Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel Makes Top 25 Historic Film Hotels List
For Michigan, it stands as one of our pride and joys when it comes to landmarks and tourist destinations. Not only laying claim to having the largest porch in the world, at a record 660 feet, but the Grand Hotel has also left its mark for so many other reasons.
Opened on Mackinac Island in 1887, the Grand Hotel has throughout the years received several accolades such as being named one of the "Best Places to Stay in the Whole World" by Conde Nast Traveler and made Travel + Leisure magazine's lists of the "Top 100 Hotels in the World" just to name a few. Along with that, the hotel has also made its name on the silver screen as well and it's getting noticed.
Michigan's Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island has landed on the list of the "Top 25 Historic Hotels of America in Film and Television History". The list was released by Historic Hotels of America, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Trust for Historic Preservation specialized in recognizing, celebrating, and promoting the finest historic hotels in the United States.
Although the hotel has a spirited history dating back to its early days, it was the 1980s that made it a movie star. Thanks to one iconic movie the hotel has now become synonymous with love and romance.
The 1980 film Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer was filmed on location at the legendary hotel. From its stunning victorian interiors to the palatial grounds, the time-travel film captured the hearts of the hopeless romantic and instantly became a cult classic.
42 Years Ago a Movie Put the Grand Hotel in Movie History
Today the film is still celebrated at the hotel with an immersive experience as a special Somewhere in Time Weekend held in the fall. Fans flock to the island dressed in period clothing reflective of the film and enjoy celebrating the movie right along with the film's stars including Jane Seymour. There is even a Somewhere in Time Suite and the Jane Seymour Suite with both rooms decorated with memorabilia from the movie.
Although Somewhere in Time helped make the hotel a household name, it wasn't the first time the inn graced the big screen. The Grand Hotel was also the setting for the 1947 musical comedy This Time for Keeps starring Jimmy Durante and Esther Williams. The hotel later named the swimming pool after Williams.
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