We were very much looking forward to our stay at The Vault, and it did not disappoint. Amenities…read morewere nice, we felt very catered to, and the rooms were modern and lovely. The Counting Room speakeasy was also a nice experience and the bartender was wonderful. Complementary snacks and beverages greet you in the lobby, and there is a nice sitting room if you'd like to just relax or do a little work... which you SHOULDN'T... (but I did at night). Parking was nice and easy... private and right across the street. It's also right smack in the middle of the main drag in Houghton... Restaurants and cafés are all around you, and it's a block from the Portage Lake Ship Canal, which has a very cool drawbridge even if there isn't much commercial shipping anymore. The Vault is a historic bank turned boutique hotel, and as such, the original bank teller windows are beautifully restored and face the main lobby area. Much to my utter amazement, they are locked and and completely unused. The staff are actually kind of stationed in what can charitably described as a back closet and they wait for the door buzzer (and can maybe see on a video screen). As the front door is always locked (your door key opens it), your initial arrival is to a locked door looking into an empty lobby but facing those beautiful teller windows. It would be AWESOME if the front counter staff were actually comfortably seated behind those teller windows, maybe even dressed appropriately like they worked in the old bank. They would be able to easily see people walking up the the front door to buzz them in, and then check-in would be at the teller window. That would be a fun way to start your experience. I also think it would be much more rewarding for the staff... who were all lovely. I really hope the owners read these comments and take this idea into consideration. I think it's a real missed opportunity. Other than that... if you're going to Houghton, this is an unforgettable hotel that most certainly will add to your experience in this historic Michigan town.

I did not actually stay at the Vault Hotel but was a guest at the Counting Room. Collin is an…read moreamazing master of drinks and comes highly recommended! He perfected me a lemon drop! The bar has a speakeasy vibe, very demure and quaint. The next time I'm in Houghton, I will be sure to stay at the Vault just so I can visit this place again.

Nice place, very quaint and comfortable. The staff were all…read morevery nice, helpful and polite. The clerk I met at checkin was very welcoming and friendly. The room was nice, well organized with plenty of plugs and space. The queen beds are not true queen size beds, but rather "hotel queens," meaning they are several inches narrower than a standard queen. This is not a knock, but it's worth noting if the person you share a bed with gets violent if you impose on their sleeping space. The shower was very good but the hot water cuts in and out depending on others using the hot water in nearby rooms. Very clean and comfortable. A bit of an odd odor that comes from older hotels, but nothing that should deter you from staying here. The value was great! The location was great for our purposes of exploring. 4.5 stars!

Our room was very nice. It was a king room, and the bed was wonderful. It was one of the best…read morebeds we have ever had in a hotel. The room was also very spacious and comfortable. The parking was good, and covered parking. That could help in Hancock in the winter. On the second floor they had a large, elevated patio space that would be good for an outdoor sitting area to relax. The not so good; there is no elevator. If you have mobility problems, you should know that and do everything you can to request a first-floor room. We did not explore the layout of the hotel, but it looked like there were some areas on the first floor that also required you to climb a few steps. The next issue was breakfast. To be fair, they make it very clear on their signage it is a "continental breakfast". Most name brand hotels also say this, but they have a decent spread. Here, it is almost all carbs, cereal, or yogurt. As an added bonus, it is a big hotel, and the breakfast area is tiny! We couldn't find a seat, so we were just going to take some food back to the room, but the room is so small you could barely move, then when we saw the food, we knew we were going to need to find a restaurant. We were there two nights and going out for breakfast added to the cost of the stay. I will also say, for what they charge a night, they could afford to have a decent breakfast. This was not a low-end hotel pricewise. We would stay again, for the room and the bed, but we'd be wiser.

Highly recommend this place if your furbabies are with or without you. We've been staying in hotels…read moreall around Michigan while touring lighthouses and this is by far the best hotel to stay at. The rooms itself has high ceilings and odd enough, slightly thin walls. We could hear (I think) the people straight above us singing loud while in the bathroom. The breakfast was pretty impressive compared to most average hotels. They had a nice selection of toppings for cooked oatmeal, a couple waffle makers, yogurt, frittas (more like omelette), biscuit, gravy with sausage (that was out by 8am, so couldn't try it). But the spread of options was a lot more than the usual dry cereal bar, yogurt, bread and bagels.

Sadly, our plans were ruined last minute on our trip in Northern Michigan. My husband and I were…read moreplanning on camping in an area nearby. However, due to Covid a lot of main camping sites were closed at the time. We knew this prior and researched the area we wanted to camp. Sadly, when we arrived the person that did camp there misinformed us as there are signs that tell you not to publically camp at the site. We did not want to break any rules so we decided to try to find a last minute place to sleep. Luckily, we found a place right in Houghton. We got to pass by a beautiful water front and a mini bridge. It was quite beautiful and I definitely would love to visit the city again. The inn was safely following protocals for Covid. We got our room key and went to our room. The pool room was open, but only a certain amount of people were allowed in at once. Luckily, it was super late so no one was in the pool area. We decided to stop by the jacuzzi to check it out. The room itsef was super clean and comfortable. It was definitely worth the price. I enjoyed our night stay. I would come back again in the future.

this was a college town .. had more restaurants to chose from. Good place to stay. We had drove up…read morefrom Ohio .. started couple at Petasky/Mackinac area ... spent couple night then couple night in Munising and 1 night in Houghton. This holiday inn was a good choice. ask about military discounts if that applies. We stayed on the 3rd flood and it was quiet and the black out shade worked like a boss. We couldn't believe how late we slept. The complimentary breakfasts are always appreciated. there was a small indoor pool. The staff were very helpful .. they even had a dry erase board with suggestions for local things to do, restaurants and bars. Nice touch. chaise lounge with adjustable table was comfie and nice touch. long desk if you are doing business stuff. they didn't have little bottle of amenities .. full large size bottles attached to the wall.

When I needed to make hotel reservations for a two night stay in Houghton, I decided between the…read moreHoliday Inn Express and the Country Inn and Suites. My experience during the last stay has convinced me that I made the wrong choice in picking the Holiday inn Express. Although check-in was fast, the room we were given had a view of a rock pile, and the clock did not work. Had to ask for another room. Was given a room with a nice view. Second day, housekeeping never came to our room. When I asked the clerk about it was told they left for the day. Had to ask for a new room. Given a room with an upgrade (or so I thought). Upgraded room had serious problems with the toilet- appeared partially blocked. Fortunately we were out of there the following day. In all three rooms, the chairs squeaked, and beds seemed like they were from a flophouse. TV didn't even carry ABC. Breakfast was OK - the cinnamon rolls were the only bright spot. The front desk clerk was very helpful despite the circumstances. Never used the pool - but looked like it needed a resurfacing. Learned my lesson - Country Inn and Suites - next time. Hope its better than what I just experienced.

Hands down, the best Hampton Inn I have stayed at. This location is pretty new, I think 2 years…read more Excellent maintenance, it looks like the just opened the doors yesterday. Staff was super friendly and helpful, sent me a text (a first) later that day to see if everything was "OK". Nice touch. Rooms are huge, nice river view. Another first, they have a bar / restaurant on the 7 floor! Bed was very comfy, linens fresh and very plush. I will definitely come back here on my next Houghton trip.

The antithesis of family friendly! The 18 yr old morality genius at the front desk and her equally…read moreunfriendly bartender friend felt it was time for us for put our child to bed. She told me it was "ridiculous" that our child was still awake at and that he should be put to bed. I'm shocked that at a hotel chain who purports their mission to be "the most hospitable in world" we were treated so poorly!

Booked a last minute stay here. Didn't realize "Pet friendly" meant that it'd smell like your…read moregrandma smoked in there for the 40 years and you won't be able to breathe, or that someone else's dog hair would be ALL over the bathroom. Overpriced, no coffee in the room and only in the lobby. Girl who checked us in had zero people skills and seemed like she wanted to be anywhere but there. Used almost an entire bottle of Lysol to try to get the room bearable to sleep in and still had the worst headache of my life.

Overpriced, dirty, moldy shower curtains, stained bathrooms, no hand soap, dirty carpet with food…read moreand trash on the ground beneath beds, stained bed sheets, no breakfast, poor parking. It was more expensive than the luxurious hotels on Lake Michigan in Traverse city this time of year. Not expecting much from a motel, but this was not enough.

This is a solid good breakfast stop only 10 minutes away west of Houghton. My usual favorite Kaleva…read moreis closed on Mondays and Suomi was packed, line out the door as usual. This place is quaint up north wood paneling walls decked out for 4th of July. It was packed but we sat immediately to a table that was not cleaned up. There was only one waitress running the entire place and probably one cook. So it took 10 min to get the table cleaned up and get menus and then we ordered and it took another 40 min to get our food which was very good tasting. Luckily we were not on a time crunch and we already are prepared for these circumstances because it's hard to get help..

Classic small-town diner, not to be missed. Just two blocks off main highway in town of South…read moreRange, just south of Houghton. Stopped for coffee, stayed for breakfast and took a beautiful slice of lemon meringue pie and 3 prune tarts with me! Restaurant was filled with locals on a Tuesday morning. Homemade food served all day -- pies, bread, eggs cooked to order, extensive menus. Affordable: 3 slices bacon and two slices homemade wheat toast came with my 2 eggs - all for $4.50. Visit for local flavor and traditional arts. Sit at counter -- pieces of Keweenaw copper are inlaid in Northwoods knotty pine dining counter. The door has wood carving of Quincy mine, done by local artist. Flyers on wall support local events. Christmas tree was setup indoors and decorated in 4th of July theme. Loved it! Inauspicious and delicious!

We stayed four nights in the RV park. Sites are level and large, every site has a nice picnic table…read moreand fire ring. It's a new park and they have planted lots of trees, but right now there is no shade. We were right on the canal and had a nice view of the water. Rest rooms, showers and the laundry are kept very clean. We paid a little over $100/night and for that kind of money I'd expect concrete or asphalt pads instead of gravel. You'd better be confident in your travel plans because you pay in full at the time of your reservation and there are no refunds.

This is probably one of the nicest cabins I've ever stayed in! My husband, inlaws, and I came here…read morelast week to stay in the three bedroom for two nights and we were amazed at how big and beautiful this place is! The kitchen is huge and has everything you need to cook and make coffee. The second floor consisted of the two en-suite bedrooms, a washer/dryer, and futon couch. There was also a shuffleboard and foosball table, although we didn't use any of these. My husband and I had our own bedroom on the second floor; I really loved the view of the Keweenaw Waterway and the town of Houghton just across from us. It was incredibly beautiful! Also, the price for two nights was NOT bad at all. When we stayed it was basically under $200 per night. A lot of other comparable places would easily charge an upwards of $500 per night! I feel a little sad that we didn't stay longer because I could have easily stayed here for at least a week, but alas, life gets in the way and I have to get back into the real world. But if I'm ever around Houghton, MI, I would totally come back here again!

Attention Isle Royale travelers: this is located right by the ferry dock for the Ranger ferry! We…read moretook the Queen from Copper Harbor so just got up early and did the one-hour drive to Copper Harbor, which worked well for us as well. We stayed here on the night we got back from the island as well, and saw some folks we had met on the island doing the same. The shower was much-appreciated after 3 days of backpacking! For a Super 8 I was honestly quite happy with the experience overall. Rooms have been (relatively) recently renovated and were clean. There's a nice patio / deck out back with picnic tables along the water, and a nice walking path along the water that will take you to the main stretch of Houghton shops and restaurants. We had an almost-snafu where somehow my reservation for 2 rooms was "put together into one room", but the staff were able to quickly resolve this and get another room together for us within a few minutes. Breakfast is nothing fancy - about what I expected as far as continental breakfast. It does the job. They had more tea flavors than I expected, actually.

This place was clean however the pool was open to the public meaning they were just coming in thru…read morethe pool door. If I had known it was free swimming to all I would have probably stayed somewhere else cheaper. The view from our room was beautiful that's where the 3 stars come from.

Absolutely LOVED this place. The whole house is AMAZING! The views are wonderful and pretty much…read morehave a whole private beach. Nancy and her husband were wonderful hosts and turning into a complete one stop shop place to stay. I can't wait to go again!

From the owner: A Romantic Lakeside Escape Awaits…read more Discover timeless elegance at our beachfront "Castle" on the majestic shores of Lake Superior — a luxurious, owner-occupied retreat designed for those who crave beauty, serenity, and connection. Crowned with a charming rounded turret, our home offers just four exquisite suites, each thoughtfully designed to provide intimacy, comfort, and tranquility. With limited occupancy, you’ll enjoy a peaceful ambiance that feels both exclusive and deeply personal. All guests share access to the stunning Lake Level of the home — a refined common space filled with curated amenities to elevate your experience. From breathtaking sunsets on the beach to quiet mornings wrapped in luxury, every moment is crafted to be unforgettable.