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Welcome to Ellis Lake Resort, located 15 minutes southwest of Traverse City, Michigan! We are a small, friendly, family owned, and operated getaway designed for people who appreciate the magic and beauty of the outdoors within each season. It is casual here, more laid back, less hustle and slower paced. Take the time to just breath in the earthy smell of the air. You will be glad you did! Our Log cabins, Logrooms, Chalet and Willow Suite are situated throughout our 20-acre property amidst mature hardwoods and pines. We are primarily known for our simple, rustic, yet cut, cozy, log cabin lodging built in 1939. We are an authentic Northern Michigan experience.
Super cute and rustic feel with air conditioning. Nice staff and cool property. Easy Check in process and a nice little gift shop. Close to town and pizza places. Bedding was awesome nice soft pillows and a heavy quilt
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Spruce was the coziest cabin! It has the rustic charm while still having nice amenities and it was warm! Great bathroom and kitchen setup! We loved playing cards at the dining/picnic table. The outdoor fire pit was great! And the sunset off the lake was beautiful!
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is the second time I have stayed at Ellis Lake Resort. We arrived for a late check in and found our cabin had been left with some homemade sweets and a cute note. It was a very nice personal touch. We stayed in the Hemlock room which is part of a bigger cabin with three suites. This building is located very close to the road so if you are a light sleeper I would recommend one of the cabins further back on the property. The price for the hemlock is hard to beat! My only complaint is the bed was really uncomfortable and really needs to be replaced. The pillows and bedding were very comfortable, the cabin was very clean and the little heater did a good job keeping the space warm. We will return for sure! Thanks for another great visit.
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Date of stay: March 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
First, we made our reservations back in the early part of 2020. One of our party found out the weekend before that her reservation was booked incorrectly because of the "new system" the "resort" had put in. So she would have been stranded had she not called to verify. Then, we get there and we find frayed wires from the kitchen sink light to the plug, no carpet on sections of the floor and a sheet of paper indicating that we were to strip the bed at the end of our stay and take the garbage to the front dumpster. They had the nerve to charge us over $150 a night for this pleasure! Then, to top it all off, one of the cabins we used had a gas leak - you could smell it as soon as you walked in. Our bed was lumpy and old (no mattress cover as we discovered when we stripped the bed as instructed) and did not lend itself to a good nights' rest. The pillows were so flat my husband needed to use 3 of them - good thing I brought my own. I was not impressed with the management, their contact-less check in (even that caused problems for another person in our party) and the cleanliness of the cabins. The wifi was non-existent unless you are near the office. I would never, ever recommend this "resort" to anyone. They are inconsiderate, rude and, in my opinion, it is badly run. the only redeeming quality about this place is it is near great hiking.…
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Date of stay: October 2020
Rooms
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Response from Becky Johnson, Owner at Ellis Lake Resort
Responded Jul 17, 2021
This party made reservations with us the middle of May 2020 right after we implemented a new software program. We did have 1 guest who made their reservation prior to others in the group under the old reservation system that unfortunately got lost in the transfer. When this guest called in and we found the mistake, we found another location, 1 minute down the road, to fill her reservation and her payment was reimbursed. The remaining review from "cupoftea" comes from being disgruntled prior to arrival because of the lost reservation. The cabin this guest stayed is one of our guests’ favorites. The rugs in our cabins do not go wall to wall. This is intentional and meant to be that way. The "frayed" wire spoken of had a covering that was not pushed entirely into the wall fixture. There were no exposed wires and no safety issue. As we were all living through Covid-19 and the uncertainties, we implemented new policies to help keep our guests, as well as our staff, as safe as possible. Cabins were cleaned with extreme care, and we asked our guests to help as well, by putting their linens and towels in a provided laundry bag and garbage to the dumpster. This helps with minimal handling of these items. We had our maintenance person check the additional cabin for any gas leak. Pilot lights going out on the cooking stove are usually the case, however, there were none that were out. We leak tested all lines going to the furnace as well as the stove for leaks and none were detected. We have since this time replaced the gas line so nothing will be in question again. A bed, when traveling, is usually never as good as your own at home. We have had guests who tell us how they have never had a better night’s sleep, and others who do not care for the beds. We try our best and we replace our beds when necessary. We apologize you did not feel you rested well, and we have changed out the old with new. The contactless check in meant that guests did not need to stop at the office to make a payment. For this guest, we sent out a reminder prior to their arrival with their reservation information. For this large group we had information sheets outside our office directing them to their cabins. This guest was told by someone else in their party they did not need to stop at the office when they arrived. Unfortunately, this guest ended up going to the wrong cabin.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
It states dog friendly, the owner had us stay in "The Willow" room. Not sure because it was $100 a night more since the room stated no dog signs posted all over. The room was part of the pole barn. The septic back up in the shower and sink, cob webs and all. Not well kept up at all. For being COVID, you would have thought it would be clean!
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Date of stay: September 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Response from Becky Johnson, Owner at Ellis Lake Resort
Responded Sep 9, 2020
Thank you for the review. First, the original room booked was a non-dog friendly room. We were informed that a dog would be traveling with you during your stay and was asked if it was okay to have the dog in this room. This particular room we cannot allow pets. The only room we had available, which also is a non-dog friendly room, was the room you switched to in which we made accommodations to allow your dog. So, yes, there were signs indicating no dogs allowed. This suite is the entire right side of the pole barn which was also stated when the reservation was switched. Second, the shower was not a septic backup but a clogged drain. We were not informed that there was any issue until the day you left. Had someone informed us right away we would have addressed the issue that same day. The situation was corrected as soon as we were notified. We do not feel a picture was necessary to post. Third, Cobwebs do have a way of appearing even right after a space has been cleaned but does not mean that the space is not clean. Our housekeepers are very good at their jobs and extra cleaning practices are in place with extra attention given to commonly used items and spaces. A cobweb hiding up inside a light fixture does not mean that it’s not clean nor that the room is not well kept up. However, the visible cobwebs should have been taken care of during our pre-arrival prepping procedure, so we do apologize for that.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Nice stay with my children. Quite place with small lake at walking distance. Good place to relax and disconnect. Cabins have the necessary for basic needs and are clean. We enjoyed our stay. Cabins away from the road are the best for noise mitigation. Would stay there again!
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Date of stay: August 2020
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Room Tip:Bring your own Wifi/connectivity devices. The Wifi from the office has a very limited radius.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed here for exploring the Traverse City area. It is only 9 miles to downtown. We were able to explore around Empire as well, only being 30 minutes away. The price savings as compared to Traverse City downtown was great. We enjoyed our cabin. The cabin was a bit older but still very clean and nice. We were excited to see a mini-fridge and enjoyed the campfire ring. The grounds are nice and there is a great area to sit by the lake. It was much closer to the highway than we expected but once we closed the door we didn't hear much road noise at all. They offered a great check in check out service so we didn't need to rush to get there. They offer firewood and air condtioning in the room.
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Date of stay: July 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have stayed at Ellis Lake resort every year for 25 years, so it's obvious I like the serenity, no TV, etc.. But it's time to make wifi available to all cabins for safety and entertainment (I couldn't listen to the NFL playoff games)! The server is in the main office, and I was told it should easily reach my location, only one cabin away. No way. Not one bar, regardless of the time of day or areas within the cabin. One other update to be aware of - the new hot tub. Where the pool butts up against the wood deck, there is no step down in. The step is in an area with a foot wide deck. Pretty dangerous and awkward, especially for senior. The control didn't work at times, and the cover was impossible for one person to fully open and close. I'd suggest it's time to expand/construct a deck to keep these issues in mind. Neither of these issues will prevent me from coming back on a reguldar basis.…
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Date of stay: January 2020
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Room Tip:Some cabins allow pets for additional charge, others do not. Each cabin is unique and accomodates...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
These are rustic cabins built in 1930’s and maybe 40’s. They do provide entertainment in form of canoes, boats, etc for Lake Ellis and folks are nice. And it is close to all things one wants to do around Traverse City. Our cabin was clean and comfortable.
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Date of stay: August 2019
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This was a surprise trip for my wife. I had set it up to arrive after hours. It wasn't 100% clear where we were supposed to find the key. The cabin was nice and rustic. It had a mini fridge and a microwave. We had to figure out how/where to plug in the microwave because the power cord wouldn't reach from the top of the fridge. Within a short walk you can be at the lake with a nice view. One of my biggest disappointments was that the outdoor community hot tub was out of order.
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Date of stay: September 2018
Value
Rooms
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
United StatesMichiganGrand Traverse CountyInterlochen
NUMBER OF ROOMS
12
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