Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island
286 Grand Avenue, Mackinac Island, MI 49757
The Story
The world's largest wooden hotel
On a car-free island in the Straits of Mackinac, reachable only by ferry and served exclusively by horse-drawn carriages and bicycles, sits the world's largest wooden hotel and one of the most wonderfully eccentric pools in classic Hollywood history. The Grand Hotel's pool was originally built in the 1920s and was known, brilliantly, as "Paul Bunyan's Footprint" — because an identical pool had been built in Traverse City, and local legend held that when Bunyan walked north he left one footprint in each town.
" A hotel where the nearest car is on the mainland.
Esther Williams and the flannel swimsuit
The pool was renamed after Esther Williams, the champion swimmer-turned-Hollywood actress, whose 1947 film This Time for Keeps was shot partly on location here. The film — a romantic comedy co-starring Jimmy Durante and Xavier Cugat's band, a casting combination that could only have happened in 1940s Hollywood — was one of Williams' string of MGM "aquamusicals" and put the Grand Hotel back on the road to profitability in the lean years after the war. After the film's release, the hotel enjoyed its best-ever occupancy. Williams wore specially designed lumberjack-pattern swimsuits for the film, which, in a decision that speaks volumes about the priorities of a wardrobe department over a swimming department, were made of flannel. She later wrote in her autobiography that she could barely keep her head above water in the heavy fabric and eventually had to shed the suit in the pool. The hotel named a room in her honour, and she used it for the rest of her life — she died in 2013.
Somewhere in Time
The pool is 220 feet long, serpentine-shaped, and received a $10 million renovation in 2021 for its centennial. It's now joined by a heated adults-only infinity pool with views across the Straits to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Film fans will also know the Grand Hotel as the setting for Somewhere in Time, the 1980 Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour romance that has its own devoted following and an annual fan weekend at the hotel.
Signature Experiences
Esther Williams Pool
The hotel's serpentine main pool, originally built in the 1920s and once known as "Paul Bunyan's Footprint," renamed after champion swimmer-turned-actress Esther Williams, whose 1947 film This Time for Keeps was shot partly here. It runs 220 feet long and received a $10 million renovation in 2021 for its centennial. The main pool is kept at a very pleasant 83°F. There are cabanas, a pool bar, a water slide, and a zero-depth beach entry area for families.
Adults-only infinity pool
A heated infinity pool with views across the Straits to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, kept at 92°F.
The world's longest porch
The Grand Hotel's famous front porch runs 660 feet — the longest in the world. Non-guests can walk it for a $12 fee, which gives you the views if not the swim.
Famous Connections
Who Came Here
As Seen In
Plan Your Visit
Good to Know
- How to Book: Book direct at grandhotel.com or by phone. The hotel is open seasonally and is reached by ferry — no cars on the island. Non-guests can walk the famous 660-foot porch for a $12 fee.
- Dress Code: A dinner jacket is required in the Main Dining Room after 6pm.
- Best Time: The hotel is open seasonally, roughly late spring through autumn. The 2026 season is its 140th.
- Accessibility: Contact the hotel directly to confirm access requirements, particularly given the island's car-free setting.
- Tip: The pool is for hotel guests only. If you are not staying, you can still walk the hotel's famous 660-foot porch — the longest in the world — for a $12 fee, which gives you the views if not the swim. Note the 19.5% resort fee on top of room rates, and the dinner-jacket rule in the Main Dining Room after 6pm.
