I've never been to Northern Michigan so this whole trip was just a journey of unknowns. Suttons Bay was the perfect location for us and this apt had such easy access to shopping, dining, biking and the lake/beach it outweighed any negative aspects.
Pros: Easy access to everything. Five minute walk to downtown Suttons Bay where you have access to a wide option of restaurants. Tip - make reservations in advance, especially for "Wren" (the best dining experience we had on our trip).
Go to Grandma Lin's ice cream! We waited until our last night - thank God or we would have gained 10 lbs! The prices are incredibly low for the serving size - we had a M and S specialty sundae and it was only $5.
If you are a coffee person "Mundos" cafe is a legit gourmet coffee shop. I went every day for an espresso and sampled a few pastries.
We aren't really "shoppers" but there were a lot of interesting boutique stores on main street.
We started joking with some of our neighbors that everything is just "across the street". And yes, everything from a top notch microbrewery (Hop Lot Brewing), grocery store, cafe, car wash and laundry mat are there.
We brought our bikes and found the Leelanau Trail Head (yes, across the street) where you can bike to Traverse City. This 16+ mile trail is gorgeous, paved, mostly flat with only a few road crossings. Guess what else...they have a bus that will transfer you AND YOUR BIKE to and from Traverse City for $3 a person. It was hard to find the pickup point in Traverse City but worth the trouble and $3 to be lazy and have someone drive me back after a 16 mile ride.
The lake was crystal clear, very calm and right in our back yard. We carried our Kayak/SUP to the dock and went for a ride almost every day. We also stored our bikes and boards in the garage - it took 5 minutes to get on the lake.
There was a small public sand beach and playground next door to the property. Bring water shoes as there are rocks in the water.
The fire pit had a complete rack of wood next to it and we used it by ourselves and one night with a neighbor who we got to know and was a lot of fun.
The room was very clean and had enough space for the two of us. We also used the small outdoor grill and cooked a few meals in the kitchen. The room is above the garage and faces the road.
Cons: The road is very loud. Traffic on the main street goes right by the building and you can hear every car and truck go by. We cranked up the fan on the AC unit and it did help. We got used to it after the first day.
No dishwasher and there weren't any microwave safe plates/dishes.
The property as a whole could use a "make over" but we didn't mind. It actually exceeded my expectations.
The bathroom fan was very loud, again...small complaint and not sure it can even be fixed.
Overall, really great for us and we plan to return.