Our family has been visiting the Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan area most of our life. We hold a million sepia-colored memories in our heads. As Chicagolanders, we escape suburbia for the dunes, beaches, and woodlands of the Lake Michigan shoreline every chance we get.
We enjoy the area so much that I thought others should too. At a time when the town was still quiet and homey, I started on a journey of building true vacation destinations that are unique from anything you would find in suburbia, true cabins that drive relaxation and escape.
With no appetite for owning or managing rundown, churn-n-burn properties, we prefer to focus on high-end vacation homes with incredible amenities. In order to deliver value to our guests, the properties themselves became more than places to stay, they became experiences. Providing an experience is a combination of a unique property, different than anything our guests have at home, quality in-house amenities, unique exterior amenities such as location, and on-property activities such as jacuzzi, pools, and fire features. Finally, the experience is topped off with special treatment and high-attention from the management company (quite literally, us).
Someone once told me, “After kids, you don’t go on vacation. You visit places.” I didn’t want that for Lakewood Lux. I wanted to make each property family-friendly with the comforts of home. We splurge on high-end items like kitchen appliances, pots and pans, serveware, linens and towels to ensure a guest experience that is like or better than home. Then, we make sure all the amenities are maintained by professionals. Folks work hard to earn their vacations, and I wanted to ensure their visits were pleasantly clean, comfortable, and fun, because that’s what I would want.
We started building and renovating our vacation destinations in 2018, and have five properties now: Lakeshore Woods Lodge, a secluded, sprawling, and rustic home nestled inside four acres of Michigan woods, A-Frame Saugatuck, a historic icon, recognizable by all the local community, that stands 15-feet from the harbor’s shoreline, and Treetops, three vintage, neighboring cottages perched high atop a 50-foot sand dune overlooking the harbor and downtown Saugatuck.
It’s been a journey full of research, learning, experiments, and positive steps forward, and I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished. Lakewood Lux truly offers luxury vacation rentals with sophisticated and comfortable interior designs, amenities, and excursions catered to our guests.
