Hotel Reviews Ruin Reputation

I have visited Mackinaw City several times, though not in the last 5 years. It used to be such a small little burg--so so nice. Now it seems to have turned into a tourist trap. it wouldn%26#39;t be so bad if you could trust where to stay. I am wanting to visit for the Lilac Festival this year(I have been saving money for 5 years), but certainly don%26#39;t want to waste my money and have a bad time from hidden price increases, double charges, dirty rooms, and mold.

My son has terrible allergies and I definitly need non smoking rooms. WHERE should I stay? Even though I love Mackinaw City, I am considering St. Ignace after reading all of the bad hotel reviews. The town needs to stop allowing more hotels to be built, unless they are a year round business.

Anyone with a good recommendation for a 52 year old woman and 2 teens?

Hotel Reviews Ruin Reputation

See the other thread on here for Hotels in June 2009. We discussed quite a few of the hotels and ultimately I decided on the Clearwater Lakeshore which seems to be non-smoking.

Hotel Reviews Ruin Reputation

Deer Head Inn B%26amp;B is smoke free, within easy walking distance to all of Mackinaw%26#39;s attractions (just over a block to Sheppler%26#39;s ferry) and serves a wonderful breakfast.

One thing to remember about online reviews is that people will tend to post the negative much more frequently than the positive. Take a look over at the airline forum for a good example where you will see ';never fly airline xxxxx'; posts constantly, but rarely a good review. Also remember that often the hidden price increases, double charges, etc. are often really people that never read the details of their reservations in the first place and are upset the hotel followed the policy they agreed to at the time of booking.

I have little trust in any review (good or bad) where I haven%26#39;t had a chance to read what the person has said about other places. That is why I pay a lot more attention to the comments here in the forums, than to the reviews on TripAdisor.

The people that own most of the large motels in Mackinaw have set up websites that look like non-partisan sites with info and comments about Mackinaw City. Carefull looking will show that those sites list only their motels and list only possitive reviews that may or may not be from customers.

Stay in St Ignace, Best Western Harbour Point.

All non smoke (except for the nightly beach bonfire). Indoor pool and a nice outdoor pool. Nice clean place

It took me a while to catch on to checking a reviewer posting history, but since then, I have learned to glean a lot of info from doing that. And in the long run, unless a place has consistently good or bad reviews, you won%26#39;t really know until you have tried a place, or know someone personally that has and you trust their opinion.

I always %26#39;throw out%26#39; the most glowing report (probably an owner or employer) and the most damning report (stuff happens).

Most of the %26#39;newer%26#39; hotels in St. Ignace/Mackinaw City are pretty nice. It%26#39;s the older motels that tend to be a bit on the shoddy side (not all, but many). Unfortunately, the Straights area isn%26#39;t a big enough year-round destination to support keeping all the hotels open, and even the few that do stay open don%26#39;t fill up in the winter.

We were up there this past winter and stayed at the Comfort Inn, which was just fine.