Bell's Melody Motel

The heat never came on, even after the desk attendant said he'd contact maintenance while we were out. When we returned, the cabin was still cold. We asked again for another room, but were told none were available, even though the rental office handles four motels and the Vacancy sign was lit. We demanded that the clerk contact the manager. He said he'd texted, but nothing could be done that night, and the clerk wasn't willing to help us despite the lack of heat. At check-in we were put in a small cabin that had obvious problems: stained bedspread, peeling wall covering around the air-conditioner, very worn old furniture, and a bathroom light that flickered and barely worked. The linoleum had curled up along the wall, the floor had moldy-looking stains, and the shower was badly repaired, leaving it looking Fraken-scared. I wouldn't give this place even one star if a lower rating were possible.

The sheets and bedding seemed clean, at least, but the rest of our premium room was dirty and smelled bad. We wiped everything down with Lysol wipes, and they came away filthy. The chairs looked so ratty and suspicious that we couldn't sit on them. When we asked for extra towels and coffee, we were told to track down a staff member serving the multiple hotels. We paid for two nights because the lake location looked wonderful, but the place was a dump for the price. Neither the screen door nor the sliding door would lock. A little investment in the units could make this a great spot. We won't stay again. Honestly, it would've been more impressive if the place had been haunted.

This was the nastiest room I've ever seen. We had already switched once because the first room had a soaked floor and toilet paper on the floor, like it hadn't been cleaned. The next room had mold everywhere. When I raised it with staff, they said it wasn't mold, just outdated, and that this was what we should expect for booking an inexpensive room. We left and booked somewhere else, without getting a refund.

The man at the office was apologetic and offered us a free move to the newly renovated Bridge View motel. He let us see it first, and it was very clean, with brand-new appliances, covered outlets, a smoke detector, and a shower without black mold. It had one king bed, but my friend and I decided sharing it beat staying in the original room. He said he was being forced to rent those rooms even though he didn't want to. That's the only reason this gets two stars. The woman at the office was rude throughout, rolled her eyes when I raised concerns, and later talked about me as if I weren't there, saying I should have chosen the other room. The man apologized again when we returned the old keys. We had stopped in looking for somewhere near mackinaw city after seeing an ad for $69 rooms. The company owns several motels next to one another, including belles melody, sunrise beach and bridge view. We were told only two rooms were available, one with two queens and one with a king. We chose the two queens so we'd each have a bed, and were told it cost less, but we still paid around $230 for one night. The room was appalling: peeling paint and water damage, an AC unit duct-taped to the wall, bugs and spiders, stained beds with sheets that didn't fit, a lamp missing its bulb, and an uncovered outlet. There was no smoke detector, and it smelled like cigarette smoke despite being a no-smoking room. The bathroom floor was very uneven, the toilet tilted, and black mold in the shower appeared to have been scrubbed but kept growing back. I wanted a hot shower after a few days camping, but was too worried to try. I booked at 2:50pm, but was told to wait until 4:00pm for keys because the room wasn't ready. We got them at 4:20pm because the computers were down and there was a line. At 5:00pm I went back to ask for a refund and was told it was too late. If we hadn't been made to wait, I could have seen the room in time. When I said the black mold and missing fire detector were illegal, the woman rolled her eyes and dismissed me. She also said the Quality Inn down the road was in worse shape, despite its much better reviews. The man said he'd tried to sell us the king suite, but he hadn't explained that the rooms differed in quality, only the beds and a bit of price. I don't usually complain or leave reviews, but people should know what they're booking. Be careful.