Lake Shore Resort, Saugatuck

My husband and I spent an anniversary weekend there in September 2009 and could not have been happier! The view and beach front were wonderful. Sitting in front of the fire pit at night and watching the sunset was absolutely beautiful! Our room was clean and the bed was quite comfortable. The location was perfect as it was out of the way and there was no noise to speak of yet not too far from town. I would recommend this resort to anyone spending time in the Saugatuck/Douglas area. The amenities and views make it well worth it and the staff could not have been any nicer, looking forward to our next stay!

Love this little resort. They really take care of their guests. They are right on Lake Michigan, with a private beach area for guests only. They have fireplaces outside for sitting in the evening and watching the sunset, and lots of things do to - bikes & kayaks for free! My only thought is that the price is a bit high, especially with the 3 night minimum stays on weekends... but the location makes it all worth it.

This place is in a residential area. It's about five to ten minutes away from Saugatuck Downtown. Very relaxing. The view from the resort is indescribable. We stayed in room 40, which is known as the best view available. It was a corner room with three large windows and a king size bed. I loved the firepits which were turned on at night. The beach feels as if it’s your own. This is definitely not a place to take small children nor a place for loud individuals. The only thing I would recommend to management which I did write a note to them about is to add a microwave in each room. We had to walk all the way across the resort to heat up our food. That would be the only thing I would recommend as a change. Great place. Can't wait to stay again!!!

And while the view was great and blah, blah, blah... the most important thing for us when we travel, which we do often, is customer service. Our stay was over the 4th of July weekend. We arrived on the 1st and stayed through the 5th. Everything was great at first, and since we had arrived late at night, we found our key taped to the reception door. Problem number one; had the key not worked, the reception was closed and therefore had no way to get a replacement, thus no where to stay that night. Our friends, who were also staying at the same place at the same time, were not so lucky. On the 2nd night, Mother Nature decides to grace us with her perscense via heavy thunderstorms, lightning, heavy rains and wicked winds. Trees get knocked down and so does the power. Problem number 2: The resort does not have an electric generator and we were without power for 2 and a half days. When we go to check out on the 5th, we encounter the icing on the cake. We are offered a 20% discount per day for the days of the power outage. A disgruntled owner who cannot handle customer complaints properly. Instead of apologizing for inconveniencing his guests, he gets an attitude with my husband and start to call him names, drops profanity in front of us and other guests, blames us for not reporting on a timely manner the problems we had with our stay and to top it all off: He told us, and I quote: "Don't ever come back. You are not welcome here" I told him: "We won't."

The location really can't be beat, but the management is another story. I went to the resort's website to check availability. It said that in September, there is a two night minimum stay on weekends, which was fine with me. When I called to make a reservation, I was told that there is a three night minimum. I asked the clerk about the discrepancy between what she was telling me, and what the website said. Her only reply was that the owner had written in that there was a three-night minimum that weekend (and, no, it wasn't a holiday weekend). I asked her if she could talk to the owner, but she sounded afraid to do so. We will be staying elsewhere. It's too bad the owner doesn't realize how he's driving away good business (and referrals).

We found it one of the most beautiful places to stay on our trip down the coast of Michigan. The service was excellent and our room was very clean and had a wonderful view of the lake. There are 95 steps to the lake, but every 30 steps there is a landing to take a break and enjoy a different view of the lake. We loved the chairs with umbrellas and the beach walk is incredible.

Great location! Beautiful scenery! Close to Saugatuck! We just love it and go every year! The rooms are clean and simple. They serve a nice breakfast every morning. Kayaks are included for guest use as well chairs and umbrellas. If you dont like swimming in the big lake, they are a great pool to relax in. It has over 100 steps down to the shore - - so be prepared to get some exercise going up and down. It is WELL worth it though. You can enjoy miles of walking along the beach and beautiful sunsets.

We love sitting in the loungers in the motel's yard relaxation area holding a drink, talking softly to each other and watching the sun go down over Lake Michigan. It is very relaxing and romantic. They give us a bottle of wine every year when we come as it is our wedding anniversary tradition to go there every year. Our room is always very clean and comfortable. On Sunday mornings we get up and walk together along Lake Shore Drive soaking up the view of the lake and lovely houses along the road. We have also enjoyed the fact that the motel is not rowdy and thus destroying of the ambiance.

This place is really a motel and not a resort, but who cares? The rooms are large enough and comfortable enough. We stayed in the standard queen room, and there was no problem with odors or service. (The tap water had a slight sulphuric odor to it, though.) It offers a private beach right across the street and down the 100 + steps; chairs, lounge chairs, and umbrella tables on the beach; kayaks to use on the water; bikes to ride; walking trails behind the resort; continental breakfast (monstrous-size muffins, for one thing); well-maintained and quiet grounds, with lots of soft grass and shade trees; a clean and heated pool with plenty of chairs, tables, and lounge chairs, plus water chairs and floats; and an impressive neighborhood of vacation homes for a walk or a bike ride. In addition, all rooms afford a view of the lake, and sunsets are magnificent. (The resort faces the west.) What Lake Shore Resort has going for it most is location. It's the only place in 100 miles of shoreline that has its own beach access. That's important. We are definitely going back....next summer.