My husband and I were on a golf and geocaching state parks anniversary road trip this week. When I researched places to stay in East Tawas and Tawas this wonderful location called the Sanctuary Lodge came up. It happened to be very close to the golf course we were going to be playing (Red Hawk) so I reserved two nights here. To say this property is breathtaking is an understatement. If you are a bird watcher, bring your binoculars and zoom lens camera. We saw the resident trumpeter swans, bald eagles, a group of eleven wild turkeys, a handful of deer and a Pileated Woodpecker that flew by (pointed out by Sam) as we were checking in.
Last night a fog was lifting after a thunderstorm and it was gorgeous! The storm put out our electricity, but only from check-in time around 4 until after we got back from dinner out at the Boathouse, a restaurant Sam recommended. In the meantime, Sam brought a cooler and ice packs to save our food.
Sam was great! He has spent some time adding native plants to the area and the property is stunning. An accomplished blues saxophonist and bird watcher he was great to talk with. I would have liked to have more time to listen to him and maybe head out on a birding tour, especially to see and hear the Kirtland’s warbler that was talked about so much in the guest book!
I enjoyed sitting at the picnic table outside listening to the sounds of the birds and the peaceful atmosphere and my husband and I walked a little bit on the property, snapped some photos and met the very nice Richard briefly when we returned the key. Their property is amazing!
We stayed in the studio part of the Sanctuary Lodge and it was a good size for the two of us. It was larger than your standard hotel room with a kitchenette and has really nice clean modern décor. There was a queen size bed, small couch and chair, large bathroom with smallish shower stocked with soaps and towels. The kitchen was nice sized for a kitchenette and came with a coffee maker, electric burner, small fridge and microwave. The place was incredibly clean in every way.
The draw here is Sam and the gorgeous property! If you want to do a birding trip or yoga retreat, this place would be perfect!
