Hotel review: Hop & Vine Inn (Fennville, MI), your home away from home in western Michigan
I am a huge fan of the west side of the state: from Grand Haven (one of my all-time favorite Michigan towns), to Saugatuck, to Fennville, there is a ton to do and see there, and it's a quick 3-hour drive from the Detroit area. I was very excited to spend a night at the Hop & Vine Inn in Fennville this past weekend.
Before you ask me, "Where is Fennville?", you should know that it's about a 10-minute drive away from Saugatuck, and has its own small-town charm. I was very familiar with Fennville before my visit—some friends and I do a girls trip every year, to the west side of the state, and two summers ago, a friend and I stayed at an Airbnb house in Fennville.
Hop & Vine Inn is located right off the Blue Star Highway in Fennville, and is only about a 5-minute drive to downtown Saugatuck.
Amber and Dan are the inn owners; they took over the inn in early 2017 and have been making it their own ever since. After our 3-hour drive to Fennville, Amber greeted us at the inn and offered us a welcome drink, which was a nice gesture and much appreciated.
The inn offers a complimentary breakfast every day for its guests—you can see the dining room area in the above picture—and we were pleased to find a variety of breakfast foods including hot and cold options (cereal, sausage, eggs, tater tots, and more) as well as coffee, juices, milk, and tea.
The inn also has a pool, which is located right off the breakfast / dining room area. It's kept at a toasty 80 degrees all year round!
Hop & Vine has a few different options for rooms, ranging from standard one-room stays through townhouses that can sleep up to 9 people. We were given the Blue Satin room, which ended up being a suite with two rooms, as well as a very comfortable bed.
I loved all the Tiffany-style lamps throughout the B&B—our room had one right above the bed.
In the second room, which is separated by a fireplace, we had a sitting room which included a couch and a hot tub, although the hot tub wasn't currently in use. The fireplace is also a working fireplace but because it's June, we didn't end up using it.
The bathroom facilities were also very nice, and we had a "skylight" of sorts in ours too.
Our room also had a "smart TV" with a Roku featuring Netflix and Hulu, which was perfect since we had been wanting to catch up on the latest Handmaid's Tale episode on Hulu.
You can view all of the rooms at Hop & Inn on their YouTube page - check out our room below:
Despite the fact that I've stayed at Airbnbs many times, this was actually my first time staying at a "real" B&B—and the small touches that Amber and Dan have thought of go a long way. There is a volleyball court and a play structure for children, too, and even popcorn and coffee in the kitchen if you're craving a nighttime snack.
There's also a huge red barn on the property which looks like it could have an interesting history - I'm now wondering how old it is.
We had a great stay at the Hop & Vine Inn, and I highly suggest it if you're looking to visit Fennville, Saugatuck, South Haven, or other cities in the area. Rooms range from $120+ in the winter and $175+ in summer (a great deal for what you get!) and they're currently doing a "Stay two weekday nights, get one free" promotion.
My Fennville area recommendations:
- Meals: Check out The Southerner in Fennville, but make sure to do call-ahead seating - we waited about an hour even with that, but it was worth it for the fantastic food.
- Drinks/Tapas: Amber suggested Borrowed Time, in Douglas, and we tried it out for drinks after The Southerner. Their tapas menu looked delicious, too, so I will be returning at some point for that. They also do live music.
- Snacks: Definitely check out Crane's Pie Pantry for their pie flights! I stop by Crane's every time I'm in town, and I purchased a slice of their magnificent blueberry pie to take home this time, too.
- Things to do: Fenn Valley Vineyards (Fennville plus a downtown Saugatuck location) has wine tastings—$5 for a flight of 7, which is a great deal—and Hop & Vine actually partner with them so we received a coupon for two free tastings, of which we definitely took advantage. The vineyard was doing a wine festival that day, too, and often does live music.
