Special dinner for 16th birthday!

My daughter turns 16 years old this year. Instead of a party, she wanted to take a group of her friends somewhere. We originally thought New York City but then those ads for ';Pure Michigan'; started running around here all the time and her friends started to comment that they didn%26#39;t know Michigan was so pretty....well, the location of her birthday has now changed to Michigan!

We will be coming to Michigan in late July with her friends. We will be staying on Lake Charlevoix. At the end of the week we will head to Mackinac Island where I am going to surprise her by reserving rooms and staying over night. I am trying to figure out a special place or event for dinner. Here are some possibilities:

Dinner at the Grand Hotel: Is this something memorable that 15-16 year old girls would remember? Is it more like a cruise ship? I can%26#39;t quite tell and would welcome some suggestions....

Dinner at the Woods: My 40th was celebrated here and we have dined here often so it is not a unique experience in that regard but the duck pin bowling and atmosphere are so great....what do you think?

Private dinner at the restaurant at the Inn at Stonecliffe: We will be staying at the Inn at Stonecliffe. I was thinking of reserving the large table in the restaurant that faces the view of the Mackinaw Bridge and having dinner at sunset.

I can evaluate the dinner at The Woods but I need some help with The Grand Hotel. Is it worth the money? Are there any other unique ideas out there?

Thanks to the Mackinac Island DE%26#39;s and everyone else for your help! Moms

Special dinner for 16th birthday!

Considering that your 16 year old wants to visit Michigan instead of New York City makes me think that any of your dinner choices would be fine. It comes down to the experience you want.

Dinner at The Grand Hotel is, for me, a fun experience. You have to be properly dressed and the dinig room has an atmosphere that is hard to find these days.

The menu is somewhat limited (it is online, but the offerings rotate each evening, so it might take a phone call to find out which menu will be offered on your evening if that%26#39;s important).

It%26#39;s a special occasion type of location for me and we always visit while we are on the island.

Have a great trip!

Special dinner for 16th birthday!

I think the GH would offer your daughter and her friends an opportunity to get really dressed up, be entertained by the orchestra they have (which will probably bore them, but hey, that is an adult thing and she is becoming an adult..lol), dine in a historical and beautiful hotel, with wonderful views, and then they can take a horse and carriage ride (?) back to the Stonecliffe. (That is where you stay, don%26#39;t you?) Just my opinion... :)

I think you are both correct. I think we will dine at The Grand. It%26#39;s funny but I called the main dining room today to ask about the children%26#39;s menu because some of the girls have a less diverse palate than what is offered on the adult dinner menu. The woman who answered could not have been nicer. She assured me that any of the girls could order off the children%26#39;s menu if they wanted to and then she e-mailed it to me. I will have to try not to cringe when one of the girls orders chicken fingers or mac and cheese while dining at The Grand!

I am bringing two of the moms as well. They have read about Mackinac Island in various decorating and travel magazines. Both say they hope to get to the Grand Hotel someday. It will be fun to surprise everyone with dinner, dancing and a stroll on the beautiful porch!

Moms

Good choice. And I forgot about strolling the porch!

Hey moms,

If I had seen this thread earlier, I would%26#39;ve told you hands down go with the Grand...it just dosen%26#39;t get more special than that...great choice!

One problem though, how are you going to get all those girls dressed up without telling them what%26#39;s going on?

I know that my daughter will think we are heading to The Woods for dinner. These girls like to get dressed up so they will dress up for The Woods. As we leave the hotel, I will have them get into a taxi for our surprise destination! It should be great fun!

Looking forward to finally experiencing the Grand Hotel dining room. Funny, but I have never stayed or eaten there...Moms

The only problem with The Grand is the fact that they won%26#39;t take reservations. They assure me that with 750 seats in the dining room, it won%26#39;t be a problem. I would just like to make sure we get a special table, not in a corner, and I wanted to have a little party favor waiting...something special from the Grand Hotel. Maybe I can contact the concierge for that....suggestions? Moms

Definitely contact the concierge, maybe the day of or a couple of days early. I%26#39;d be suprised if they didn%26#39;t set up a nice table for you...especially with a larger group like you%26#39;ll have.