Frequently Asked Questions   How close are you to the beach? The Bluewater Inn is located directly across the street from the beach making it very convenient to enjoy Grand Haven’s beautiful Lake Michigan beach.  We also offer short-term vacation rentals at our “BWI Downtown” location which is located approximately ¾ of a mile from the beach Are alcoholic beverages allowed on the Grand Haven State Park or City beach?  Alcoholic beverages are not allowed on the beach.  Additionally, you can be ticketed if you are found to have alcohol on the beach. How close are you to the Downtown, restaurants and Musical Fountain?  The Bluewater Inn (beach location) is approximately 1 mile from all that our Downtown has to offer.  It is a very beautiful and scenic walk or a short and easy drive.  Our “BWI Downtown” location is just 2 blocks away from Downtown. Do you serve breakfast at the Inn? We do not serve breakfast at the Bluewater Inn.  For your convenience, the rooms that do not have kitchenettes have a microwave, micro-refrigerator and coffee maker. Do you have a restaurant on site? We do not have a restaurant on site.  The closest restaurant is approximately 2 blocks away from us and it is open for lunch and dinner.  Most of the other restaurants that serve breakfast, lunch and dinner are located approximately a mile from us.  Do you have grills? Yes. We have gas grills available at both locations. Guests are welcome to use them in the designated grilling area. Where is the closest grocery store? There is a Meijer, D&W and Walmart within 2 miles of us.  There are several locally owned small specialty stores within a few miles of us as well. How old is the Inn? The Inn was built in the 1920’s and the "BWI Downtown" apartment building was built in the 1950's.  Since the buildings are older, they are unique and not like a standard hotel. Please view the photos on the "Photos" page of our web site as they are a good representation of what the property is like.  Pictures of our "BWI Downtown" location can be found on the "BWI Downtown" page of our site. Does each room have a bathroom?  Yes.  All rooms have a private bathroom. Do you offer daily maid service? The Bluewater Inn does not offer daily maid service.  All rooms are cleaned prior to occupancy however we do not have someone coming in daily to clean your room for you during your stay.  Please feel free to ask our staff if you need additional supplies or assistance during your stay.  You will find them to be very accommodating. What are the rooms like and what amenities do they offer? We have 14 rooms at the “beach” location and every one of them is different in size, layout, etc.  We have some that are designed like one bedroom apartments with occupancy limits ranging from 4 to 6 people and others that are small “bedroom” type rooms that are designed for two people.  At our "BWI Downtown" location, we have four 1 bedroom apartments which are each set up to sleep 4. The rooms are clean, simple and comfortable. They are not "luxury" suites/rooms.  All of the rooms have private bathrooms, wood floors, a flat screen television and an eclectic mix of furnishings giving them a “cottage like” feel.  There are pictures of each room and a few of the bathrooms on the “Photos” page of our website.  Pictures of our "BWI Downtown" location can be found on the "BWI Downtown" page of our site. In addition to towels and linens, all rooms are stocked with soap, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, wine glasses, coffee, cream and sugar.  All rooms have a microwave, micro-refrigerator and coffee maker.  Rooms with kitchenettes and our "BWI Downtown" apartments are also stocked with basic cookware and dinnerware, a toaster, dish soap, dish towels and paper towel.  Please feel free to ask our staff if you need additional supplies during your stay.  Do we have to bring our own linens? No.  Prior to arrival, the beds are all made up and each room is set up with an initial supply of towels.  PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BEACH TOWELS as we do not allow our towels or linens to be brought to the beach. Do you have a pool, hot tub or jacuzzi tubs? The Bluewater Inn does not offer these amenities. Do you have an ice machine?  We do not have an ice machine however we do have bagged ice that can be purchased for $3.00 a bag.  Do you allow pets?  No. Do you allow smoking? Per Michigan law, we do not allow smoking in any of the rooms or the outdoor decks.  Can we book a room online? Unfortunately our Inn is very unique and an online booking system is not conducive to our business. You can, however, fill out a “reservation request” via our website and we will contact you regarding availability or you are welcome to call us directly at (616) 846-7431.   Unlike standard hotels, every one of our rooms is different in size, layout, views etc. and the property itself is unique.  We prefer to speak with people directly regarding their reservation request so that we can ensure that they are booking the room that best fits their needs. Why did I get your answering machine when I called? We are a small family owned Inn (14 rooms) and do not have someone answering the phone 24 hours a day.  The best time to reach us is during our office hours.  Our office hours “in season” (June through August) are generally 9am – 9pm and “off season” our office hours are generally from 10am – 6pm.  (For our guests, we have staff available on call prior to and after hours.)  If you call outside of these hours, please leave a message and we will return your call during our office hours. Please note: because we are a small Inn, there are times you may get our answering machine during regular office hours if we are assisting guests in our lobby. Please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible.  How far in advance can I make reservations for next summer - 2025? We have many guests that stay with us year after year. Guests who have 5 nights or longer reserved with us are given the opportunity to reserve the same room for the same period of time (minimum of 5 nights) and same dates the following summer.  For Summer 2025 (June 13, 2025 - August 31, 2025) if you are interested in reserving 5 nights or longer you may submit a request letting us know what dates and rooms you are interested in. We review all new requests after the 1st of the year and we will contact you in January/February regarding availability.  For stays of less than 5 nights for Summer 2025, we will begin taking reservations in April 2025.  Please see the reservation rules page of our web site for more details regarding our policies. I am interested in making group reservations, do you “block out” rooms? Our Inn is too small and unique to be able to accommodate this type of request.  Your guests are more than welcome to contact us directly to make reservations subject to our normal reservation policies (see the “reservation rules” page of our website).  What is your policy regarding bachelorette/bachelor parties and other on site "parties"? Both of our buildings are located in a primarily residential area.  For the comfort of all of our guests and out of respect for our neighbors, we do not allow any onsite parties that could be disruptive to our guests or neighbors.