Empire Lakeshore Inn
Location: 11730 S. Lacore Rd, Empire, Michigan, 49630, Empire, US
Star Rating: 2 Stars
Property Type: Motels
About this Property
Scenic Views and Convenient Amenities
Take in the views from a terrace and a garden and make use of amenities such as complimentary wireless internet access. This Colonial motel also features a picnic area and a vending machine.
Convenient Facilities
Featured amenities include express check-in, express check-out, and a vending machine. Free self parking is available onsite.
Comfortable Accommodation
Make yourself at home in one of the 12 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators and LCD televisions. Rooms have private balconies or patios. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected.
Book your stay at Empire Lakeshore Inn for a relaxing and convenient beach getaway.
Important Information
- Up to 4 children 18 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding.
- Contactless check-in and contactless check-out are available.
Policies
Check-in: 04:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Instructions: There is no front desk at this property. The check-in location differs from the property location. Check-in location: [11626 S. Sunset Drive Michigan]. To make arrangements for check-in please contact the property at least 24 hours before arrival using the information on the booking confirmation. Guests planning to arrive outside of normal check-in hours must contact the property in advance for check-in instructions and key retrieval information. The host will greet guests on arrival.
Amenities & Facilities
- Express check-out
- Free WiFi
- Terrace
- Garden
- Express check-in/check-out
- Designated smoking area
- Wheelchair accessible
- Picnic area
- Surfing/bodyboarding nearby
- Downhill skiing nearby
- Cross-country skiing nearby
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Kayaking nearby
- Sailing nearby
- Water skiing nearby
- Rafting nearby
- Express check-out
- Snowmobiling nearby
- Mountain biking nearby
- Snowshoeing nearby
- Snowboarding nearby
- Express check-in
- Free self parking
- Sledding nearby
- Snow tubing nearby
Rooms Available
-
2 Double Beds Annex
2 Double Beds
301-sq-foot room, located in an annex building, balcony/patio
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - LCD television
Food & Drink - Refrigerator and coffee/tea maker
Sleep - A pillow menu and bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower/tub combination, designer toiletries, and towels
Practical - Desk, phone, and wardrobe or closet
Comfort - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping
Accessibility - Visual fire alarm
Need to Know - No cribs (infant beds) or rollaway/extra beds available
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 4 (4 Adults)
- Coffee/tea maker
- Telephone
- Air conditioning
- Refrigerator
- Desk
- Private bathroom
- Wardrobe or closet
- Toilet paper
- Shampoo
- Daily housekeeping
- Free Local calls
- Designer toiletries
- Free WiFi
- Pillow menu
- Balcony or patio
- No rollaway/extra beds
- No cribs (infant beds)
- Bedsheets provided
- Soap
- Visual fire alarm
- Lever door handles
- Wheelchair-width doorways
-
Deluxe King Bed
1 King Bed
355-sq-foot room with a balcony/patio
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - LCD television
Food & Drink - Refrigerator, microwave, and coffee/tea maker
Sleep - Premium bedding, a pillow menu, and bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower/tub combination, designer toiletries, and a hair dryer
Practical - Desk, phone, and wardrobe or closet; rollaway beds (free) and cribs (free) available on request
Comfort - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping
Accessibility - Bathroom grab bars
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 3 (2 Adults)
- Coffee/tea maker
- Telephone
- Air conditioning
- Hair dryer
- Refrigerator
- Desk
- Microwave
- Private bathroom
- Wardrobe or closet
- Toilet paper
- Shampoo
- Wheelchair accessible
- Daily housekeeping
- Free Local calls
- Designer toiletries
- Premium bedding
- Free WiFi
- Pillow menu
- Balcony or patio
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Bedsheets provided
- Bathroom grab bars
- Soap
- Accessible bathtub
- Visual fire alarm
- Lever door handles
- Wheelchair-width doorways
-
Deluxe, 2 Queen Beds
2 Queen Beds
355-sq-foot room with a balcony/patio
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - LCD television
Food & Drink - Refrigerator, microwave, and coffee/tea maker
Sleep - Premium bedding, a pillow menu, and bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower/tub combination, designer toiletries, and a hair dryer
Practical - Desk, phone, and wardrobe or closet
Comfort - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping
Accessibility - Visual fire alarm
Need to Know - No cribs (infant beds) or rollaway/extra beds available
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 4 (4 Adults)
- Coffee/tea maker
- Telephone
- Air conditioning
- Hair dryer
- Refrigerator
- Desk
- Microwave
- Private bathroom
- Wardrobe or closet
- Toilet paper
- Shampoo
- Daily housekeeping
- Free Local calls
- Designer toiletries
- Premium bedding
- Free WiFi
- Pillow menu
- Balcony or patio
- No rollaway/extra beds
- No cribs (infant beds)
- Bedsheets provided
- Soap
- Visual fire alarm
- Lever door handles
- Wheelchair-width doorways
-
King Bed Annex
1 King Bed
301-sq-foot room, located in an annex building, balcony/patio
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - LCD television
Food & Drink - Refrigerator and coffee/tea maker
Sleep - A pillow menu and bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower/tub combination, designer toiletries, and towels
Practical - Desk, phone, and wardrobe or closet; rollaway beds (free) and cribs (free) available on request
Comfort - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping
Accessibility - Wheelchair accessible
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 3 (2 Adults)
- Coffee/tea maker
- Telephone
- Air conditioning
- Refrigerator
- Desk
- Private bathroom
- Wardrobe or closet
- Toilet paper
- Shampoo
- Wheelchair accessible
- Daily housekeeping
- Free Local calls
- Designer toiletries
- Free WiFi
- Pillow menu
- Balcony or patio
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Bedsheets provided
- Bathroom grab bars
- Soap
- Visual fire alarm
- Lever door handles
- Wheelchair-width doorways
Guest Reviews
- Barbara (8/5): - Very happy with this little place. Toured M 22 and had an excellent stay. Check in was simple and the whole hotel was clean and cared for. Thank you.
- Sara (6/5): - Nice and clean with great location but faucet dripped all night and the noise from other rooms was substantial .
- Reanna (10/5): - Clean, conveniently located, friendly staff.
- Nikki (10/5): - For the last six years, we have stayed here for the Sleeping Bear Half Marathon. It’s clean! The people are friendly and welcoming.
- Gregory (10/5): - Wonderful stay.
- Deborah E (8/5): - Great location and very comfortable room. We spent a couple days biking the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. Great ice cream shop in walking distance. Definitely recommend. The reason I did not choose excellent was because we were in the annex and they had no ice machine.
- Emily (8/5): - Room was clean and met our needs well
- ROBERT (10/5): - Clean room
- Billie (8/5): - Call to check in was easy , phones staffed efficiently
- Jeanne (6/5): - Thought it was closer to the lake. Clean room, comfy beds.
- Robert (8/5): - 2nd floor, no elevator, awkward location in dead end hallway, not many food options.
- William (6/5): - Ok
- Robin (10/5): Rob K. - Great location for Sleeping Bear Dunes and surrounding area! Within walking distance of restaurants, beach, gas station, and National Park Visitor's Center. Hotel was very nice, quiet, clean, and comfortable. Empire is a nice little town. Empire Village Inn pizza is amazing! Catch the sunset at Empire beach or on Empire Bluffs Trail!
- William (6/5): Acceptable motel - Overall, it was acceptable. The bed pillows were much better than average for a hotel; the bed was maybe a little above average for comfort. The bathroom was disappointing in three ways: first, the shower curtain smelled sour. I have run into that problem at a lot of hotels that still use shower curtains. Why can't housekeeping staffs carry a bottle of dilute bleach solution and spray the inside of the curtain? That would be really easy and would kill the sour smell (to which I am really sensitive). Second, the sink drain was very slow. Dirty water sat there a long time, which is pretty disgusting. I told the housekeeper about it; who knows if she passed the word to the owners. Third, I am glad I took my own soap, shampoo because the stuff they stocked the room with was pitiful. They owner left an envelope to encourage tipping of the housekeeping staff, which I find off-putting. And the housekeeping staff did nothing except take away used towels, at my request. Maybe I expect too much........
- Sydney (10/5): - Nice and clean! Check in was easy.
- Daniel (8/5): - Beautiful property. Spacious and clean room. Just a few maintenance issues spoiled a perfect start. Bath tub stopper not working. Microwave shuts off after a few seconds. Slow drain in sink. All minor details. I’m sure they will take care of it all. Room is still a very good bargain for the area.
- Pamela (6/5): - We stayed in the annex and you had to drive or walk across the street through an EZ Mart parking lot to get ice in the main building and that wasn’t very convenient. Also there were no USB plugs in the room which seems below par in my travel experience. And a small roach in my bed one night. It was very convenient to Sleeping Bear Dunes.
- Larry (10/5): - Great quaint place to stay and very convenient to the Lake and Bear Dunes. We will be back for sure.
- Jay (10/5): - Very clean and cozy
- kathleen (8/5): - It is in an amazing location. Just a short walk to the lake & short drive to Empire Bluff Trail!
- Verified traveler (10/5): Great place. - Very comforting and clean. The area was quiet and workers were very nice.
- Margaret (10/5): - Nice place.
- Leah (10/5): - Clean!!!!
- Christina (10/5): - Nice hotel good value
- Sally (8/5): - Stayed at the Annex facility. Office closed on morning of check ou.
- Tina (8/5): Good stay in Empire - Very clean Inn. The beds were very comfortable, A/c worked well. Nice refrigerator. The bathroom door didn’t completely close, but was ok. Would have like a box of tissues in the room. Staff were nice but not overly helpful.
- erin (6/5): - Location was perfect. But the room was just ok. It was strange because the room was so humid eventhough outside was not. So everything was moist. Sheets. My clothes. That was a turn off. A dehumidifier would help that.
- Amanda (8/5): - New, was roomy and comfortable! Very clean. The only problem we had is there was something going on either in the next room or somewhere close, sounded like remodeling or something and lasted until after 11pm. But otherwise, a perfect place to stay to explore the dunes.
- Adam (10/5): - The place was great! We were only a short walk to the beach at Lake Michigan. And there were shops and restaurants to walk to from our room. Also, our daughter left one of her favorite stuffed animals there, and they mailed it back to us, which was so nice of them! Definitely recommend!!!
- Mathilde (8/5): Average place - Very nice location, nice room and bathroom, isolation not good, we could hear thé neighbors though
- Holly (10/5): - Nicely renovated property. Like an old style hotel with nice updates. Check in invoked getting our room key from a mailbox. Parking is tight.
- Audrey (6/5): - Close to Sleeping Bear Dunes & within walking distance to Empire Beach. Just a standard motel room. Weird thing was that the cleaning staff came in daily to replace towels & get trash but not once made the beds understanding that it’s eco conscious not to change the sheets every day but would have been nice to come back and have the beds straightened up. Also no decent coffee in Empire if that is inportant to you. There was a coffee maker in the room though.
- Patricia (2/5): - Shower doesn’t work. No ironing board Would no recommend.
- Anne (10/5): - Great location
- Joseph (4/5): - I have stayed at this property before, once at the new location, and this time at the "annex", which is the old location. The first time, I had a decent enough experience, but that is because I arrived there much later than this time. Unlike last time, I arrived a little earlier than check-in time. To be fair, it said that they may not be able to check me in early, but it was still possible (which is the case for most hotels and inns in my experience). I got there at 3 pm and the guy walked to the office and asked who I was. I gave him my name, he flipped through some papers behind the desk then quickly said that I needed to come back at 4. One hour really shouldn't make a difference when no cars were in the parking lot at either location. Once we got into the room, we found staining on the carpets and walls, damage to the furniture and walls in the bathroom, mold (or at least a lot of hard water buildup and a strong smell from the Keurig), and a bunch of notices telling us of ways in which they will bill us $150 for this or for that. I think the price for the hotel (almost 300 dollars for one night) is way too much since the walls were thin, the TV had issues with connection, the condition of the room, the lack of breakfast at the property, having a sign in the room telling me that I had to go to the other property (either a 5-10 minute walk or 2-3 minute drive) with the ice bucket to go get ice, and the fact that the room itself uses an unsafe standard house key.
- Kristin (8/5): - Cute
- Tara (10/5): Spotless - I’m the type of hotel guest that is peeling back the bed sheets and pillow cases, searching behind the fridge, etc and this place was spotless. Location was great. Room has everything you may need! Definitely recommend
- Marc (10/5): - Stay next-door to the sleeping bear fell apart visitor center. This location is very convenient. Small quiet tile. Was able to get a good meal at the village Inn, which I could walk to and in the morning I got up and rode my bike to empire Bluff Trail Before heading up to sleeping Barry to ride the Heritage Trail
- Maria (10/5): - Better than I expected! Owner left key in mailbox for easy access. Updated room and so quiet!
- Kristen (8/5): - It was a lovely and clean space and had very easy access to Sleeping Bear Dunes and the beach. Also close to all the cute towns surrounding Sleeping Bear Dunes. The bed and shower were nice. The owner was not personable and said about 6 words between the check in and check out process. He did not seem very interested in interaction.
- Earla (6/5): - We decide to pay at check in but were told bytext that we needed to pay over the phone by noon or the room would be forfeited check-in was at 4.00
- Peg (10/5): - Clean. Good size frig. Microwave. Keirig. 8 min walk to public beach.
- Erin (10/5): - Great location! We could easily walk to the beach, shops, ice cream, and breakfast the next day. Close to everything we wanted to explore!
- Sunniva (10/5): - Clean, modern facilities and a great location for exploring the area around Sleeping Bear Dunes.
- Jen (10/5): - Very nice property with a convenient location.
- William (10/5): - Good location, we enjoyed our stay here.
- Kendall (10/5): - Very clean and rooms seemed newly renovated. Late check in was very convenient. Highly recommend.
- Tim (2/5): - The shower wouldn’t turn hot. And the facet I. The sink blew off.
- Lewis (6/5): - Nice location, tight parking area, knew no food even though knew in advance, noisy, no clocks and no employees to voice information, but was clean and comfortable.
- Ernst (10/5): - Very nice, easy access, good location.
- Amy (6/5): - So it’s a pretty nice place, but the $300 per night rate is definitely for location—it’s a relatively short walk to Empire Beach which is usually a difficult place to find parking otherwise. Also, it’s close to Sleeping Bear Dunes. We were REALLY disappointed with the wifi since cell service is spotty at best. The only ice machine is in a different building across the street…and traffic is super loud. The main intersection in Empire is directly outside your window. Also..be aware that Empire has very limited food/grocery options and everything is SO expensive ($30 for a 12 in pizza). This place may not be the best if you’re looking for budget friendly, or things to do other than the beach/SBD. We spent way more money than we planned here. Take your vacation budget…triple it…and you’ll have a great time.
- Moe (10/5): Perfect - Shocked by how clean the room was last year, and they did it again this year. Out of all the hotels and air bnbs I've been too, this is easily the cleanest. Towels were replaced while we were out for lunch as well so we didn't even have to ask. Looking forward to next year
- Chris (10/5): - Clean comfortable room and so convenient. Great location for everything at the Sleeping Bear Dunes area. The Beach, restaurants, the National Park Service visitors center, convenient store and unique shopping experiences are all within walking distance. Not to far from Traverse City and Crystal Lake also.
- Andrea (10/5): - Check in was vey easy even though we arrived after hours the staff was very friendly and helpful throughout the process! Check out was easy too!
- Dany (10/5): - Nice place very comfortable.
- Paulette (10/5): - Great location for visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes and other "up north" experiences. The room was clean and well stocked. Highly recommend.
- Cory (8/5): - We stayed in the original building. It was very nice except there wasn't sound proofing. We heard every word, footstep, and snoring from the neighbors. The staff were great! The building and grounds are very well taken care of
- Danny (10/5): - Great
- Allison (10/5): - Very family friendly
- Sarah (4/5): - Dark strains of long hair left on bed sheets after pulling back the comforter.
- Valerie (8/5): - Nice property in a very nice little town. We lived the atmosphere and charm. The only problem was the thinness of the walls. The poor couple next door have a rough life. The man snored so loud it sounded like a grizzly was trying to tear through! Then he started cussing! A female voice would try to calm him down periodically, but the peace never lasted. I was considering sharing my C-pap with him. He really needs to see a doctor.
- Pam (10/5): - Stayed a couple of nights for a girls weekend. Loved the area (small town). Very comfortable beds and clean rooms. Would stay again.
- Marissa (8/5): - Room had a wonderful bright theme and was very clean. There were warning signs for being charged such as “don’t plug your own devices into TV- $150.” Hotel charged us days prior to our stay even though we booked the pay when you stay option. I like to switch credit cards sometimes when I arrive, and now there is a higher statement balance on my card than expected since it charged 1-2 days before the monthly bill switched over. Managers and front desk didn’t understand, so they didn’t refund my card so we could charge the correct credit card. Rooms were preassigned before we checked in and our 2nd floor request was not met. Room doors are exterior motel style with a Hard key bolt lock room access. I imagine robbers could get in. It required us to go to front desk in the morning or use key drop box. Gentleman there in the morning was a bit dismissive and didn’t even ask us how our stay was. He seemed busy with computer work. He seemed not interested in confirming my name and room number for check out, so what was the point of the hard key and checking out? Overall property was quiet. Evening front desk girl was nice.
- Tyler (10/5): - The stay was great!
- Mike (10/5): Great place! - Was a very nice place in a very nice town. We thoroughly enjoyed our two day stay!
- Deborah (10/5): - This was a charming Inn close to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The room was clean and spacious, and the staff were very friendly. I highly recommend it!
- Deborah (10/5): - Excellent accommodation
- Sarah (10/5): - Loved our stay! Super cute and clean!
- Nicole (10/5): Family Vacation at the dunes - We stayed at Empire Lakeshore Inn as a family on vacation visiting the dunes. It was a very quiet, comfortable stay. I left a star off of service due to not interacting with staff at check in or check out. I prefer checking in on my own, however I had no interactions with them to really judge. Otherwise we had a great stay and would love to come back in the future.
- Cynthia (8/5): - Facility is a new build. Soundproofing between floors and rooms could be better.
- Teresa (8/5): - Nice and new.
- Theresa (10/5): - .
- Aaron (8/5): - Besides extremly loud neighbors, property was nice and clean.
- Mary (10/5): - Very nice and clean room. Here for two nights and would definitely recommend!!!
- Heath (10/5): - Great people friendly and fast service
- Sandra (10/5): great location for visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes NP - great location for visiting the Sleeping Bear Dunes national park - right next door to the visitor center. One beach is within walking distance of the Inn and driving to other trails is minimal. Nice small town - walkable area with good local dining options and small shops
- Pamela (10/5): Good - so go! - The Lakeshore Inn in Empire is comfortably furnished. The new decor made is feel at home. The beds put us right to sleep and I used the extra blanket. Don't miss the sunset on Empire Beach! We liked Joe's Friendly Tavern too.
- Lisa (10/5): - We had a lovely meal at a local bar before heading down to the lake to watch the sunset (amazing!). Was a great location for our tour around Lake Michigan
- Joseph (10/5): - Nice quiet place
- Sandra (10/5): - Love this place.
- gilbert (10/5): - Fantastic. Newly refurbished or furnished. Was immaculate.
- Cheryl (10/5): Nice place,great location - I really liked the Lakeshore Inn. It was a clean and cute room. The mattress was a little too firm for me but everything else was good.
- William (10/5): - Fantastic place. Newly updated and nice and clean. Nothing super special, but who wants to stay in your room all day when you’re in such a beautiful area. Very close to the beach, places to eat, etc. Used it as a jumping point for the airport, even though it was a pretty good distance away. Definitely recommend. Be aware this is an older style motel where your room opens up to the outside and your car is parked out there.
- Jeffrey (10/5): - Nearly new and nice basic accommodation. If I ever needed to be near Empire or Sleeping Bear Dunes I wouldn’t hesitate to rebook it. Only one negative, the walls are not well sound insulated.
- shannon (10/5): - Very easy access, super clean and nice! Right next door to a convenient and friendly and fully stocked Bp! Lakeshore Inn is definitely the place to be!! Loved it!! Also for those first timers to the dunes, right next to the inn is a national parks info center, the ranger there was Extremely informative and friendly!! Highly recommend this place!!
- Joseph (10/5): - Very nice room, well run.
- Sue (10/5): - U
- Walter or Susan (10/5): - They take dogs, very clean and quiet. Close to gas station.
- Laura (10/5): - The in was just lovely... All of the in room amenities you would need. The decor was fresh and modern and comfortable. The staff was able to quickly accommodate our spur of the moment after hours booking, friendly and warm folk. Lakeshore inn is a great choice for overnight or longer Empire MI is a tiny town and only has a few dining options in the Fall/Winter but we did find a nice place for dinner.
- Richard (8/5): - The property is right next door to the Sleeping Bear Dunes visitors centre. It was clean and quiet, easy walking to the restaurants and beach in Empire. Check-in / out was straightforward.
- David (10/5): - Everything about this place was first rate. The town of Empire is quaint and the surrounding area offers all kinds of wonderful opportunities.
- Thomas (10/5): - Beautiful
- Kevin (2/5): Poor accommodations at best - We discovered that the main floor room had walls and ceiling that well NOT well insulated. It was very noising during the hour of rest. The bed was horribly uncomfortable. The ice machine was located across the street at their newer building. At $450.00 for the two nights we expected much more. I would NOT recommend this to others or book another stay. We should have requested a partial refund.
- Beth A (10/5): - Very clean rooms
- sara (10/5): - Sweet little place to stay while visiting Route 22 this fall, everything was just perfect
- Andrew (10/5): - mmmm
- Sandra (8/5): - Staff not very congenial.
- Verified traveler (6/5): Nice but could be better - The room and property were nice enough. The bed was very comfortable. Good location to explore dunes and Leelanau. Would give higher rating but was disappointed in service. The bed was not made for the entire 4 day stay and had to request towels after 2nd day. Resupplied the coffee but not the toiletries so bring you own shampoo…also GPS does not take you to office area, you will need to go to other side of gas station.
- Valerie (10/5): - Very clean and comfortable.
- Verified traveler (2/5): Frustrating check in - Told at time of booking that payment would be taken at check in only ( not in advance) turns out … they ran my card before I even arrived/ checked in. Not understanding why I could t just pay on the app at time of booking. Very inconvenient and unsafe use of my credit card information.
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