Frankenmuth is a nice little gem tucked right in the middle of Michigan, and very convenient from I-75. We stopped there for the weekend on our way up to our lake house. Being a holiday weekend, the hotel was fairly crowded, though the only time
more +we really felt crowded was during the fireworks. The hotel lawn was the best place in the city to watch the fireworks.
The pools, playrooms, and arcade offer something for all ages. There isn't an indoor waterpark, but our two girls (10 and 4) had a good time playing and splashing in the pools. Outside of the hotel, there was plenty to do to keep the kid's attention. Lots of cool little shops that the kids liked, and the largest Christmas store in the world, Bronners, not too far away. There's a riverboat cruise, zoo, petting barn/farm, mining, and lots of ice cream shops. The kids were never bored.
Dining was great! There are 3 restaurants in the hotel, and the Bavarian Inn restaurant is a 5-minute walk across the river into town. While the food is good, all but Oma's was pretty expensive for the area. We routinely dropped $50-$75 for two kids and two adults at our meals. This is true throughout the city, not just the hotel restaurants, but worth mentioning.
The great thing about Frankenmuth is it's very small, everything you might want to do (except the zoo) is within walking distance. That said, the Bavarian Inn is set back a bit from the town. It's not a bad walk, but if you're making multiple trips to the main drag it's just far enough to make you wish you stayed at a hotel on the main street. We walked everywhere though, including to Bronners, and it wasn't that bad.
The thing I'll call out specifically is how friendly the staff is. We aren't the type to complain a lot anyway, but in this case we had nothing to complain about and the staff went out of their way to accommodate us every chance they could. When we asked for outside dining but all the tables were full, they actually carried another table out and set it up for us.
I really like the guy who plays at the lounge on Friday and Sat nights too.
Date of Stay: 07/04/2009
Children in Party: 2
Tots (0-2) Kids (3-6) Kids (7-9) Tweens (10-12) Tweens (13+) Accommodations Dining Kids Play Area Money Value Pool & Water Fun Staff
My favorite place in Michigan is Frankenmuth and this is one of the funniest hotels for families. It is more of a resort than a hotel...very large but not too large that you would get lost. The most impressive things are all the activities for kids
more +of all ages. There are five pools: One for babies, one that is called a wave pool for everyone (pushes you around and also has shooting water sprayers), a regular pool with hot tub, and a waterfall pool and hot tub.
There is also indoor golf, three huge arcade areas, and a playhouse for little ones, where they can play and slide. We always get a room on the pool level, so we can walk right out onto the patio and down along the river. You walk right along the river to the bridge and you can walk right into the shops. There is a tennis court outside, although we have never used it.
There are two restaurants, one bar and two gift shops right on site. We usually eat at the restaurant right by the waterfall pool/indoor miniature golf area. We grab a pizza and sit and watch people playing. At night they have karaoke.
The rooms could stand some updating, but is large and comfortable for a family. The hotel is close to a large local shopping center called River Place (you can walk to it from the hotel) and close to my favorite place in the world-Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. In the winter there is no place prettier than Frankenmuth.
I want to go back just from writing this review! We stay here twice a year at least, and they have a great members program called Perks where you get a $20 gift card back for every $200 you spend and also get specials throughout the year. I couldn't afford to stay here without it-the rack rate is quite high at times. I usually end up paying $110 or so a night with the Perks specials. Your kids are going to have a blast! Good luck getting them to leave!!
Date of Stay: 08/30/2009
Children in Party: 2
Accommodations Dining Kids Play Area Money Value Pool & Water Fun Staff
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Bavarian Inn Lodge
