Evening attire at Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island

Johnel5

Just received our TAUCK bound Document Booklet for our Michigan tour and see that men are required to wear a jacket and tie and ladies are required to wear a dress or elegant pant-suit after 6 PM the two nights we stay at the Grand Hotel.
Good thing I read that. Hadn't expected to need "semi-formal" wear on this trip. I know people get a little more dressed up for the welcome get-together as well as the farewell party but was not aware of the 2 nights of "semi-formal" wear at the Grand Hotel in the middle of our tour.

judy05

We took a different version of this tour years ago and yes -- that is the dress code required by the hotel for all guests. As you said -- it is good that Tauck lets you know about this in advance!

Johnel5

Quite a little different from the 6 National Parks in 10 days where we rarely wore other than shorts and T-shirts.

jdurkin

Johnel5 wrote:

Quite a little different from the 6 National Parks in 10 days where we rarely wore other than shorts and T-shirts.

But at least you don't need to comply with the real, semi-formal dress code. The style you describe in your first post is merely "lounge suit" ... which could happily be stretched to a sports jacket, and tie, for men. As for shorts and T-shirts for dinner in the National Parks. Gosh, grubby, much? Not all those dining rooms are out of Hicksville. Some restaurants are indeed quite smart, where "smart casual" would be appropriate.

For all the dress code things that are beyond your ken, and you were too afraid to ask anyway, you can always go to the bible of etiquette:

http://www.debretts.com/british-etiquette/british-behaviour/h/dress-codes

Highland dress in some of those high altitude National Parks is something I'd really like to see.

Jollity aside, all this has nothing to do with ..."it's my party and I'll wear what I want to." It's about etiquette and protocol and how the venue in question (and the particular occasion) styles itself and runs. It's all possibly weird, but it is what it is.

Johnel5

Of course you're right about the National Parks. We were amazed at how nice the venues were in the parks and did get a little gussied up for many of the dinners but not really semi-formal wear.
We are used to that kind of wear on the many cruises we've been on for formal nights but I've gone from renting a tux for each cruise some years ago to wearing good slacks, a sports jacket, good shirt and tie on formal nights. I'm sure that will be fine at the Grand Hotel as well.
Times are definitely changing.
We are signed up for a November cruise on the new Royal Caribbean ship Anthem of the Seas and there are not ANY formal nights on that ship. Instead, one of the dozen or more restaurants on board requires jacket and tie every night so you can go there or eat at one of the many other venues where either casual or smart casual is the rule every night.

jdurkin

You mean you won't be wearing Highland evening dress for your November cruise! Quelle horreur! Say it isn't so!

MARGOR

My goodness. What a kerfuffle over simply dressing appropriately for the occasion.

Terry Simon

I am taking this tour at the end of June 2017. Just how dressy does the woman's dress have to be? What about dress code at the Traverse Resort and the other hotels and restaurants on the tour?

tomh

When I took this tour a couple of years ago, men could get by with just a coat and no tie for dinner; that was the only time when one was required to dress up at the hotel. I suspect that if a man showed up with no jacket, the hotel would probably provide him with one if necessary. As far as I can remember, the only time required for dress up was at dinnertime at the hotel on Mackinac Island. I know that the folks at the Mackinac hotel want to remember the old days and that is how it was done then. Nevertheless IMHO I thought that it was a bit pretentious on their part.

judy05

When we were at the Grand Hotel jacket and tie were required not only for the dining room but for the lobby and all public areas in the evening. I just checked their website and it appears that is still the case. You can always call the hotel and see what they say.

"Every evening at Grand Hotel is a special occasion. After 6:30pm, dresses, skirts, blouses, dress sweaters and dress slacks for ladies are preferred, while gentleman are required to wear a suit coat, necktie and dress pants, no denim or shorts. This applies for all areas inside the hotel with the exception of the Cupola Bar. Children 12 years and older are expected to be in dress similar to the adults."

Johnel5

Having started this thread I can only say how much we enjoyed Mackinac Island from the horse drawn carriage ride tour of the island to dressing for the evening and sitting on the full-length front porch enjoying the fantastic view of the Bay with our favorite drink in hand.