The Best Hotels with Pools to Book in Michigan

Staying at the MGM Grand puts you close to Detroit Central station, as well as the opera, the ballgame and the river. It’s a prime location that will tempt you to explore downtown Detroit – if you can draw yourself away from the ritzy casino next door. The resort is in the Vegas mold, with lots of soft upholstery, tactile fabrics and big windows with skyline views. The pool is just one glam feature, alongside a spa, golf suite and gym.

There’s a hint of the swing era about the Henry Hotel, which rather fits the Motor City location close to the Ford headquarters and Henry and Clara Ford’s Fair Lane home. It’s also near the modern Fairlane Town Center for shopping, food and entertainment, but you may be happy to just lounge by the country-club-style indoor pool, or wander the artwork-filled corridors. The aesthetic continues in the bedrooms, full of abstract patterns and stripes.

The East Lansing location of this smart, modern Marriott puts you close to Michigan State and the accompanying university buzz. It’s the rooms that mark the hotel out from the competition – tastefully decorated in subtle shades of white and grey, with geometric patterns and polished wood panels. The expansive indoor pool is great for a swim before supper at one of the many student-oriented eateries and bars nearby on the Grand River Avenue strip.

You can’t get much more Motor City than the Dearborn Inn, a Detroit landmark set right across from the Ford Dearborn test track. Ringed by 23 acres (9ha) of landscaped grounds, the mansion-like building dates from 1931, and the downstairs lounges could be plucked straight from an English country house. Guest rooms have a vintage quality, and get increasingly grand as you move into the homes in the grounds. Add classy dining options and an enormous outdoor pool and it’s an impressive ensemble.

If you want a Michigan hotel with a pool and personality, look no further than Weber’s – a boutique property that’s been family-run since it opened in 1937. The owners have made a destination of the restaurant, which is joined by a bakery, breakfast bar and cafe. The indoor saltwater pool, meanwhile, neighbors a sauna and a hot tub. Bedrooms have a genteel style, with eccentrically shaped designer furniture, understated colors and a loft apartment sensibility.

You get the full Lake Michigan package with the Inn at Bay Harbour, a lavish property set right on Little Traverse Bay. Dive right into the lake from the flanking sand and shingle beach, or dip into the octagonal pool, facing the lake across the lawns. A stay here brings ritzy indoor and outdoor dining, and sleek bedrooms and suites coated with smooth brushstrokes of white and off-white, matching the turreted exterior of this grand lakeside hotel.

The setting beside the Saginaw River is the big draw at this imposing Bay City hotel. If you want a Michigan hotel with a pool and a view, look no further. Rooms are bright, expansive and comfortable, and the best have balconies looking across the riverbanks. The pool in question is indoors, with mock-up tropical islands and a whirlpool. Pretty parks line both banks of the river for morning jogs and evening walks before supper.

At the Amway Grand Plaza, you get a pool, a riverside view, a taste of history and a prime location looking across the Grand River to the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum and Ah-Nab-Awen Park. The original 1913 building is now annexed to a gleaming glass tower, and inside are elegant rooms with graceful designer furniture, understated colors and fine river views. If you want a hotel in Michigan with a pool and a touch of class, this is one of the state’s finest.