Staffords Bay View Inn

This is a beautiful place with staff that go out of their way to accommodate guests. The large front porch that overlooked the bay and lake Michigan was our favorite spot to sit at night and enjoy the sunset.

We stayed here for a weekend in October (Friday to Sunday). We really enjoyed the place! It was warm and inviting. The staff were very helpful and friendly too. Yummy cookies every morning after the room was cleaned, and they had coffee, tea and hot chocolate available for whenever you’d want something warm to drink.
The room was a small room that faced the street with no balcony. The room had a heater/​ac available. The bathroom was very nice and they had toiletries available.
There are a couple common areas in the building that are very nice and cozy. Wifi available which was nice, we used that in our room since there are no tvs.
There’s also a nice front porch that looks out towards the lake as well as some Adirondack chairs on the lawn that face the lake too.
We had Sunday brunch on our last morning there and it was nice. Good food and many options to choose from.
Overall, we loved it and will definitely go back for another visit and stay!

Had breakfast. Eggs Benedict were pretty good. French toast and sausage also good.
Three stars for the worst coffee imaginable. So watered down, almost no taste. Don’t waste your money on the coffee, go to Starbucks.

Had read about this place online and thought it looked cute driving by. When we first came in, we were told normally we would need a reservation but would make an exception for us. We went into the dining room and there were literally five other tables filled out of what looked like hundreds. Waitress seemed nice at first but could not explain anything on the menu, did not know what types of salad dressing were available, and when we asked about desert, listed only one option, when we asked her for more options, she didn’t know, but when we suggested she bring us the desert menu defensively said that we had demanded that she recite all of it by memory. Finally, I realized the next day I left my expensive new hat there and thought i left it in the bathroom. I called up to find out if they had it, and they said they only found one hat and it wasn’t mine. We drove over there and my husband went in and they did have my hat. Also, the ambience is similar to that of a senior citizen’s home.

The place is an institution in the area, and the flagship of the Stafford’s restaurant chain. For a while they had a Friday night BBQ ayce dinner out in the patio which was to die for, I’m not sure if it’s still available.
It’s a relaxing place, with a fantastic Sunday brunch, with top notch fixins, I highly recommend it.
About the only complaint I have ever had here was an absolutely horrible server who ignored everyone while pimping for a big tip from an older obviously well off couple. After emailing the corporation with my complaints, they emailed me a gift voucher toward another meal. A totally case act, and really not unexpected gesture, as the Stafford’s corporation wants to provide top notch service to it’s customers in the traditional northern Michigan manner.

Excellent Sunday Brunch Buffet. Nice selection of quality items. Starters included cheese, crackers, pasta salad, smoked whitefish, two types of cold smoked salmon, spinach artichoke dip and more. Chicken and fish entrees where excellent. Breakfast selections, carving station with ham and turkey. Desserts included lemon bars, brownie bites, truffle cherries and more. Loved the pecan squares.

This review is for their restaurant. We showed up with my husband’s family on a weekday morning. There were only a few people in the restaurant but they said they needed a few minutes to set up a table for our party. About 20 – 25 minutes later our table was finally set! So, not a great start.
Ordering and service was slow. They gave us sticky buns while we waited but they were very dry and seemed like they were from a day or 2 before. I got the veggie quiche and could taste none of the basil and feta it was supposed to contain but could taste only the overpowering flavor of mealy, frozen asparagus. After waiting almost 1.5 hrs at that point, I was so hungry that this almost made me cry. It was accompanied by fruit that was primarily melons with about 4 grapes and a strawberry. The buttermilk pancake wasn’t amazing but it’s the only thing I would eat again. My husband got the ham and cheese omelet. The eggs were hard and overlooked and was FILLED with cubed ham that did not taste great. Others at our table were satisfied with the country hash and the French toast, so maybe try those.
Bottom line: only go here if you want a nice view, are not super hungry and don’t care too much about the taste of your food.

We were here for 10 days on vacation & came here at least 5 times because John the bartender was the most incredible host. Come here and ask for him, sit on the deck and watch the water. He makes the best Cosmo too.

We were guests at the Inn and both had the Classic Eggs Benedict two days in a row. It’s good. While I’ve had better, I’d still recommend. If you like Starbucks, probably won’t like this coffee but we did (& I like Starbucks too but I water it down). The ambience is quiet and quaint. Staff is attentive and pleasant. Overall, a very nice experience.
Note: We would likely never have breakfast here if we weren’t guests only because they’re are so many delightful places in the area to go.

Came here for brunch on a sunday with stsyi n g in the Bay View community and buffet was superb. They had quite the selection and the ingredients were top notch quality. Even had a turkey and ham carving station, along with homemade waffle station. The dessert buffet was just as good with huge variety. Can’t wait to come back next week

We only ate breakfast here as guests of B and B. The menu is same for all restaurant guests. It is hit and miss. Coffee has no flavor. They served delicious waffles with strawberries. Only there 1 to 3 halves on each waffle. This is strawberry season. Way too much cubed ham in omelette said our other guests. Cubed ham??? Cherry sauce was yummy. Bacon crispy and tasty. Fried potatoes needed more flavor. Syrup is very flavorful. So like I said hit and miss.

Spotless, quaint hotel!
Every person we encountered here could not have been friendlier.
Our room (#7) was absolutely beautiful.
If I could I would kiss the person who makes the cookies that were in our room when we entered. I have never ever eaten a better cookie.
This place is super charming. Right near the water with a fairly nice water view
I would not hesitate to stay here again but there are a few things I could point out
#1: Not a huge deal, but It would be nice for the stereos to have connectivity to iPhone. As there is no television (a plus in my book!) it would be nice to have some music while soaking in the hot tub or sitting on the porch. The local radio station selection is a bit sparse, though we found some nice tunes on the local NPR station (like 89 on the dial) It would be great however, to update the stereo to have iphone dock or at least have wires to plug into smart phones/​iPods
#2 the location of the place is a bit of a hike to downtown, so if people are thinking about having more than the legal driving limit of booze, they must walk back to the hotel if they don’t want to chance getting the DUI.
I didn’t see cabs. This isn’t a drawback to the hotel, but I just thought I would mention this so folks don’t think it’s an easy stroll
We are runners so a walk doesn’t scare us, but it’s at least a mile to the downtown restaurants/​bars, lots of it being uphill. AND we didn’t really see sidewalk passage to get the distance. This is definately not a walk to dinner downtown, walk home sort of place. You need a car
We didn’t have a chance to eat at the Inn, other than a cocktail at the bar and coffee in the 2^nd floor library (both of which were nice) but I see that the food reviews are nice so there isn’t an absolute need to leave the Inn for the evening, for drinking and dining
The staff is delightful and the place is sparkling clean and very very charming!

Staffords Bay View Inn is 5 Stars all the way. I was there on a weekend retreat with my sister and fellow Unilocaler, Debbie Z. We were awed by the beauty of the Inn which was located right on Lake Michigan in Petoskey. The Sunday Buffet was the best I’ve ever seen. Check out the pictures I uploaded. There was plenty of choices for breakfast, and/​or dinner. Everything was fresh, fresh, fresh and tasted wonderful. My neices and nephews were with us, 7 total, and we didn’t have to wait to be seated. Our server was Nate. He was incredible and funny. Loved him.
After we ate we went out to sit and that fantastic porch with a lake view. We were served complimentary soft drinks while we basked in perfection. We met a couple from Clinton Township who have been making the 5 hrs drive every year for 16 years just to go to Staffords Bay View Inn. One of my facebook friends informed me that she knows a couple who go up to Petoskey every single year just for the Sunday brunch at Staffords Bay View Inn.
This is one fantastic place you simply must try. Tell them Sandy sent you. LOL

Staffords Bay View Inn is right on Lake Michigan in beautiful Petoskey, Michigan. The sign outside says breakfast, lunch, and dinner M-​Saturday. I was there around 2 p.m. on Sunday. I was a little scared that they weren’t serving anything, but was pleasantly pleased that brunch was available. What a beautiful brunch we had!
The food was so fresh and delicious. You can tell that the eggs were so very fresh — probably the hens just laid them that morning! If you wanted pancakes or omelets there was a chef making them fresh for you. They had a meat carver ready to cut up whatever type of fresh meat you wanted. The waiters were johnny on the spot as far as freshening up your coffee and/​or water. I was in a party of 7 and we had absolutely no reservation and did not have to wait at all to be seated. They sat us near the buffet table so we didn’t even have to go far for the food! They had breakfast items, lunch items, dinner items, and to top it all off they had dessert items as well.
The décor was impeccable. Clean and very classy! They had tablecloths, fresh flowers on all the tables, cloth napkins — very beautiful set-​up. We were not rushed at all. Afterwards we went out to the porch and took some pictures and sat on the rocking chairs and took in the view of Lake Michigan and all its beauty. The grounds were beautiful as well with all fresh flowers all over. Parking was very convenient and no problem.
Definitely would recommend this place if you do take the 4.5−5 hour drive up north. Special shout outs go to Nathan — our server! You deserve a raise!

If you get the chance to come here for brunch, take it, do not hesitate. We came on a holiday (Easter), and although very crowded, we had a reservation so it worked out. If you can wait, the later seatings are less crowded (2:30/3:00), I think they were wrapping up when we left around 3:45 or so. I don’t know for certain.
I had a bit of everything. Turkey, good if a little dry, maybe the late seating was the cause, great when you added cranberry sauce though. You might more traditionally associate that food combo with Thanksgiving, but I appreciated it because I do not partake in the other carved meats they had on offer, lamb and ham.
The baked goods, omg. Yummy sticky buns, and yes, definitely should be enjoyed while warm. Mini-​Belgian waffle, w/​raspberry jam and whipped cream was excellent. The blintzes had blueberry cream cheese in them, also excellent. The fruit was plentiful and tasty as well. I also had some scrambled eggs, potatoes, asparagus, some chicken and fish. The chicken was in a morel & leek cream sauce, very nice indeed. The whitefish was in a sauce w/​capers, top notch. Their asparagus had this sauce with some kind of citrus zest in it, all other asparagus may disappoint me from now on.
My mom loved the eggs benedict, and most of the stuff mentioned above. The food was pretty rich, you’ll waddle out of there if you do not pace yourself. The view wasn’t bad either, you can see Little Traverse Bay from the sides. This location is a doable walk from downtown Petosky (around 2 mi), and it’ll make you feel less guilty for stuffing your face. Highly recommend. I couldn’t do it more than once a year, no self control ya know. Ha. About 25 $ p/​p, before drinks and tip. Another nice thing, you can order drinks while you are waiting on the sun porch. Portions were just right, smaller is better for a buffet.

My rating was either going to be four or five stars based on the décor, bedrooms, view, staff, use of gift certificates, and food. Most categories I would give it four and a few five starts, therefore, I’ll give them 4.5 rating.
Lets start with the gift certificate. I had a certificate (not gift card) dating back seven years ago, given to me by a friend. I didn’t think they would honor it, but after speaking to the manager, he gladly accepted it. I thought it was great customer service.
I initially thought it was going to be a small bed and breakfast, but to find it to be much bigger as a hotel. It’s an old hotel dating back to probably 1800−1900s. The view from the porch or a small walk to their garden or beach is spectacular of the bay. It’s perfect for a sunset.
That morning, we had breakfast in their restaurant and we started with their sticky bun cinnamon roll. I thought it was a good start. It would have been nice if it were heated up, but it was okay. I moved onto the Michigan Cherry French Toast. It was much better than the sticky bun. It did have enough cinnamon and cherries to give it a nice balance of flavor and texture. The service was very good.

I had my wedding at Staffords — they are absolutely amazing! If you like a more ecletic style for your hotel and don’t mind rooms without tvs, I highly recommend this beautiful location.
As for the wedding service, the staff is super knowledgeable about meeting planning and supportive and excited for events (even after they had at least one hundred before yours.) The food’s alright — try the beef if you have a chance.
All in all — Staffords has wonderful local flair, friendly staff and a calm atmosphere.

The Sunday brunch was exceptional. The staff were cordial, even entertainingly friendly without being intrusive.
The food was outstandingly fresh, and replenished often. I was with a large group, and everything about our experience was delightful.

I had the beef Wellington and it was perfection. My husband had the oak planked whitefish which he felt lacked seasoning. After tasting it I have to agree! Both liked the dill rolls served so be sure to try them

This review is strictly for their restaurant. *3.5 stars*
We had made reservations and arrived right on time. No one was at the host/​ess stand. So we waited and waited. Finally a gentleman comes and takes us to a table. After asking about 3 times how many is in our party (um, don’t you have our reservation?). Anyreservs… once we were sat, we noticed the absolutely gorgeous view of the lake from inside! Really so lovely.
The menu is somewhat impressive, lots of interesting things on it. We started with a bottle of wine and the baked brie with fruit and crackers. Really enjoyed this, but then again I’m a whore for good cheese. They also have this dill/​garlic bread they bring out and for lack of a better phrase… made by the angels above. If I were stranded on a desert island, I would want that to be my only nourishment.
For dinner I ordered the perch with veggies and rice pilaf. Veggies were a little overcooked, but the perch was delicious. BF had the whitefish with roasted new potatoes and veggies. Very much liked his. MOL had ordered their fish special literally when we sat down. Of course no one else was ready to order, so we asked the waiter to come back. When we were all finally ready to order, he asked her what she wanted. She goes «I already told you what I wanted», he looked at her like she had 3 heads.
The service was ok. He tried real hard. Forgot a few things here and there, but overall nice guy and all that.
The food is delicious and tasted very fresh. The inside looks like a 18^th century hotel. Awful green carpet and the wallpaper is just hideous. HOWEVER… it gives it character and I actually really enjoyed the interior design of this small northern bed and breakfast.
If you stay at the Bay View Inn, I would def eat here at least one night.