Wellington Inn

We enjoyed our stay at the Wellington Inn. A beautifully restored turn of the 20^th century mansion, three stories with beautiful antiques. My fiancée said it’s the finest house in Traverse City. We stayed in the Munson Room, which had a small porch above the front door and under the stately and magnificently columned entry.
Breakfasts were very good, and an upstairs snack room offered goodies on demand. Host gave us a key to the back door to get in should we be out late.
The entire staff was pleasant and helpful to answer any questions. Our stay was most relaxing!
The inn is close to all the downtown attractions and eateries; about three blocks from the bay.
Only minor drawbacks are we couldn’t take coffee (or food) to our room, but since it does have so many ornate antiques one can understand the owner’s insistence on following this rule. Also, the walls seemed a bit thin and a loud neighbor didn’t seem willing to quiet down at the 10 p.m. appointed quiet hours. In fact, she rattled on for an hour till we knocked on the wall (and then some!).
Should we return at some point, we may likely stay again.

On our first trip to Traverse City, we stayed at this lovely Bed & Breakfast! It was built in 1905 by a family who made their riches in the lumber industry. Barb and Hank have painstakingly been returning this inn to it’s earlier grandeur. I was absolutely blown away by the stenciling done in the house. According to Barb, most of the house was wallpapered and taking down the paper from old plaster can uncover more problems than it is worth. So, a very talented stenciling artist redid the appearance of their walls. Because I stencil, I can really appreciate the time it takes, but she even added her own shading to take everything up a step. You can look at the many photos I will attach to see some of her work. My favorite part was the tray ceiling on the third floor! It took 9 different stencils to achieve this look.
One standout feature was the common kitchen area on the third floor. Many B & B’s will offer cookies, tea, coffee or water, but this place outdid themselves. Besides what I already mentioned, there were candy bars, muffins, cheese and crackers, wine, beer, cokes (both diet and regular), salty snacks, nuts, cider and hot chocolate mix.
There was a grand piano in the parlor which the host played for us if we asked. Sitting on the front porch and talking with the other guests was so pleasant and welcome before we walked to find a restaurant to eat (which were all within walking distance). Because they gave us a key to the house, we could come and go as we pleased. Hank gave us suggestions for places to eat while Barb showed us around the house and gave us a very nice map to show us where we might want to go exploring. The entire house was clean and inviting. One reason that prevented me from giving this place an enthusiastic 5 stars is that our bathroom sink has separate faucets for hot and cold water which makes it impossible to get a nice tepid water for washing your face — a minor thing. However, the main reason is that, according to my husband, the bed squeaked whenever I moved during the night! Keep in mind that the rates can be a little pricey and the breakfast on the morning we were there was pretty good, but not great. From reading other reviews, they serve different things on different days, so you might be luckier than we were.

Stayed in the carriage house. Would have liked to access the main house to sit and relax but our key would not get us in the main house. Breakfast was marginal. Great location but will not be staying in the carriage house again. Hank and Barb were fine.

Nice place, good-​not-​great breakfast. Nice rooms. Good location.