there. Once we arrived at the room, we just dropped off our luggage and went out for dinner without paying too much attention to the space.

Later that evening, we noticed the floor was not clean, there were used shampoo and shower gel bottles left in the shower, and when we went to get into bed, one of the beds was clearly not changed — it was wrinkled and had hair in it.

I called to report the issue and explained that I doubted the room had been properly cleaned. The woman on the phone told me I was lying and insisted the room had been checked three times. When I asked how that was possible given what we found, she responded by accusing me of not being happy just because we were in the other building — and then she hung up on me. I tried to call back but couldn’t get through.

I truly don’t understand how our experience was so negative at a place with such high ratings. I felt it was important to share this because the way the situation was handled — especially refusing to even come and look at the room — was completely unacceptable. Why would we make this up if this wasn’t genuinely what we experienced?

Nice rooms within walking distance to the beach. Some of the rooms could use a little work, in our room the bathroom door would stick a little. Great spot if you’re looking for a quiet, relaxing weekend.

We stayed at the inn two weeks ago and had a very positive experience. The desk clerk (who we came to realize was the owner) was very friendly and welcoming. He gave us quite a bit of helpful information about the area, including a recommendation for a really wonderful breakfast spot in a nearby town. We stayed in the newer section of the inn which is conveniently located next to the Sleeping Bear Dunes park office. Our room was very clean, the beds were comfortable and the room was quiet. We were happy with our stay there and will stay there again if we are in the area.