Where We Stayed: Petoskey, MI

26.06.2012 - 28.06.2012 80 °F

The Apple Tree Inn is located on a road that runs along Little Traverse Bay. The hotel boasts that every room has a bay view. In our room, this was technically true, but the bay view was pretty limited.

That photo was taken while I was standing at our sliding door. The view was not visible when sitting down on the patio. We were on the first floor, so maybe the rooms on the upper floors have better views.

The rooms also have VCRs, which struck us as a bit old-school at first. However, once we saw the VHS library in the breakfast area, it made sense. There are children's films in their selection, so that is nice for families. The fridge and microwave in the room were bonuses as well.

The pool and spa area is decent-sized and adjoins to an outdoor deck for people who want sun. When we arrived, the pool was covered up with one of the kinds of covers usually seen on outdoor pools. The receptionist told us to notify the front desk when we wanted to swim so they could remove the cover, which was on to help keep the pool warm. The staff was responsive and uncovered the pool right away when we wanted to swim. The trouble was the water: it was cold. I didn't see the temperature, but I can say that not only did the water feel cold when we got in, we started to feel cold again after we had been in the water for some time. We suspect that the hotel was heating the pool just with the cover alone. Sunlight comes through the sliding doors by the deck, but it's not much compared to what an outdoor pool would get--at least not in the morning, which is when we went swimming.

In all, we enjoyed our stay, but would like to see a better way of heating the pool.

Bathroom: shower/tub combo
Breakfast: The complimentary breakfast included continental items with a waffle station, but had a couple of nice touches you don't see at similar hotel breakfasts. Their lemon bread was really good. For the waffles, they had different flavored syrups and toppings (almonds, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.) that would also work on oatmeal. Instead of pots of already-brewed coffee, they had a variety of K-cup flavors so you could choose what you wanted: although they had a half-caf option, there was nothing completely decaffeinated, which would have been nice to have. There was also hot water to go with a selection of teas (caffeinated and non), but no hot cocoa.
Elevator: yes
Internet: free in-room wifi. We didn't have any problems with it.
Nearest playground: Bayfront Park is a short drive away. It has lots of playground equipment for the kids and bay views for all.