The Beachway Resort

Grossly overpriced. Noisy. Inconvenient. My partner and I arrived late Friday night and found our suite clean, beautifully decorated spacious and inviting. Exhausted after working a full week and battling traffic out of Chicago that day, we quickly unpacked and fell into bed. At precisely 7:30 the next morning we were jolted awake by footsteps both shoed and barefoot across the hardwood floors of the unit above. The added sounds of chairs and tables being dragged across the same hardwood floors as well as the countless dropping of utensils onto the floor was more than we could tolerate and so we got out of bed earlier than we would have liked. Our stay was in mid October so the weather was grey and wet. Half of the area establishments were closed until next Spring. We toured the area and lakeshore Saturday and returned that evening after dinner. We enjoyed the gas fireplace in the living room, struggled with the unit’s spotty WiFi, and settled into the jacuzzi before falling into bed that night. We were awakened throughout the night by the jacuzzi’s loud automatic pumps which kicked on full blast to dry the tub’s jets to minimize the risk of their becoming mildewed. At sunrise the torturous sounds of plodding feet, scraping of furniture legs, and crashing of utensils on hardwood floors had us out of bed that Sunday morning at 7:00. In no hurry to race back to Chicago, I asked if we could stay in the room past the standard 11:00 checkout time so that we could take our time making our breakfast, enjoy the jacuzzi for the second time and pack and was told no, absolutely no. So we quickly showered, gathered our stuff, paid the outrageous bill and left. Maybe, and it’s a pretty doubtful maybe this would be a nice place to spend a day or two during the summer months, but then the fireplace and jacuzzi wouldn’t be needed. During our Saturday tour of the area we came across many motels and resorts at much less the cost and I’m certain more quite and convenient than what we experienced at the Beachway Motel. I recommend you save your money and frustration and look into staying at one of these other establishments instead.

Lovely place in a location that truly can’t be beat. However, our room on the 1^st floor did not have its own heating/​cooling controls and the temperature in the room (in July) was uncomfortably cold — to the point where we had to wear jackets whenever we were inside. The temp overnight was much colder: even with a blanket and fluffy comforter I was not able to sleep until I got up and put on warmer clothes. It really detracted from an otherwise very nice place. I recommend asking about this before you book; they have a lot of different room configurations, so perhaps some do have their own temp control.

We stayed in the Beachway Inn’s «Watermelon Cottage» the weekend of June 21, 2013, at a rate of $ 270 per night. While the cottage was very clean on the inside, the screened porch was very dirty/​bug filled, the interior furnishings were not very comfortable nor was it outfitted in a manner consistent with the price charged. There was no daily cleaning service and signage stating dishes, etc. are not included in the daily rate. Yet, strangely enough, there were only two drinking glasses, a utensil service for 4, and no dish towels. While not the fault of Beachway, the «convenient» ferry to Saugatuck was operating only 1.5 days out of our 4 day stay so we couldn’t avoid the parking issues in Saugatuck. Overall, we believe the Watermelon Cottage is seriously over-​priced for the level of accommodation provided.

My mom and I were looking for a reasonably priced place to stay for a night. We stumbled upon this hotel and enjoyed our stay! It is a really cute place. The front staff was courteous and helpful. The rooms are all uniquely designed and very clean. Quiet too! The breakfast was great. Good location right down the road from the beautiful Oval Beach. Right across from downtown Saugatuck shopping too. Adorable place! We will definitely be back!

I love the Beachway Resort. We had a group of 27 stay there for a family reunion and it was great. You can walk to the beach and take the Chain Ferry into town. The pool was clean and the rooms are older but very clean. The staff was great, too.