For any of you who come to Mackinac on a regular basis you probably know his familiar welcoming smile and can hear his voice in your head saying “Welcome to Wood’s” (even though he is now at the Jockey Cub).
Neil Cargill has been with Grand Hotel for 21 years. He responded to an article in the newspaper offering summer employment and we were lucky enough to acquire his abundant talent. Although, Neil will tell you he feels like the lucky one, “Working for the Musser Family is a privledge and a pleasure” one that keeps him coming back year after year. He still remembers the first day he arrived at Mackinac Island on a sunny, yet chilly, May morning. ”The island looked like something straight from a storybook with its Victorian cottages and horse-drawn carriages”.
Neil began his Grand Hotel career as a waiter in the Main Dining Room and became a Captain after 2 seasons. He has managed the Fort Tea Room, Jockey Club, Wood’s and this season he is back at the Jockey Club. Neil says that for the last 10 years he has not been working, he has been “Having fun and getting paid for it.” Assisting someone in making their visit to Grand Hotel one they will not soon forget makes him feel fulfilled more than any paycheck ever could (not that the paycheck is not appreciated).
“Everyone needs to eat, and they can eat anywhere. We get one
shot at making this experience one they will want to come back for”, this is Neil’s motto. He has had the pleasure of making special days even more special for many. From helping a nervous young man with a cozy setting for proposing, to making a special anniversary even more special. Birthday’s and family gatherings are joyous occasions that he feels privileged to be a part of.
In the winter Neil works at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in Negril. He says the atmosphere is a bit different but his motto stays the same. On your next visit be sure to stop into the Jockey Club and say hello to Neil, and when you do, make sure to check out his neck tie. Neil has an extensive collection of very unique ties and people quite frequently ask to buy them right off his neck.
Well, since I have been battling laryngitis and a horrible cough for over a month now, no one has wanted to sit with me to be interviewed. This means you get to hear about how excited I am to finally be feeling a bit better and how much I am looking forward to the Labor Day Jazz Festival this weekend.
Friday kicks off the festival with The Sun Messengersin the Theater at 9:30. The “Official Band for the Detroit Pistons”, they are sure to get your toes tapping with your favorite R&B and Motown hits. Alex Graham and the Grand Hotel Orchestra will be in the Terrace Room at 10:00 and Steve Richko will be at the Jockey Club beginning at 11:00.
Saturday Marion Hayden opens for Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue beginning at noon in the Tea Garden. Trombone Shorty is an amazing young artist who, at the ripe age of 24, USA Today calls “One of the Crescent City’s most seasoned players, with two decades of experience.” Two decades of experience at 24? Yes, he was a band leader by the age of 6! Marion Hayden will be performing hits by the great ladies of Jazz with A Tribute to Billie, Ella and Carmen. Very excited about seeing this show. Saturday evening at 9:30 Marion Hayden will preform again in our Theater.
Also performing Saturday evening at 11:00 and Sunday evening at 10:00, the Four Freshman will be live at the Jockey Club. I will definitely have to take a nap after the cookout concerts so I don’t miss out on this classic group.
On Sunday the day begins at 9:30 am with a Gospel Service by Rev. Robert B. Jones. With over 20 years experience as a performer, musician and storyteller, this will be a performance you won’t want to miss. At noon our own Alex Graham and the Grand Hotel Orchestra will open the Cookout Concert in the Tea
Garden for The Manhattan Transfer.
Performing together regularly since 1974, The Manhattan Transfer recently released (2009) their 27th album “The Chick Corea Songbook” and they are sure to wow the crowd in our Tea Garden. Sunday evening keeps kickin’ with Alex Graham in the Terrace Room at 10:oo and Steve Richko at the Jockey Club at 11:00.
So, if you are in the mood for some great music, food and fun this weekend, join us for the Labor Day Jazz Festival. You will not be disappointed!
Can you believe it is the last weekend in August already? Where does the summer go? Was I not just saying “It’s July already?”
It will be a relatively calm weekend here on Mackinac, the weather is predicted to be in the mid 70’s and sunny, perfection for a late summer weekend. Of course, there will be weddings, family reunions, big anniversaries and milestone birthdays to celebrate, but, these days are also perfect for a leisurely bike ride or stroll in the woods.
A round of golf on the Jewel when the temperature is mild and th
e humidity is low is always a pleasure. An afternoon carriage ride for 2 around the island, a picnic near the water, afternoon drinks on the porch with a good book or a game of chess make perfectly relaxing ways to enjoy the day. I know it is difficult for most of us to step out of our busy lives and really relax and enjoy the people around us. Here on Mackinac we really hope you take the time to do just that. We are proud to be the place where people come year after year to make memories to last a lifetime.
I overheard a couple telling their young children yesterday (walking down Grand Hill) ”Just think, when you are parents you will bring your kids here and “torture” them with all the walking and bike riding and ice cream and fudge. And you will smile and tell them the same stories we are telling you now of how we were “tortured” in the same manner as children” The parents were both smiling as they were “torturing” their children and I couldn’t help but smile and exchange knowing glances as I passed them.
Summer is almost gone, why not take a day or two and “torture” your family with some time on Mackinac? Make some memories that you can cherish and pass on to future generations.
Wow! The Celebrate Michigan offer was even bigger than we had imagined. We are still getting phone calls, and it has been more than a week since the original offer went out. We finally had to quit taking reservations for this package on Monday.
It is great to see the people of Michigan staying and playing close to home. Grand Hotel and the Musser family have been longtime supporters of our great state and it is wonderful to see so many Michigan residents doing the same.
We can’t wait for the Celebrate Michigan guests to begin arriving and making memories to share with their families for a very long time. We hope you will continue to share your memories with us, old as well as new. See you all soon!
I know today’s blog should be a “Getting to Know You” blog, however, I want to recognize all of the people who pulled together for the big Celebrate Michigan promotion this weekend.
A team of us traveled south on Saturday to the Okemos sales office to man the special 800 line set up just for this promotion. There were 20 or so of us, including some volunteers, who began bright and early on Sunday morning. We fueled up with bagels, fruit, juice and of course, coffee, Red Bull and Monster to prepare for the long day ahead. 
The phones rang non-stop on Sunday from 8 am until 8 pm when we had to stop because no one had a voice left. The original 2 nights of Sept. 26 & 27, sold out within the first 2 hours on Sunday, even with some technical difficulties which left our reservations staff at the hotel bombarded with calls that could not get through on the special number. After the original dates sold out we added more and when those dates were full we just kept going. The Musser Family wanted to make sure that as many people as possible were able to take part in this special offer. Our President Dan Musser III was right there with us adding dates as we were selling out.
A large number of the people we spoke with said that never in their wildest dreams did they think they would be staying at Grand Hotel. I can not tell you how many times in the 2 days I was taking calls that I had goosebumps or got teary eyed talking with people. At dinner Sunday night everyone who took calls had the same stories to tell of happy and excited people.
The past few days have been very long and will continue to be for many of us with several thousand reservations to process. However, the graciousness of our guests has made it all worth it. 
This double rainbow greeted some of us as we returned to Mackinac on Monday evening. A ”Welcome Home” to go along with how we were feeling. (This video Coming Home shows the entire rainbow) I hope everyone feels as welcome when arriving at Grand Hotel.
For those of you who were not aware of the Celebrate Michigan promotion, the rate is $75 per person, per night (plus taxes) and we currently have nights available in September and October at this rate. Please call 1-800-334-7263 for details and scratch “Staying at Grand Hotel” off your bucket list.
We are pleased to announce that Mackinac Island summer resident and Broadway singer Glenn Seven Allen and co-star Janine DiVita will perform popular Broadway hits from the Rogers and Hammerstein Songbook at Grand Hotel August 22, 2010 beginning at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available from the Mackinac Island Community Foundation for $20 per person. Guests of Grand Hotel may purchase tickets for $10 at the Front Desk.
Mr. Allen has performed on broadway in “Girl Crazy” at Center Encores! and had leading roles in eight operas in 2010/11, including “The Chocolate Soldier” at Bard Summerscape with the American Symphony Orchestra, “La Traviata” (Long Island Opera), “Rigoletto” (Bleeker Street Opera), “Carmen,” “Rigoletto,” “Romeo et Juliette” (New York Lyric Opera), “La Boheme” (Cardona Opera), and a critically acclaimed production of “A View from the Bridge” (Vertical Player Repertory Opera).
Ms. DiVita enjoyed a long On-Broadway run playing Betty Rizzo opposite
American Idol’s Ace Young in the 2007 Revival of “Grease.” Off- Broadway, she played Susan in “The Day Before Spring” at the York Theatre and starred as Gina in the rock musical “Rainbow Around The Sun” at the 45th street theatre.
We look forward to hosting them both in the Grand Hotel Theater and hope that you can make it out for a night of Rogers and Hammerstein on Mackinac.
*photos courtesy of the Mackinac Island Town Crier
Say hello to Front Desk Manager Ryan Hamilton. Ryan is a graduate of Kent State University with a degree in Hospitality Management. Yes, he is an Ohio State fan, but we have grown to love him anyway.
Ryan came highly recommended by one of his professors and has three years history of working the front desk. He has learned in the few months he has been with Grand Hotel that things run a bit differently here on Mackinac, life has a different pace and Grand Hotel is like no other.
Daily tasks of our Front Desk Manager include assigning rooms for guests, handling guest and employee issues, scheduling employees and reporting the number of guests scheduled to arrive and depart for meal and housekeeping purposes. He also makes sure tour group rooms are assigned and keys are ready when they arrive. This way these large groups do not have to check in at the front desk when we may have 300 other rooms checking in that day.
Ryan enjoys working with the public and training our interns all the ins and outs of working in the hospitality business. He takes pride in his work and looks forward to a new challenge each day and the front desk is never lacking for a daily challenge.
This week the AIA joins us for their annual summer meeting. The AIA has been coming to Grand Hotel since before World War II. In recent years they have combined their annual meeting with the American General Contractors and doubled in size. The AIA and AGC come to Mackinac and discuss changes in American Architecture, new policies, advanced technologies and laws that affect their business every day.
They bring their families and enjoy a few days of fun as well as the required business meetings. From strolling dinners to Bocci Ball tournaments in the Tea Garden everyone is treated to a Grand time.
The kids also have programs of their own to attend where they are entertained with bowling at Wood’s, lunch at the pool, afternoon lawn games, evening juicetail and coketail receptions, games and movie nights. 
The AIA, like many other groups who return annually, have become like old family friends we look forward to seeing each summer.
We are pleased to have them here and we are already looking forward to planning the events for next year.
Say hello to Dondi Zacarias, Doorman Extraordinaire. Upon your arrival at the Front Porch you will receive a big “Hello Folks, welcome to Grand Hotel” from Dondi who will open the carriage door, help you out and assist with your entry to the hotel.
This is Dondi’s third season with Grand Hotel and he wholeheartedly loves his job. He started out as a fill in on the Front Porch working mostly night shifts where he was recognized for his efficiency and great guest rapport and soon became our daytime go-to guy. He says he truly enjoys assisting people, it makes him happy.
Dondi is in charge of making taxi reservations for our guests, assistin
g with arriving and departing carriage tours, making sure that the Front Porch is kept clean and clear of debris along with controlling the traffic flow in front of the hotel. He also enjoys telling first time guests all there is to do while on the island and frequently holds the horses for our carriage drivers when they need a quick break.
Dondi spent last winter in Colorado for the first time and decided he really does not like cold weather. This winter he will be in Florida where the weather is warmer and hopefully he will not be shoveling any snow.
July was a month filled with fun, families, horses and Yacht Races, now on to August. Being sold out for the next 4 days is a great way to start out the month. But never fear, we still have dates available for that family summer vacation before the kids go back to school.
Our Family Added Value Days is a package filled with fun for all (My personal favorite part is the daily Ice Cream Social!). The package includes Grand breakfast and dinner daily, nightly family friendly movies, making smores after dinner, complimentary Children’s Programs, free golf for the kiddies and half off golf for the adults.
Before you know it Summer will be gone. So, call today and get away to what MSN.com calls an American Island Paradise. As well as one of the Ten Best Beach Towns in America according to Smart Travel.com
We hope to see you and the family soon.
For any of you who come to Mackinac on a regular basis you probably know his familiar welcoming smile and can hear his voice in your head saying “Welcome to Wood’s” (even though he is now at the Jockey Cub). 
shot at making this experience one they will want to come back for”, this is Neil’s motto. He has had the pleasure of making special days even more special for many. From helping a nervous young man with a cozy setting for proposing, to making a special anniversary even more special. Birthday’s and family gatherings are joyous occasions that he feels privileged to be a part of.
