Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel has quietly pulled off a major face-lift. A roughly $20 million restoration wrapped up this spring, polishing porches, public rooms and historic details while keeping the signature veranda and famously theatrical interiors just the way loyal guests like them. Much of the work happened in the off-season so visitors would still be greeted by the long porch and familiar color schemes as the landmark rolls into its 140th season.
According to The Detroit News, the hotel’s operator invested about $20 million in the project and spread the work across several winters to avoid disrupting the guest calendar. Many of the changes are deliberately low-key, with reconstructed dormers, refreshed trim and historically informed paint choices that blend so seamlessly into the backdrop that some returning guests might walk right past them without noticing.
Design Updates And Guest Rooms
Interior design powerhouse Dorothy Draper & Company, which has shaped the hotel’s bold look for decades, led the latest round of updates, Town & Country reports. The team refreshed the Parlor, reimagined the former Audubon Bar as the newly renamed Baroque Bar and brightened the main dining room, layering in livelier palettes alongside restored period details.
The magazine also notes that the Grand is not done yet. A broader overhaul of the property’s 388 uniquely decorated guest rooms is slated for 2026, part of a multi-year plan to keep the building’s historic character front and center while quietly upgrading comfort behind the scenes.
Porch, Façade And On-Site Construction
On the outside, construction manager Spence Brothers handled the heavy lifting. The firm says the project restored the hotel’s façade, porches and the Jockey Club dining area, while reconstructing historic architectural elements that had vanished over the decades. The work, staged in winter months to match the island’s seasonal rhythm, earned a Build Michigan award, according to Spence Brothers.
The hotel’s own historical timeline describes the effort as part of a five-year restoration that focuses on bringing dormers, trim and porch details back to a historically accurate look, Grand Hotel notes.
All of this lands just in time for what locals expect to be a packed season on the island. Tourism officials have been reporting strong spring bookings and special events pegged to opening weekend, with Upper Michigan's Source spotlighting opening-day activity and local hopes that the Grand’s freshened-up amenities will help keep rooms filled through summer.
"Our vision is to honor the past while thoughtfully restoring and enhancing the hotel for the next 100 years, and beyond," Grand Hotel president David Jurcak told Town & Country. For longtime fans, the promise is straightforward: the rituals remain, the world’s longest porch still stretches across the front, but the paint is crisper, the trim is rebuilt and the details are shored up where it counts.
