. Next time we are in Traverse City we will stay at the Great Wolf not this place. Air conditioner was SOO loud and NEVER cooled the room down. I heard great things about the hotel and rooms but we had an awful room.Not happy This hotel was very disappointing.

. Sleeping Bear dunes are amazing and the beach in Empire MI is lovely not to mention all the other beaches on Lake MI. Overall, the best beaches are on lake Michigan, and worth the drive. It makes for a pretty view, but is not really condusive for swimming except for the State Park beach which is clean and nice. The East Bay (hotel zone) is pretty grassy and the water is very shallow. Travelers tip on recreational activities Beaches: The West bay is close to downtown Traverse City, and those beaches seem better for swimming and kids. So we are grateful for the discount to be able to stay there. We did not use the spa services, and we do not golf, and we probably could not have afforded to stay here if they had not been running a sale when we booked. It was really wonderful: the food, the view, the whole experience for our last night there. We had a fantastic meal at the Aerie restaurant at sunset in the hotel. It was fine for us, since we were driving everywhere anyway (preganancy gives you an automatic designated driver). As for the location of the hotel, we didn’t mind that it was a bit out of the way. We went over to the Sleeping Bear Dunes and hung out at that beach which was gorgeous. The pool over there was pretty crowded too. Although, when we tried to put our feet in the lake it was freezing so I am not sure we would have liked it anyway. The only downside was that the beach down the road was rather disappointing, tiny and grassy. My husband loved the fact that the sports bar had Michigan Brewed beer on tap. Lots of options when it came to eating/drinking at the hotel. Pools were lovely. The room was clean and comfortable.Great stay at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa Staff were very helpful and polite.

. Ok, but watch your bill, they will get it wrong. Hotel is great, front desk is not good. Even staff in other areas stated that the front desk had a high turnover, and it shows. The front desk is a disaster.Hotel is great, front desk is a disaster Hotel and staff at bars and pool were excellent.

. Top notch. There was plenty for my family to do at the hotel with several pools and other amenities. The hotel was clean. The service was superb.Very Nice The Hotel is very nice.

... which would be fine if you didn’t have to pay to use the tennis courts, spa, etc. I felt it was overpriced and on top of it you had to pay a $10 resort fee for each night you stayed. It didn’t seem to be worth the money when there are other options with a pool all over Traverse City. I am certain we could have had a good time at a less expensive hotel.It was just ok.

. There is a 2 hour limit for 4 quarters in most spots. Watch out when parking on the street, we saw many cops giving tickets the sec their time was up. During the Cherry Festival, there were lots that were charging $20 and others that were only charging $4. I recommend driving around before settling on a park lot or garage. The downtown Traverse City area is about 10 miles away so you will have to drive. Travelers tip on local attractions The big event is the Cherry Festival which is more like a local carnival without cherries. There is a pool there too but again little lounge space. There is no sand shoreline but grass and then water. The sand is not that clean, it is filled with rocks. It is also a very small beach and by no means does it look anything like the picture on the hotel’s website. It is 2 stop lights down US 31 in another condo area that the hotel also owns. The hotel beach, you are driving to it or taking their van that runs basically when someone calls for it. The indoor tennis courts were great but very hard to reserve. There is 2 outdoor pools, the one was closed for repairs and the other one was small, not a lot of lounge space. The indoor pool is great if you have young kids, it is big and has a slide plus there is a lap section too. The 4 star rating is probably due to the golf courses which are great but there is no discount if you are staying at the hotel which was another disappointment. Wireless Internet Access is very slow, no LAN connections. The TV was at least 10 years old and the picture would go out after 15 minutes or so. The hotel staff during the summer months is college kids so you can expect what kind of service you get, pretty much none. The bathroom is the size of a closet. The Hotel room for 2 Adults is nowhere near the quality and space that say any 4 star hotel that I have stayed at before plus no refrigerator or safe.Golf Here But Stay Somewhere Else I find it hard to believe that this is considered a 4 star hotel.

. It was still a great place to stay at, but dealing with the front desk was not fun. However, we were very unimpressed with the attitude of the front desk staff (though customer service was very friendly) as they constantly brushed us off if we had questions. On the bright side, the furniture did not smell like smoke at all and once we left the window open for a couple hours, there was really no smell at all. We finally asked to see the manager, and he did put us up in a smoking king bedroom, which was the only one available. Not only that, they told us that all the rooms were booked months ago,yet they allowed us to believe we had booked the room. When we pointed out this mistake, they told us that all the king bedrooms were booked and that asking for one in advance didn’t guarantee you would get one. The only problem I had was that we booked a bedroom with a king bed and when we arrived they put us in a room with two separate beds. The restaurant at the top of the tower was also impressive. We took a yoga class in the morning and the pool (which was saline, not chlorine) was not too crowded and very spacious. It was really nice and had a lot of activities.Nice Hotel I went to this hotel to spend a romantic weekend with my boyfriend.

who can beat that?... Travelers tip on local attractions 15 wineries within 30 minutes of each other, all with free wine tasting. Much more than I expected, and a lot to return to when I and my friends take future trips to Traverse City.High class in a small town The Grand Traverse Resort lives up to the name Resort.

. Also, head on up to Leland/Fishtown, for a lunch and to see the little shops. Definitely check out the huge dunes on the Pierce Stocking scenic drive, and pull off the highway at several points for nature hikes on designated trails. Travelers tip on local attractions Besides Traverse City’s shopping, wineries and restaurants, don’t miss a trip over to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.eww... I am so happy I quit smoking. There is a separate wing of the hotel which is accessed from there and I presume these must be the smoking rooms. My only major disappointment was the rank smell of cigarette smoke in the general vicinity of the downstairs restaurant and bar. The kids loved the nice indoor pool area filled with activities and the entire place was equal to any top notch resort I’ve stayed at in Chicago or Seattle or LA or elsewhere. We really enjoyed our meals in the restaurants, especially the tower restaurant (Aerie ?), a bit pricy, but very good. We found the room to be clean and nice (with the exception of the jacuzzi tub, which seems overdue for replacement, but not un-usable). We were pleasantly surprised on this visit as it seems that the necessary updates were in place and exceeded our expectations.Much Improved 4 Star Resort We visited the Grand Traverse Resort several years ago and noted at the time that the hotel was in need of some updates.

the room was not worth the price we paid either-had friends stay at their Casino down the road and they were very happy(should have stayed there for 2/3 the price!!!)...95 "resort fee" per day that we were charged when we checked out. i also was unaware of a $9... they called security because a door that was supposed to be locked wasnt...also that i was shown by the front door guy how to get there..I had a winter hat,gloves, and coat on and told them i had no intentions on swimming.It was 10 pm and i walked down there and i was greeted by 3 hotel staff girls that asked how i got down there and i had to leave because the pool was closed. they were rude I was treated very rudely by staff on Friday night when i asked the front door guy where the pool was at, he told me and pointed me in the direction...Will never go back.

. Would have been good to have T & Coffee facilities in the room and to know about the resort access fee in advance. Easy access to great outdoor pursuits (winter or summer). We stayed in November, but the indoor spa facilities and the play pool for younger kids was great.Great Location, Great Hotel This hotel is really well located and would be fabulous in the Summer.

The 24-hour casino shuttle was a defiinite plus!. We will, however, go back during the warmer golf season as the courses look absolutely beautiful.Can’t wait to try in summer Hotel was very nice, good place for family getaways as it was filled with children, which I would say, would be the only "down-side" to the resort.

Awesome Wonderful food, great views, nice rooms.

Travelers tip on shopping Go downtown there are many bargains!. This is supposed to be a world class resort and as someone who has traveled all over the world, this was not that type of resort. From my experience ther I did not feel we received our monies worth for what we paid. Our room was not ready when we checked in - we’d called twice to make sure that there was a crib for our daughter - we were assured that it would be in the room and it was not, this delayed us getting our 2 year old into bed by 2 hours - also our room was musty and smelled when we first got there and was damp, there was a hole in the wall in the bathroom, the phone did not work in our room, and the smoke detector kept going off through out the night - after calling 3 times it was finally fixed, but we did not have a ’relaxing stay’ - There was no follow up from management on our problems - no apologies - the only highlight was the SPA, which was apparently run by a team that actually cared about their clientele. Very, Very disappointed by our stay at this resort - I expected this to be a step up from the prior resorts we’d stayed at in Traverse City - but was very dismayed.Rooms like what you’d expect from a base level motel.

. Most of the restaurants don’t take reservations (not good for little ones!) so if you can, eat at off-peak hours and save yourself the wait. Great place for kids, too. Travelers tip on local attractions Traverse City is a must see, plan to take a few days to get through all the shops! The Green House restaurant was wonderful with it’s homemade soups, breads and dressings. The amenities were endless and we appreciated the choices we had in dining, playing and shopping. We stayed for 5 days and our 3 year old kept plenty busy.A Grand place to stay The Grand Traverse Resort and Spa was a great place to stay for our family.

. The water front down the road is fair but for a water lover it would have made it perfect to be on the bay. Travelers tip on getting the most out of your stay Was great for having all you need on the grounds but missed it not being on the water.Great amenities, bad pillows & mattress The hotel was beautiful,the dining was great, loved the spa,but pillows & mattress left me wanting to use the spa again in the morning.

. Travelers tip on getting the most out of your stay If you are planning on seeing the sites and being away from your room most of the time, you might want to consider staying somewhere else. He could have increased our order by making suggestions as to what might be nice with the main course. Our waiter made no suggestions and did not explain that sides (salad, veggies, pasta, soup or potatoes) of any kind, were excluded from the meal. The service in their nice restaurant could have been better. Luckily we brought our lap top so we could show them the confirmations from expedia. Watch out, when booking the tower, that they don’t put you in the hotel or try to charge more for an upgrade to the tower upon registration. Front desk service was just OK. A bit expensive for what you got.Nice Overall Grand Traverse was nice.

. Free Casino money which we did not get a chance to use. Plenty of choices for golf and the course was in great shape. Dinner and breakfast were great and reasonable.Enjoyed all the amenities Had a great stay! Enjoyed the indoor and outdoor pools.

Take your beach chairs & cooler to the beach were the volleyball nets are on and watch them play! Buy fudge but know the locals call all visitors Fugies!! Have fun!. Not a lot of people go on that one. Do the easy course.its so much fun.. Sail on the Manitou!! Go wine tasting! If you see a movie remember the seats at both theaters are old(uncomfortable!)Play with your spouse or w/ kids at Pirate’s Cove . Travelers tip on getting the most out of your stay Go eat Breakfest at the Omelette Shoppe! Shop down town. Her smile deserved a tip!!!! And I told her that. I never tip the maids but this time I did. At the bars the staff were also very nice! Had a great time!Even the maid was great and had a big smile for me everytime I say her. Recommend that! Food was good in the resturant and the servers where nice. Loved my Cherry Pedicure. They also added slide. We don’t have kids but it was a good idea. They added on to the indoor pool to make it more kid fun.A great Place to stay! It has been awhile since we have been back to the Grand Traverse Resort.