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We just returned from a Sat-Sat vacation there. Since I can't find the site to review resorts anymore, I'll add my review/opinion here.
This is a condensed review...Won't go back.
Little longer review:
Area-Primarily a winter area, lots of ski runs and resort of Mountain Run (parasite) and primarily Boyne Mountain Resort (host that the parasite lives off) are great for winter. Lots of winter activities and restaurants for the active ski crowd. For the summer crowd, shorter hours on some stores, near empty restaurants.
Resort-Minimalist. They rely on Boyne Mountain resort for entertainment. They have a water park that is pretty impressive. Mountain Run has one small pool with a few tables and one with an umbrella. There is a hot tub, fitness room and amusement room on site. They have activities, but very limited room and options. The resort does not have a lot of buildings, and I believe each building has 4-2 bedroom and 4-1 bedroom units. Two or four buildings share 2 grills. One of the grills for our area wasn't working, so 16/32 units for the 1 grill. Luckily, it wasn't a problem as the resort was practically empty. Apparently, everyone else knew it was a winter/ski destination except me.
Villa-Good. We were in a 2 bedroom. Pretty much standard equipment. Beds are very high and actually would be tough to get into for some people with joint problems. It always makes me concerned (aka mad) when they have non-stick pans and metal utensils. The pans get scratched up which means they get replaced more often and that costs me money.
Internet-DSL. Are you kidding me? All the BG resorts where I have stayed in the last couple years had wireless and pretty fair speed. Mountain run has a wired DSL connection. The deck of our unit faced the main check in building so we could get the wireless from their site, but sitting on the deck in 90 degrees to get the in and out wireless was not the highlight of our day. I was still trying to do business on the internet, but using DSL speed was painful.
Locally-We did travel to Boyne City and Petoskey and found things to do and some great food. I did gain 4 pounds that week, so I can attest to the food. We ate at a bar then Hemingway used to visit. The woodwork was amazing. Food was great. We did some wine tasting, got some smoked fish and checked out the local sites. I took my wife to Cafe Sante in Boyne City for a delayed anniversary dinner. Again, very good food. The resort is about an hour south of the Mackinac bridge and Mackinac island, so if you want to visit this area, it is an easy trip from the resort.
I think Mountain Run is not making advantage of the local events and vendors. They could have people in to talk about their events or products (as they do in Moutainloft at GATLINBURG). This could improve the value of the resort by connecting with the merchants using the 'stay here, visit there' idea.
For us, this was a drive trip (with my SUV being rear ended the day before the start of the trip). We drove from Minneapolis to Green Bay, WI, then on to Mountain Run the next day. It gets to be about 12 hours driving. We drove 1400 miles for the week.
SUV goes into the repair shop on Monday. Hopefully a week later, I will get it back in great shape.
This is a condensed review...Won't go back.
Little longer review:
Area-Primarily a winter area, lots of ski runs and resort of Mountain Run (parasite) and primarily Boyne Mountain Resort (host that the parasite lives off) are great for winter. Lots of winter activities and restaurants for the active ski crowd. For the summer crowd, shorter hours on some stores, near empty restaurants.
Resort-Minimalist. They rely on Boyne Mountain resort for entertainment. They have a water park that is pretty impressive. Mountain Run has one small pool with a few tables and one with an umbrella. There is a hot tub, fitness room and amusement room on site. They have activities, but very limited room and options. The resort does not have a lot of buildings, and I believe each building has 4-2 bedroom and 4-1 bedroom units. Two or four buildings share 2 grills. One of the grills for our area wasn't working, so 16/32 units for the 1 grill. Luckily, it wasn't a problem as the resort was practically empty. Apparently, everyone else knew it was a winter/ski destination except me.
Villa-Good. We were in a 2 bedroom. Pretty much standard equipment. Beds are very high and actually would be tough to get into for some people with joint problems. It always makes me concerned (aka mad) when they have non-stick pans and metal utensils. The pans get scratched up which means they get replaced more often and that costs me money.
Internet-DSL. Are you kidding me? All the BG resorts where I have stayed in the last couple years had wireless and pretty fair speed. Mountain run has a wired DSL connection. The deck of our unit faced the main check in building so we could get the wireless from their site, but sitting on the deck in 90 degrees to get the in and out wireless was not the highlight of our day. I was still trying to do business on the internet, but using DSL speed was painful.
Locally-We did travel to Boyne City and Petoskey and found things to do and some great food. I did gain 4 pounds that week, so I can attest to the food. We ate at a bar then Hemingway used to visit. The woodwork was amazing. Food was great. We did some wine tasting, got some smoked fish and checked out the local sites. I took my wife to Cafe Sante in Boyne City for a delayed anniversary dinner. Again, very good food. The resort is about an hour south of the Mackinac bridge and Mackinac island, so if you want to visit this area, it is an easy trip from the resort.
I think Mountain Run is not making advantage of the local events and vendors. They could have people in to talk about their events or products (as they do in Moutainloft at GATLINBURG). This could improve the value of the resort by connecting with the merchants using the 'stay here, visit there' idea.
For us, this was a drive trip (with my SUV being rear ended the day before the start of the trip). We drove from Minneapolis to Green Bay, WI, then on to Mountain Run the next day. It gets to be about 12 hours driving. We drove 1400 miles for the week.
SUV goes into the repair shop on Monday. Hopefully a week later, I will get it back in great shape.
The kids like the activities on the lake that's part of the resort; they usually do the water park at least once; last time we took up some radio controlled planes and they spent an afternoon playing with those; and we like just wandering the local towns or state parks. And we do a lot of just hanging out. It's a nice, relaxing vacation spot we particularly appreciate those years when our other vacation is a trip to Orlando theme parks. 
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