Fifteen stays, one state, measured north
Reserve an inn or lodge up north through a travel agency in Southfield, Michigan
We are a travel agency in Southfield, Michigan, on Northwestern Highway, and we plan drive-to stays at Michigan inns, lodges and lakeside hotels that keep their own front desk. Pick a stay, send the request, and one written quote comes back before anything is held.
Start a written requestOr call (248) 357-7426, Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern
Each dot is one stay, placed by its latitude. The square is our office at 42.50 degrees; the dashed line is the 45th parallel.
The catalog, one whole degree of latitude per band
Closest to the office's own latitude
The one stay inside the 42nd degree, barely north of the desk on the map though three hours west by road.
Lake Michigan harbors and the Cass River
One degree up the map: two harbor towns on the big lake and the Bavarian river town, the shortest drive in the list.
43.06° NGrand Haven
A harborfront village inn with its own front desk, close to the pier lighthouses and the river boardwalk.
From, room for two$2402 nights · from $120 per personNot included: taxes, lunches, dinners and park entry.
43.33° NFrankenmuth
A Bavarian-style lodge with indoor pools beside the Cass River, the closest drive from the office.
From, room for two$4002 nights · from $200 per personNot included: taxes, meals and activities.
43.96° NLudington
An avenue inn near a Lake Michigan beach, a breakwater lighthouse and wide state park dunes.
From, room for two$2903 nights · from $150 per personNot included: taxes, meals and park entry.
Dune country and the northern lakeshore
The degree below the halfway line, where the big dunes and the bays begin.
44.04° NPort Austin
A motor lodge with its own front desk in a small town where Lake Huron meets Saginaw Bay.
From, room for two$2502 nights · from $130 per personNot included: taxes, meals and park entry.
44.28° NEast Tawas
A plain beach hotel on Tawas Bay, with a sand beach out front and a lighthouse point nearby.
From, room for two$1702 nights · from $90 per personNot included: taxes, meals and park entry.
44.77° NTraverse City
A bayside hotel on West Grand Traverse Bay, with a shore trail and downtown close by.
From, room for two$2603 nights · from $130 per personNot included: taxes, lunches, dinners and park entry.
44.90° NGlen Arbor
A village inn in Glen Arbor, between Glen Lake and the dunes, with trails and overlooks nearby.
From, room for two$6103 nights · from $310 per personNot included: taxes, park pass and meals.
Past the halfway line to the Straits
North of the 45th parallel: the tip of the mitten and the bridge to the Upper Peninsula.
45.06° NAlpena
A riverfront hotel in Alpena where the Thunder Bay River runs out to Lake Huron.
From, room for two$2302 nights · from $120 per personNot included: taxes, lunches and dinners.
45.38° NPetoskey
A historic downtown hotel on the bluff, with Little Traverse Bay and its stony beaches below.
From, room for two$3102 nights · from $160 per personNot included: taxes, fuel and meals.
45.77° NMackinaw City
A beachfront hotel with its own front desk on the Straits shoreline, near a lighthouse and an old fort.
From, room for two$1702 nights · from $90 per personNot included: taxes, meals and activities.
Lake Superior country
Across the bridge: painted sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and the Lower Harbor ore dock on the biggest lake.
46.42° NMunising
A Lake Superior bayside motel on Munising Bay, close to sandstone cliffs and several waterfalls outside town.
From, room for two$4003 nights · from $200 per personNot included: taxes, bridge toll, park pass and meals.
46.54° NMarquette
A downtown hotel above the Lower Harbor, with Presque Isle's dark rocks and a lakeshore trail close by.
From, room for two$3903 nights · from $200 per personNot included: taxes, bridge toll and meals.
The far end of the Keweenaw
The northernmost degree the office plans, five degrees of latitude above its desk.
47.11° NHoughton
A hillside hotel above the Portage Canal, with the lift bridge and the copper country close by.
From, room for two$3803 nights · from $190 per personNot included: taxes, bridge toll, lunches and dinners.
47.47° NCopper Harbor
A shore motel in Copper Harbor, the small Lake Superior harbor at the tip of the Keweenaw.
From, room for two$4804 nights · from $240 per personNot included: taxes, bridge toll and meals.
One total per tile, explained
Every price on this site is a total for a room for two over a set number of nights, with the per person share printed smaller beside it. The written quote then puts the lodging's own rate for your dates in its place.
Inside this total
Left for you to pay on the road
A desk on Northwestern Highway
The office is one suite in an office building on Northwestern Highway, in the City of Southfield. Visits are by appointment while the phone is staffed, Monday to Friday.
We are paid by the lodging, as a commission after your stay, so the request, the quote and any changes before you leave cost you nothing.
Suite 140, Southfield
The Grateful Traveler LLC28400 Northwestern Hwy, Suite 140
Southfield, MI 48034
(248) 357-7426
desk@thegratefultraveler.com
| Monday to Friday | Phone answered 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern |
|---|---|
| Saturday and Sunday | Phone off; weekend requests wait for Monday |
| Written requests | Answered within four phone hours |
| Visits | By appointment, during phone hours |
The reply clock runs only while the phone is staffed: a request sent at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday is answered by 12:30 p.m. the next Monday.
Send a request for one stay
Questions from the first phone call
Do I pay you anything?
No. The lodging pays the office a commission after you have stayed. You pay the lodging directly for the room, at its own desk or when it asks you to hold the reservation.
How fast will I hear back?
Within four phone hours. The clock runs Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern, so a request sent at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday is answered by 12:30 p.m. the next Monday.
Why is the list in this order?
It runs from south to north by the latitude of each lodging, starting near our own and ending on the Keweenaw. The degree by degree page explains the bands.
Is the price on the tile what I will pay?
It is where the quote starts. The tile shows our working rate for the stay, and its stay page names where that rate came from; the quote replaces it with the lodging's rate for your dates and lists the taxes on top. The pricing page shows every rate.
Next on the site: reserve a Michigan vacation package