The woman with the Louis Vuitton bag tottered past me strapped into Manolo
Blahnik sandals, secured at the elbow by a man in a lean black blazer. I might
not have gawked at them in Chicago or Detroit or their environs. But the
tottering took place near the top of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, land of
flannel shirts and Hemingway legend. Bay Harbor, the new resort community just
west of Petoskey on Lake Michigan, caters to kinds that pack to impress.
“We’re trying to create an Aspen,” says Wally Kidd, director of sales at
Bay Harbor, unveiled last summer. “We’ve got high-end dining, high-end
shopping, a gourmet market and boutique lodging above.”
Aspenites like Chanel and Nobu have yet to move into Bay Harbor, but give
it time. Reinventing a languishing stretch of coast, Bay Harbor brings a sense
of urban sophistication to the vacation playground of Detroiters and
Chicagoans who no longer have to forgo facials and seared tuna when they head
“up north.” In the tradition of exclusive resort enclaves developed in the
region dating back to the 1870s, Bay Harbor joins nearby Bay View,
Wequetonsing and Harbor Springs on Michigan’s elite list. Occupying the last
industrial site on Little Traverse, Bay Harbor earns praise from locals for
greening an eyesore — a cement factory and quarry, abandoned since 1981. The
core of the 1,200-acre development remains private, including a members-only
yacht club and equestrian club, and homes ranging from cliffside condos to
multi-million-dollar lakeside neo-Victorians. But it also entices tourists and
local cabin owners like me with a central retail district, golf courses, boat
harbor, 130-room inn with day spa and 5 miles of prime lakefront.
Parking my red pickup and frayed sweatshirt, I check into Bay Harbor as a
vacation from my vacation, the place to sleep on downy linens, sip fine wines
and let something other than the lake surf pummel my body.
Those cushy bed linens along with overstuffed couches and granite kitchen
counters outfit the spare-no-expense condo rentals in Bay Harbor’s retail
Marina District. The balcony in a unit I took last fall framed a fiery Lake
Michigan sunset, proving the lodgings have a lock on location.
Opened last July, the Marina District concentrates shops and restaurants
into the ground level of two block-long condo buildings with funky domes and
turrets paying homage to hodgepodge fishing villages of old. Between them,
Main Street runs to the marina where fishermen cast off the dock for
smallmouth bass beside yachts.
But Bay Harbor’s keenest draw is its food led by the fine-but-fun dining
spot Latitude. Drawing praise from publications like Wine Spectator, Latitude
serves upscale local specialties such as seared walleye with warm chanterelle
salad as well as globetrotting contemporary fare such as tempura bonsi tuna.
The catwalk second story, open cooking line and fanciful lighting fixtures
would be quite at home in River North. And in a departure for the area I found
a dinner reservation essential, at least on peak weekends.
At the other end of the thoroughfare the Original Pancake House offers
ample incentive to show up for breakfast. An outpost of the popular Detroit
diner, the Pancake House serves high fat, high satisfaction buttermilk
pancakes with thick cut bacon, chunky hash browns and lots of butter.
A short, lakeside stroll from the Marina District, the stand-alone Inn at
Bay Harbor updates the grand Victorian lake hotel model with New Age charm.
Scented candles perfume the polished lobby. Sprawling rooms feature kitchens
adjoining living areas with gas fireplaces. Downy comforters envelop the beds.
And the newly opened spa secures the inn’s image as
antique-on-the-surface-only, practicing the pampering arts in a small but
exquisitely appointed setting with glass wash basins and pale ceramic tiles.
I reserved a hot rock massage boasting native Lake Michigan stones, heated
and used to knead the muscles. The tiny smooth, warmed stones a therapist
placed between each of my toes evoked the rocky windswept beach perfectly. At
least from the sheltered distance of a massage table.
Though imported sand amplifies the beach, the rock and shale that gird the
shore visibly cue you to keep your shoes on in the water. Swimming anytime
prior to mid-July is for the hardy only (except in the pool, of course). For
the rest of us the inn furnishes Adirondack chairs for reading, stocks a
surfside fire ring for evening s’more making, populates an outdoor set with
life-size pieces and plants a croquet court on the manicured lawn. But the
hammocks strung between waterfront birches equip me to pursue my favorite
up-north pastime, doing nothing.
For those more ambitious, perhaps the best reason to make haste to Bay
Harbor is its golf club. Its 27 holes — called “brilliant” by Golf Week —
will remain public only until all golf club memberships sell out, most likely
this year. Until then, anyone with $240 can play the course, which skirts the
lake, rims the old quarry and tunnels through the woods. A non-golfer, I came
for the proverbial 19th hole, the stone-clad clubhouse. Its restaurant and bar
occupy a knockout balcony patio adjoining the woods with a view of the lake
and the final green between the trees.
A recent stroll down Main Street finds Bay Harbor still filling
storefronts. But new tenants like women’s clothiers Les Femmes and Wooly Bully
invigorate the resort shopping scene heavy on art galleries and expensive
jewelry. And Knot Just A Bar, opening this month, will serveburgers and salads
in a shabby-chic harborfront tavern — like Bay Harbor, an “up north” idea
with a modern twist.
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
Bay Harbor is located just west of Petoskey on U.S. Highway 31, about 340
miles from Chicago. The nearest airport, Pellston, is served by Northwest
Airlines via Detroit. American and United Airlines fly direct from Chicago to
Traverse City, 67 miles south of Bay Harbor.
LODGING
Condominium rentals in the Marina District provide kitchens, gas
fireplaces, plush bed linens, housekeeping and concierge service. Condo
dwellers also have access to a new outdoor pool beside the marina with cabanas
available for rental at $195 per day. Room rates start at $350 per night for a
one-bedroom suite and range up to $1,500 for a three-bedroom suite. To reserve
call 888-229-4272 or 231-439-2000. On the Internet see www.bayharbor.com.
Many rooms at the Inn at Bay Harbor also contain kitchens, fireplaces and
parlors. Summer room rates range from $185 to $1,575 per night. For
reservations call 800-462-6963 or 231-439-4000. On the Web see
www.innatbayharbor.com.
Boaters can reserve one of 50 transient dock spaces overnight in the marina
for $1.50 per boat foot with a minimum of 30 feet. Reservations are
recommended. Call 231-439-2544.
ACTIVITIES
Shops, art galleries and restaurants populate the Marina District. For
reservations at Latitude call 231-439-2750. The Spa at the Inn at Bay Harbor
(231-439-4046) is open to both guests and non-guests. Massages start at $45
for a foot treatment and top out at $110 for LaStone hot stone therapy.
Scrubs, wraps and facials are also available. Until its membership roster is
filled, Bay Harbor Golf Club is open to non-members. Greens fees cost $240 for
18 holes in summer’s high season. Crooked Tree Golf Club across the highway
from Bay Harbor prices golf at $95 per round in high season. For reservations
at both call 800-462-6963.
INFORMATION
Contact the Petoskey-Harbor Springs-Boyne Country Visitors Bureau at
800-845-2828; www.boynecountry.com.
