MyNorth News Service

(Press Release provided by Mission Point Resort)

MACKINAC ISLAND: Mackinac Island’s east end landmark, Mission Point Resort, announces plans to elevate and invigorate the property, further propelling the excitement for its seasonal reopening on May 1.

The announcement comes following the purchase of the resort by Mr. and Mrs. Dennert O. Ware of D & S North in December 2014. In a short time, the Ware family has made rapid improvements to the property including new technology, updating the main lobby and public spaces, as well as upgrades to guest rooms. Guests will enjoy these improvements as well as newly created food and beverage offerings, horticulture, music and arts programming — all combining to elevate their island experience.

“It’s a new day at Mission Point Resort. Our family is committed to Mackinac Island, celebrating the best of the destination’s history and its unique “Americana” feel while positioning Mission Point Resort in a very relevant, friendly and fresh way,” said Liz Ware. “With Pure Michigan and the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau keeping the spotlight on our wonderful state and island, timing couldn’t be better to awaken to a new day at Mission Point Resort.”

As part of a three-year master plan, Mission Point Resort will see ongoing improvements to guest rooms, a new, larger full-service spa facility in 2016 and, by 2017, an all-new, expanded pool complex. The Wares note that more details will be announced later this season.  

To celebrate two of Mackinac Island’s richest traditions this summer, the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac (July 11) and Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race (July 19), Mission Point Resort will offer a variety of fun race-themed cocktails for sailors and land lovers alike! Guests and visitors can enjoy fresh cocktails on property, which recently opened for the season with new ownership and a hotel refresh, while drinking in the intoxicating views of the Straits of Mackinac.

 

Yacht Race Cocktails: 
  • The Bernida – Island Breeze Rum, Blue Curacao, Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice
  • Island Goat – Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Kahlua, Vanilla Ice Cream
  • Finish Line Cannonball – Fireball Whiskey, Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider
  • Gray’s Reef – New Holland Rum, Creme de Almond, Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice
  • The Mackinac Cup – Meyers Rum, Pineapple Rum, Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice, Apple Juice, Grenadine

 

Taste the change – food & beverage news:

Visitors to Mission Point Resort this season will taste and sip the very best of the destination. The beverage program, curated by Vice President and Managing Director, W. Bradley McCallum showcases spirits and wines from the region, as well as brews and small-batch barrel aged cocktails exclusive to the resort. Mission Point Cream Ale from Petoskey Brewing, New Day IPA from Saugatuck Brewing Company and Sinclair’s Scotch Ale from Mountain Town Brewing Co. are created for and sold only at Mission Point Resort. If spirits are your pleasure, the resort will also be debuting barrel-aged bottled Negronis and Manhattans made exclusively for the resort.

A new, seasonal cocktail menu, deliciously integrates regional spirits with seasonal ingredients grown in the newly commissioned Cocktail Garden.  Among the variety of herbs and flora selected for this season’s garden are: lavender, rose-scented geraniums, lemon verbena, golden lemon thyme, and a host of different mints.

Mackinac Island boasts some of the oldest, most lush French lilacs in the nation, and Mission Point embraces this with a first to the island, an inaugural series of cocktails using lilac essence. The resort debuts vodka, tequila, rum and gin based libations using this signature cocktail enhancement. The Mission Point Lilac Cocktail Series will be available all season including Mother’s Day and The Lilac Festival.

Diners can expect the most comprehensive and freshest farm- anwater-to-table menus on the island. Mission Point uses local Native American fisheries for its signature whitefish used in its award-winning dishes, whitefish caviar, smoked whitefish dip (served warm and blended with soft white cheeses), whitefish benedict and its new weekly All-American Fish Fry at the lakefront Bistro on The Greens.

Frozen fudge crafted on property using Michigan-made chocolate will cool down Mackinac visitors this season and offers a new spin on the time honored island staple.

Weekly signature culinary events also kick-off after Memorial Day Weekend. Further details can be found on the website, reservations required for:

  • Tuesdays: Fish Fry and Beer at the Bistro, a fresh take on the Midwest classic
  • Thursdays: BBQ and Bourbon at the Bistro, a fun celebration of pig & whiskey

Stop and smell the change – horticulture news:

Mission Point Resort named a new Superintendent of Grounds and Gardens, John Van Etten, to take the already stunning 18 acres running along the east side of Mackinac Island, overlooking Lake Huron, to the next level. Plantings and improvements are already underway to wow this season and beyond. Van Etten joins the resort team with a five-star pedigree, including long experience with magnificent landscapes, such as New York State’s Mohonk Mountain House, known widely for its lush grounds, lawns and gardens.

Among Van Etten’s newest creations is the unique horticultural feature, the Cocktail Garden, which will focus exclusively on flowers, herbs and edible plants used in the creation of craft cocktails. Under his dutiful care, plantings in the garden will include agastache, lavender, rose-scented geraniums, lemon verbena, golden lemon thyme, nasturtiums, daylilies, pansies, pineapple sage, signet marigolds, basil and a host of different mints. As the flowers and herbs of the garden come and go through their blooming cycles, the cocktail lists will be ever changing, staying fresh, seasonal and in tune with Mother Nature’s calendar.

Equally as interesting is the debut of the resort’s first Apothecary Garden in early Autumn 2015. Plantings here are the seedlings of a blossoming, multi-year spa experience overhaul. Lavender, a variety of roses, spearmint and pot marigold are among the items growing here to be used in spa treatments. When the new, larger spa opens in 2016, even more items will be incorporated.

Set in the Apothecary Garden, along the property’s east lakeshore, will be a new Mediation Maze. Low shrubbery and rock formations are arranged for guests to wander through, relax and enjoy the beauty of the island and their vacation.

Groups and meetings attendees will enjoy the opportunity for grounds tours led by Van Etten. Customizable horticulture lectures are also available.

See and hear the change – arts & culture news:

Mission Point Resort’s Vice President and Managing Director, W. Bradley McCallum, is passionate about Mackinac Island’s arts and culture community, is a collector of contemporary art himself, and serves as the President of Mackinac Island Art Council. He was also appointed by the Mayor to serve on Mackinac Island’s Historic District Council. As such, McCallum is spearheading the incorporation of local arts and culture in all aspects of the resort.

This season, the property debuts three commissioned pieces of art by Lily Porter, who herself grew up on the Mackinac and has ancestry on the island dating back over a century. Large-scale paintings depicting Lake Huron scenes from Mission Point at sunrise, noon, and sunset by Porter will hang over each of the three grand stone fireplaces in the main hotel lobby.

2015 also brings to Mission Point the Michigan Music Showcase, a rotating lineup of young Michigan musicians including The Accidentals, Blake Elliot, Missy Zenker, E Minor, Jetty Rae and others, performing live. It will be a true Great Lakes experience every Friday and Saturday night, Memorial Day to Labor Day, at the lakefront Bistro on The Greens.

Mission Point’s Kite Master is set to lead kite flying workshops on the great lawn twice weekly. This family-friendly activity will take place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:30-4:30.

The property has also introduced Sun-Up Sessions for groups and individuals, allowing them to start the day off with a distinctly Mackinac experience: taking in the sunrise over Lake Huron. Groups can enjoy a light hike to view the sunrise, followed by a picnic of locally sourced & house-created breakfast specialties, including: whitefish benedict, house-made croissants with artisinal lavender and Michigan Peach jam and maple-syrup glazed bacon. Optional yoga following on the Courtside Patio.

A series of signature weekends are also being developed for the 2015 season, with additional ones to be release in the coming weeks.  Further details available upon request for:

  • Mission Point Beer & Wine Festival Weekend (August 1)
  • Mission Point Mac to Mac Regatta (August 8)
  • Stratford On the Straits, a Shakespearian Weekend on Mackinac, presented by Mission Point Resort (August 28-30)
  • Mission Point Art & Artisan Fair (Labor Day Weekend)
  • Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Weekend presented by Mission Point Resort (October 9-11)
  • Mission Point Sportsman’s Getaway (October 16-18)

Photo(s) by Mission Point Resort