Family-friendly vacation?

Saugatuck looks wonderful! We%26#39;d love to visit. My husband and I are anxious to get away in Aug. however, will be bringing our 10 mo. old baby. I%26#39;ve got two questions:

1) I%26#39;ve heard the Saugatuck Harbor Inn is family-friendly. Thoughts about the Inn? Are there any other spots we should check out? We%26#39;ll be ';stuck'; in the inn after his bedtime, so a motor lodge set-up won%26#39;t work....we%26#39;d climb the walls. Also, we%26#39;d rather not rent a house.

2) Are there enough restaurants in town that are family-friendly? Sounds as though the town is a big gay destination; makes me think ';adult crowd';...not in the XXX way, just in age;-) Are the majority of restaurants up-scale? Will we be frowned upon bringing an infant to dinner at a pub-type, lakefront place?

Thanks!

Family-friendly vacation?

You might look into Twin Oaks Inn or Twin Gables for lodging, both are kid friendly. Restaurants could be tricky but there%26#39;s lots of options from Burger King to top notch dining. Go to Saugatuckdouglas.com and check out some of the web sites. Butler, Mermaid, Marros would be good kid options.

Family-friendly vacation?

We just returned from a 4-day vacation in Saugatuck. We had a wonderful time checking out the stores in town and enjoying the scenery.

I did feel that we were definitely in the minority being a married couple with kids. We didn%26#39;t see many kids in town. There were a few more at Oval Beach but we were “warned” that the north end of the beach draws the gay crowd so we stayed south toward the concession stand.

We ate at Coral Gables and Morro’s – both very nice and family friendly. We also took in a free concert in the park on Wednesday night. The majority of the couples and groups there were gay but we didn’t see any public displays of affection (“Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”)

Bottom line, we found Saugatuck to be a fun, classy, hip, artsy little town and we’re looking forward to going back next year.

I think you%26#39;ll have a great time with your baby there. Yes Saugatuck has a certain reputation but I%26#39;ve seen the park across from the tennis courts filled with young families. Most ot the restaurants are family-friendly. Marros, Pumpernickel%26#39;s (great breakfasts), the ice cream place in Douglas, Butler, Crane%26#39;s in Fennville, etc.

Vacationed there many times. While Saugatuck has a reputation for being gay-friendly, it isn%26#39;t overtly gay and is a very family-oriented town. Lots of families with kids vacation there and in my opinion are the majority. You might occasionally see a same-gender couple holding hands walking down the street, but that%26#39;s about it.

I think nearly all of the restaurants afre family-friendly. When the kids were little we found it best to dine early to avoid the dinner time crowds. We also used the %26#39;linen tablecloth rule%26#39; figuring restaurants that used them are the kind of places that usually aren%26#39;t asccustomed to having babies as dinner guests.

I just stayed at the Saugatuck Harbor Inn with my two children and had a great time. The pool and Inn are awesome! I just placed my first review of anything, so it should be posted in a couple of days

Susan

scars