Petoskey, a resort community of 5,700 on Little Traverse Bay in the northern reaches of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, is said to mean, “where the light shines through the clouds” in the language of the Odawa Indians. It’s easy to see why the area’s original inhabitants blessed it with such prose: Petoskey is beautiful.
In the century since Hemingway’s visit, Petoskey has become a prime tourism destination. What really gets visitors enthused about coming here today is what has brought vacationers here for generations: elegant Victorian neighborhoods, boutique shops, engaging art galleries and pristine beaches. They’ve been joined by a casino, spectacular golf, terrific spas and dining from casual to gourmet. Crowds from around the Midwest flock here during the summer; outdoorsmen come to hunt and fish; and business and corporate clientele, too, have seized on Petoskey as an ideal getaway from downstate cubicles and office buildings.
Petoskey and the surrounding region have all the key ingredients necessary to host corporate meetings and events. Boyne Resorts- Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands and the Inn at Bay Harbor-offer full-service convention managers, on-site audio-visual equipment, customizable banquet menu options that can accommodate up to 800 people, complimentary Wi-Fi and zip-line adventure tours for a great team-building event.
“We all have meeting rooms, [but] few [venues] have the four-season scenery and endless amenity options to create guest experiences like us,” says Mark Homuth, Boyne’s director of group sales. “Boyne’s saying is, ‘What are you up for?’ This is perfect when speaking of our destination.”
Meanwhile, the Bay Harbor Village Hotel and Conference Center boasts more than 2,000 square feet of meeting space that can be partitioned to create breakout rooms, an executive board room, gourmet catering, and indoor and outdoor/tented event space for banquets and team-building exercises. But it’s everything outside those meeting rooms that sets Petoskey apart from other corporate destinations.
“I’ve always felt that meeting rooms are much like opinions-everybody has one,” says Peter Fitzsimons, executive director of the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau. “The difference comes once the meeting adjourns. That’s where the Petoskey area of northern Michigan really shines.”
Golf, spas, skiing and boating all are magnets for the Petoskey area. Consider Boyne’s 11 world-class golf courses, three destination spas and two ski resorts with 115 total runs, including the highest vertical in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Explore the marina at Bay Harbor, from which one can rent watercrafts, charter a fishing trip or just lounge and tan on a yacht. Check out the Odawa Casino and Hotel, with 135 guest rooms, 36 table games, 1,500 slot machines, a nightclub and a concert venue that attracted Bill Cosby for two shows during its 2007 grand opening.
  
And then there’s Stafford’s. The hospitality group’s Bay View Inn in Petoskey offers Victorian grace and romance of a bygone era with exquisite views of Little Traverse Bay, and the nearby Perry Hotel on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is one of only 20 luxury resort hotels built in 1899 still in operation; both the Bay View Inn and the Perry Hotel offer private dining and boardroom meeting spaces. Meanwhile, Stafford’s new Crooked River Lodge offers 42 guest rooms with a rustic yet upscale ambiance; most of the rooms offer a private balcony overlooking Crooked River.
Stafford’s dining options include the waterfront Pier Restaurant in nearby Harbor Springs and the waterfront Weathervane Restaurant in nearby Charlevoix, which was designed by famed local architect Earl Young and also offers private dining rooms for private functions.
“At Stafford’s we deliver that true Up North hospitality that makes guests feel welcome, at ease and prepared for a successful meeting experience,” says Marketing Director Becky Babcock.
All this beauty and fun can make a work trip feel like anything but.
“It can’t be emphasized enough that the lakeside setting of our three communities is a natural stress reliever,” Fitzsimons says. “The beauty of Lake Michigan and rolling, wooded hills lead to fresh thinking, new ideas and more productive meetings.”
A destination getaway or corporate retreat to Petoskey can be augmented by a day trip to numerous local cities and landmarks. Quaint, cozy Charlevoix is 20 minutes west of Petoskey, along a beautiful stretch of state highway. The Mackinac Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere) is 45 minutes north on U.S. Route 31; Mackinac Island and its colonial décor is a quick boat ride from there. Or drive an hour and a half to Traverse City’s Old Mission Peninsula and its rich topography of vineyards and apple orchards.
Whether you arrive for a board meeting or for a sailing trip, maybe your Petoskey experience will appear in your own novel some day.
