Mackinac & Straits
Mackinac Island
A car-free island in the Straits of Mackinac. Bike or walk from a busy harbor town to an old fort and a state park that covers most of the island.
Hotel · Mackinac & Straits
Island House Hotel
On Main Street east of downtown, across from the marina, Mackinac Island
The Island House stands on Main Street east of downtown Mackinac Island, facing the marina. Its story starts in 1852, when it opened as a small beach house during the years the island was turning from a military post into a summer destination. The Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau credits its founding to Charles O’Malley, an Irish immigrant.
Great Lakes captain Henry Van Allen acquired the property in 1865 and moved the building roughly 300 feet back from the shoreline to the spot it occupies today. His daughter, Rose Van Allen Webster, took over in 1892, and east and west wings were added in 1895 and 1912. After her death in 1938 the hotel fell idle, and the tourism bureau notes it sat empty for more than two decades and came close to being torn down around 1970.
Harry Ryba and Victor Callewaert took on the hotel in 1969, and after a two-year restoration the main building reopened in 1972. The state designated it a Michigan Historic Landmark in 1973, and it joined Historic Hotels of America in 2004. The family still operates it. The hotel lists 94 rooms and suites, an indoor pool added in a 1994 addition, an outdoor hot tub for guests, and on-site dining including the 1852 Grill Room.
Location
Where Island House Hotel is
1 place on an OpenStreetMap map
Approximate location. The host shares the exact address when you book.
Nearby towns
Nearby attractions
Historic site
Fort Mackinac
The fort on the bluff above Mackinac Island's harbor, founded by the British in 1780 and now a living history museum with fourteen restored buildings.
State park
Mackinac Island State Park
Michigan's first state park covers more than 80 percent of Mackinac Island: forest, limestone formations, historic sites and 70-plus miles of roads and trails.