Windermere Hotel

Such a charming and fabulous place to stay on island. Beautiful front porch with great armchairs to watch island life breeze by. Across from water. Beautiful sun rises.
Rooms each fill with white wicker decor. Beautiful. Staff the best.
You will not regret staying in this lovely hotel.

Have stayed on the Island overnight many times, but this was the first time staying at the Windermere. It was great! Everyone was friendly, the porch is wonderful, and the views are second-to-none. We'll be back.

2023 in the books!
this is the first time we have went in September. We were fortunate five years ago to stay in this old Victorian home turned into a hotel. The place is amazing. The staff is wonderful, the location is one of the best on the island and this place is clean. Robert is a wonderful hotel manager and Seymour is a great right hand man. As a business owner, I highly recommend this place we will continue to come back every year.

We love the Windermere Hotel!! My youngest daughter spent one summer working on Mackinac Island and has gladly joined me in spending a few days at Windermere in May and also in October…our third year! Windermere continues to charm us and provide a beautiful and memorable visit each time. The staff is exemplary and the accommodations are wonderful in every way. It was always a dream of mine to stay at this particular hotel, from my earliest Island memories as a young girl, captivated by the lovely Victorian architecture. Now I can say that the joy of walking up the porch steps to the front door always feels like home ❤ With heartfelt thanks to the winning staff at Windermere, for truly making this dream come true!

Windermere is a quaint, romantic place for couples as well as an excellent choice for families. Its location is ideal: Just on the edge of town - away from much of the in-town congestion, while still within walking distance of the many delicious dining options located nearby.

The architecture of this historic hotel truly reflects the charm of the island and its roots. The porch is an excellent place to enjoy a coffee or cold beverage while watching the sunrise and ferries, freighters and bikes glide by - even in inclement weather.

The generous, complementary “continental” breakfast is ready for even early risers and is a great way to begin each day with coffee, orange juice, bagels, hard-boiled eggs, milk, cold cereal, and the like.

There is abundant bike parking and the grounds which are beautifully landscaped. Operated by member(s) of the well-known Doud family, who have lived on the island for generations and have been instrumental in its development and vibrancy, the Windermere is as authentic as it gets! Be sure to make reservations early.

The Hotel was beautiful. The room was great. The location was perfect. The view was amazing. I will definitely stay here again and will recommend it to anyone. I was a bit surprised at the unfriendliness of the gentlemen at the front desk. Perhaps it was a long summer for him.

I have stayed at Windermere twice and enjoyed both stays. The staff is friendly and the rooms are good size and clean. My absolute favorite part of this hotel is the front porch! I love to sit and watch the people go by while enjoying the view of the water. The location is great because it's far enough away from the busy part of Main St. but close enough for a short walk to everything. I highly recommend this hotel if you are looking for a charming place to stay with a fabulous front porch!

We have been coming to Mackinac Island for 20+ years and always stay at the Windermere. Won't stay anywhere else. Love the location, comfort, and front porch! The porch is a great place to meet other guests and to enjoy the view with a cup of coffee or cocktail. Hotel is on the edge of town so don't have the hustle and bustle of Main Street. A bonus is being able to see the freighters going through the Straights. Staff of Margaret, Rosemary, Robert, Kevin, Seymour, housekeeping staff, etc are wonderful. Feels like family! Always look forward to coming to the Windermere to get away from the busyness of life and the opportunity to de-stress. A guest refrigerator for leftovers and a microwave is a nice amenity.

This historic hotel is just grand. Great hosts and beautiful decor. The porch is relaxing place to enjoy the view of the lake, lighthouse, ferries and freighters. The docor is reminiscent of the grand hotel and an Era lost in time. Very, very clean and relaxing. The flowers and flower garden are always beautiful and well planned and maintained. I hesitated to write this review because we want to keep this place our getaway secret but feel we owe it to Margret for the many great stays!

Always love staying here. Staff are wonderful, it is perfectly located on the edge of town with a great view of the water and still close to everything. Always my first choice when staying on the island! The rooms are always clean and stocked with what you need and staff are quick to assist if you need something else. The porch is a great place to relax after a day of exploring and the sunroom is nice if the weather is not cooperating. Added bonus when running the Lilac 10k in the spring the start is right out the front door! Always look forward to staying here each season!

I like this hotel because it is on main street and near all activities. Nice large porch to sit and watch all the horses and people go by. Like the old days just love it.

My family stayed at the Windermere Hotel when we spent the weekend on Mackinac Island. Our rooms were extremely clean and the garden view was lovely! The front porch, overlooking the lake, is exceptional and overlooks the Bridge and Lighthouse. The entire crew, including Rosemary, Robert, Margaret, and Seymour are kind and immediately responsive to anything you need. The hotel patrons were cross-generational with children welcome. Our family would stay again in a heartbeat!

Exceedingly charming and in a perfect location a wee bit from downtown. A walk along the boardwalk at night is a must to see the sunset and the bridge lit up. Great continental breakfast. Overall a wonderful experience in a homelike atmosphere. Thank you for being here, Windermere!

We had an amazing stay at the Windermere! The big front porch is the perfect place to hangout & eat the continental breakfast or unwind after a long day. No TV but we came to enjoy that. Hotel staff & other visitors were all so friendly. Highly recommend!

Always enjoy the stay here at the Windermere when on Mackinaw. The staff are so pleasant and accommodating. The porch is amazing and it is conveniently located near the ferry but just on the edge of town where you are close to everything but have a fabulous view of the water and a quiet stay. Always love it and can't imagine staying anywhere else when on the island.

We loved the Windemere and the people who ran the place were very nice and accommodating. Great source of information for the 5 days we were there. Great location as we were on the point looking at the lighthouse and just down the road from the Grand. Rooms were great, views from the upstairs rooms were excellent, but it was also fun to sit on the porch and people watch. Mackinaw is a great place to visit, the islanders were very pleasant and happy to share information about their paradise.

It was my 86 year old mothers first trip to the island. I mentioned to the person who took the reservation that it was her first trip. When we checked in, we were given a first floor room without having asked. We even had a view of the lake. Great customer service. ❤

Where to do begin? This is possibly the best place to stay if you are visiting the island. Other than the grand hotel herself this place is a treasure. We stayed in a corner queen room which overlooked the garden and it was absolutely beautiful. The BnB staff were so friendly and the front porch overlooks the park and lake. This makes for cool quiet evenings watching the sunset with a nice drink in hand. They also have an awesome snack stand in the park which serves a variety of quick bite options and drinks. For our first time on the island I think we really checked all the boxes. We will definitely be back!!

Love the porch and furnishings to sip coffee in the morning. Rooms are comfortable, clean and sized nicely. Wonderful location at the end of main street away from most of the hustle and bustle of shopping district. And the Mayor is very attentive to your requests! Have returned three times.

The Windermere is my favorite place to stay on the island! It's right on Main Street, so you're close to everything, but it's at the end so it's not as loud and congested as being in the middle of town. You can sit on the porch and see the straights and the lighthouses. The staff there is extremely helpful and friendly.