The Grand Victorian
If you’re expecting a visit from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, the night will be infinitely more bearable if you’re snuggled inside one of The Grand Victorian’s luxurious rooms. Our favorite? The Queen Anne. Classic, cozy and warm as your best Christmas memory, the room is ruled by decadent shades of red, a generous four-poster bed and an antique fireplace. Besides a renewed spirit, morning brings a newspaper and silver carafe of coffee to your door, while a tempting breakfast—served by candlelight—sizzles downstairs. Bellaire, 231-533-6111.
Stafford’s Bay View Inn
Had young Ebenezer put his work away and swept his fiancé, Belle, away to a weekend at Stafford’s Bay View Inn, his tale surely would have had a happier ending. The pair could have stayed in one of the inn’s suites, snuggling by the in-room fireplace and frolicking in the in-room whirlpool tub. They could have boarded a horse-drawn sleigh from Stafford’s and tooled together around the Victorian cottage-lined streets of Bay View. But, alas, Ebenezer loved making money more than spending time, so Belle left him and never came back. Heed the holiday lesson and make reservations for a happy ending of your own. Petoskey, 800-258-1886.
Laurium Manor Inn
Get ready to loosen your cravats and hike up your crinoline. Inside the 13,000-square-foot Laurium Manor—the former home of Upper Peninsula copper mine owner Thomas H. Hoatson—is a 1,300-square-foot ballroom, as well as a parlor with a piano and pump organ. Waltz to Christmas classics then retire to the library’s fireside or your own opulent room. Amazing, enormous and authentic, yet even Scrooge couldn’t sniff at the rates. Laurium, 906-337-2549.