Last weekend, we took our show on the road! We packed up the car, and spent a weekend in Bay Harbor! Unfortunately, we got a full-blown spring weather weekend, and dodged raindrops and sleet all day Saturday. Thankfully, the Inn at Bay Harbor had plenty to do to keep us occupied!
Where we stayed
Bay Harbor was a little over a 3 hour drive for us, straight up 131. It’s located on Lake Michigan!
The Inn at Bay Harbor hosted us for the weekend. None of us had ever been to Bay Harbor, so pulling up to the the hotel was quite impressive. It was located beyond a quarry, right on Lake Michigan, just a bit north past Petoskey!
We stayed in a suite, with an adjoining room. This is a must for us, when we travel with kids. Since it was raining and it was the NCAA tournament, we did spend a little more time in the room than we typically do. The extra space came in clutch!
We had a balcony that connected over by the girls’ room. It offered amazing (though chilly) views of Lake Michigan!
The Inn at Bay Harbor had a small game room downstairs with a fooseball table and ping pong, as well as a great dinner restaurant called Vintage, and the breakfast room — which turned into the tea room in the afternoon. They also offered shuttles into Bay Harbor, where you can walk, shop, and find a few other restaurants. Check here to see where else the shuttle can take you!
The property also has a season outdoor pool and bar, and a hot tub (which was open!). While we didn’t use the hot tub, we did spend some time outside, walking along the snowy beach, and collecting rocks. Spring is the best time to find Petoskey stones, and we found several!
What we did
We got in around dinner time on Friday, so after getting checked in and settled, we headed right down to dinner, then checked out the game room.
We woke up bright and early Saturday, because the girls had morning manicure appointments at the spa inside the Inn at Bay Harbor!
It was way too cute, seeing the girls in the spa, feeling like hot stuff and making small talk with everyone in the spa! They all picked 3 different colors for their nails, and lived their absolute best lives.
After nails, we had Tea Time! This was seriously so much fun — and our jaws all dropped when we saw the snack trays!! They were filled with little sandwiches, macaroons, scones, fruit, and more!! The girls especially enjoyed the edible flowers 😉
You do need a reservation for tea, but it is offered daily from 2-4! You can learn more and make a reservation here. I highly recommend this!! It was so fun, and would be fun for Easter or Mother’s Day, too!!
We headed into Petoskey, to check out Kilwin’s Chocolate Kitchen. This was bigger than any Kilwin’s we’d been in, and they had the “factory” portion divided by a window — so you could see how things were made. Very cool! Of course, we left with a big bag of goodies!
We checked out a few other spots in Petosky, before wanting to get out of the rain, so we headed back to the hotel. Before dinner, the girls and I braved the beach. It was sleeting at this point, so we all got bundled up to explore. We found SO many fossils and Petoskey stones in a short amount of time. The Inn at Bay Harbor doesn’t have a huge beach, but it’s a great location!
Sunday morning, I woke up early enough to catch the sunrise from the beach.
The rain finally stopped, and it was gorgeous! After breakfast, the girls and I took one last walk on the beach, before loading up and heading home!
Where we ate
Both nights for dinner during our weekend in Bay Harbor, we ended up at Vintage Chop House, inside the hotel. With the rain, it was easier. I would definitely recommend making a reservation the day before. The hotel was not full, but the restaurant nearly always was!
The food was great — and they had a great kids menu! Vintage had lots of specialty cocktails and a very extensive wine list, too!
We enjoyed the breakfast buffet each morning as well. As far as breakfast buffets go, I was impressed by the options! There was an omelette station, and DIY waffle station, sausage, bacon, amazing biscuits (London said they were the best she’d ever had), and more! There was a Starbucks Cafe inside the hotel as well, with a limited menu.
While we were in Petoskey, we stopped at Beard’s Brewery! I had heard a lot of great things about Beard’s, so it was a must-stop for us! The inside was so bright and fun — despite the grey, rainy weather!! We had a table near a big window, and the service was great! The girls got a light lunch, and Dave and I had an app and a drink! I got the Killer Cacti seltzer. It was hoppy, but good!
We had the best weekend in Bay Harbor, and are already dreaming up another trip to the Inn at Bay Harbor (maybe in the summer, next time 😉)
You can shop everything we wore on our trip here:
xo -j
and huge thanks to the Inn at Bay Harbor for hosting us over the weekend!!
