One year ago I fell for a place in the U.S. that I’d never even heard of until a few weeks prior—Saugatuck, Michigan. I was there as part of a road trip on the state’s sunset coast. Think huge lakeside dunes, charming waterfront towns, turquoise inland lakes, and fresh cherries—all a surprise to somebody who grew up with coastal blinders on. I even managed to fall in love while staying at a dingy roadside motel and without any planning or sense of what this town was.
This year, when I was invited back by one of the area’s most storied properties, the Lake Shore Resort, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. The property, which is perched on a ridge above Lake Michigan, is the latest selection for our series on exciting new or renovated hotels, The New Room with a View.
I don’t know if folks from the Midwest would be angry or happy that people on the coasts don’t usually know what Saugatuck and the lakeshore have to offer (and since they’re from the Midwest, they’re probably too polite to say). Saugatuck is situated on Michigan’s western coast a couple hours from Chicago and two to three from Detroit. It exploded as a summer destination at the turn of the century, attracting all types—church groups, ferry day trippers, artists, and the LGBT community. After the war, the general growth of this part of the country brought growth to the summer towns as well. Much of the architecture, particularly the motels along the Blue Star Highway, is midcentury.
But Saugatuck (and neighboring Douglas) was not your typical Midwestern summer haven. If you have time to visit the Saugatuck Douglas History Center-School House Campus from now through next summer, an incredible exhibition is on about this area as an LGBT haven akin to Fire Island Pines and Provincetown, a designation that often led to conflict with the more buttoned-up and conservative world of the Midwest. Don’t miss the sections on Saugatuck in Bob Damron’s Address Book, on the Dunes Resort (which faced bomb and KKK threats), and all the sexy ads for gay clubs and saunas that you’ll want to find and frame.
The town itself is hard to sum up in a few sentences. There’s the delightful town center with restaurants, shops, and ice cream parlors. On the harbor you’ll find an endless stream of boats, some headed up the Kalamazoo River, others out the channel and onto the lake. You’ll find plenty of boats waving a Pride flag and the same goes for the Trump-Pence one. There are great places to eat, whether it be Pennyroyal Provisions or The Southerner (from former Chopped winner Miss Corey) or even just picking up sandwiches at Isabel’s.
At the same time that the town was growing as a queer destination, the Lake Shore Resort was created by current owner Andrew Milauckas’s grandparents. They bought an abandoned fruit farm and turned it into a waterfront motel-style lodge. Milauckas recently took over the property from his parents who ran it from the ’80s until 2016 and gave it the update that Daniel Rose could only have dreamed of.
The Lake Room at the Lake Shore Resort
Grant LeganThere are 31 rooms on the property, which is a horseshoe shaped single-story motel style building. Each has been updated with modern accents but remained true to the mid-century aesthetic. At the center of the property is a heated pool and then a lush lawn that drops off into the lake horizon. It is charm and drama at the same time, simple without being simplistic. Bicycles are free of use and I’d highly recommend one for a cycle into town or to nearby Oval Beach. Rooms range from $275 to $410 a night in the summer and $245 to $340 in the fall.
There are two undeniable showstoppers on the property.
The first can be found just below the ridge line—a 150-foot deck out over the lake. (There are actually multiple decks as you work your way down to it, and all are favorite hangouts for the unobstructed view of sunset over the lake.) Yoga classes are held on it in the morning, and it’s possible to swim or take out kayaks from its steps.
The second is the lobby space, housed in a dark green house at the start of the horseshoe. Inside is a warm interior with its brick floors, library, and coffee bar but one is immediately drawn to the giant windows looking out over the wraparound porch and lake.
It’s a view that won’t make you wish you were anywhere else.
