I have stayed at the Bay Inn on a number of occasions, including when it was a Days Inn a few years ago. There are a huge number of "mom and pop" motels and cabins along US-23. There are few that offer what the Bay Inn does. That includes a very nice expanded continental breakfast - fresh waffles, boiled eggs, fresh fruit, juices and so on. The lobby and rooms are nirely decorated. There is a very large enclosed pool and hot tub. The lobby seemed short staffed. Typically only one person is on duty weekend nights during check ins, which can slow down arrival time. The rooms themselves are typical of a mid-level motel / hotel. There is only one other motel / hotel in the area that is along the same type which is the Tawas Bay Resort. TBR has a couple bars that IMHO have terrible service, and the bartenders tend to be rude. TBR has a very nice formal dining area that serves all meals, but at a high price. The rooms at TBR are in rough shape, and typically cost $20 - $50 a night more than the Bay Inn. the sacrifice for staying at the Bay Inn is no on-site restaurant, and it is not walking distance to the shops and party spots in the downtown area. you get a view of the Tawas Bay but it is across the street, versus a walk out to the beach at TBR. Bay Inn had though better rooms and a better value, as breakfast is included. Rooms are clean and large.

One big piece of advise: AVOID IF THEY ARE GOING TO PUT YOU INTO THE CROWS NEST! The Crows Nest is a 1960's era motel that is next door, apparently purchased by the prior owners and used for overflow. On our last visit we were overbooked and offered a room at the Crows Nest for $55, a price that was $30 less than our original room in the Bay Inn. You are still allowed to use the pool, get the free breakfast, and so on. We took the offer. The rooms were very dated. It was clean, but inadequate. Very small room, noisy wall mounted air conditioner, A door that did not seem secure, etc. The bathroom had only one electrical plug, on the wall oposite the mirror. There was no hair dryer. My girlfriend had to pull on the cord to see herself in oder to dry her hair. when she plugged in her straightener the circuit breaker for the room blew due to the air conditioner running at the same time. I called the front desk and was told that the circuit breaker panel was in a locked room, and that the front desk person could not leave the desk to reset it. I was aksed to come to the desk for the key and do it myself. We were running a bit late for meeting friends so I agreed. I had to walk about 200 yards between the properties, received a key, and sent back to open the door to the maintenance area to reset the breaker. When I got there I found that the key did not open the door. Returned to desk, got a different key - same thing - it did not open. The front desk person had been trying to reach managers and maintenance people but they were not answering their calls. We eventually were moved to the only room available in the main hotel - an executive suite! NICE! Hot tub, huge room. We had the schlep our bags over after packing up in the dark. Wish we could have had that room in the first place LOL. ANYWAY avoid a room in the Crows Nest. There are other nearby mom and pop motels which are $10 - $20 cheaper a night that have upgraded electrical systems that will not leave you in the dark. I suggest the Captains Nest across US-23 where Ive stayed before. I will try to duplicate this review under the Crows Nest on this site if available.

We have stayed at this location previously (the past two years) and enjoyed our stay. This time the staff booked us into the "Crows Nest" and the room was terrible. Being a holiday weekend, we were left with little choice but to spend the night. The Crows Nest is a very old motel adjacent to the main building and these rooms should be torn down. There is no WIIFI, one small bed and a musty old room. How they could ever book visitors for this accomadation is criminal. The web page shows only nice rooms in the new building, and never once mentions the Crows Nest as part of their rooms. We spoke with the manager and they said there was nothing they could do. They charged us $55.00 for a room that was not worth $20.00. I would seriously consider sleeping in the car before I stayed there again.

Basic small, inexpensive hotel. No frills, but clean with everything to allow for a comfortable stay. Even though the hotel was completely filled both nights we were there, it was very quiet during the night. Nice having a refrigerator in the room! and free WiFi. Will definitely stay there again.

Checked in to a clean and well-furnished room on 7/10, only to find on my way out to a late dinner that the door would not lock. Called front desk and waited 15min for them to come up, waited another 15min for a new room. The new room smelled like an ashtray so I waited another 15min for another room, which I found satisfactory.

Fast forward to the next night, the air conditioning broke. On top of that, kids were running down the hall at midnight and slamming doors...

Overall the property is in disrepair and would not recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a good nights sleep!