Introduction

Petoskey's lodging spreads across several distinct areas — downtown, the historic Bay View resort district just north, and the separate community of Bay Harbor a few miles west — and only one property actually sits inside the Gaslight District itself. We checked eight hotels below, including one we added independently because the original list skewed heavily toward budget chains.

Stafford's Perry Hotel

The only hotel actually located in downtown Petoskey's Gaslight District, the Perry Hotel was built in 1899 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has 79 rooms, many with balconies over the bay, and Ernest Hemingway reportedly stayed there in

1916. It's a sister property to Stafford's Bay View Inn under the same locally owned hospitality group.

• *Naming update:

• now marketed as "Hotel Perry" (theperryhotel.com redirects to hotelperry.com) — same Stafford's Hospitality property, just rebranded.

• *Check-in/out:

• 4pm / 11am, confirmed directly on the official site.

• *Good to know:

• Complimentary on-site parking for overnight guests (first-come basis); no pets except service animals.

Stafford's Bay View Inn

An 1886 Victorian inn in the Bay View Historic District just north of downtown, Bay View Inn is also on the National Register of Historic Places and a Select Registry Distinguished Inn, known for its Sunday brunch.

• *Naming update:

• now marketed simply as "Bay View Inn," dropping "Stafford's" from the public-facing name — same address, phone, and ownership.

• *Check-in/out:

• 3pm / 11am, confirmed directly on the official site.

• *Good to know:

• Complimentary parking for overnight guests only; no pets except service animals; cancel 7+ days out for a refund, otherwise the deposit is forfeited. EV charging (Tesla and universal) available on-site.

The Terrace Inn

Built in 1911 in the Bay View National Historic Landmark district, The Terrace Inn has 38 guest rooms and is attached to its own restaurant, 1911 Restaurant (covered in our restaurants guide).

• *Check-in/out:

• Not stated on the official site despite checking multiple pages; third-party aggregators consistently report 4pm/11am, but this isn't independently confirmed from a primary source.

• *Good to know:

• No elevators (historic building, worth knowing for accessibility needs); only one pet-friendly room exists (the ground-floor Garden Apartment with a private entrance) — all other rooms are no-pet. Complimentary continental breakfast included.

Inn at Bay Harbor

A lakefront resort on Little Traverse Bay with a waterfront steakhouse, spa, and golf, Inn at Bay Harbor is owned and operated by Boyne Resorts. Worth knowing if you've seen it described elsewhere as "Autograph Collection" (a Marriott sub-brand) — it left that affiliation on October 30, 2025 after a 22-year run and now operates fully independently. It's also technically in Bay Harbor, a separate community about five miles from downtown Petoskey, though commonly grouped into "Petoskey area" lodging guides like this one.

• *Check-in/out:

• 4pm / 11am, confirmed directly on the official site.

• *Good to know:

• No pets at all, not even comfort/support animals (ADA service animals only); minimum check-in age 21; the property is becoming fully cashless as of May 1, 2026; cancellations within 14 days of arrival forfeit the full deposit.

Apple Tree Inn, SureStay Collection by Best Western

A casual 40-room hotel with private balconies and a year-round indoor heated pool and hot tub, plus free breakfast. Some older listings still show this property under just "Apple Tree Inn" without the Best Western branding — it's the same hotel.

• *Check-in/out:

• The official Best Western page blocked direct verification; third-party aggregators converge on 3pm/11am (standard Best Western brand policy), not independently confirmed from the official site.

• *Good to know:

• Located at 915 Spring Street.

Baymont by Wyndham Petoskey

A budget chain hotel, renovated in 2024, with free Wi-Fi, free parking including covered carports, free breakfast, and a free casino shuttle.

• *Check-in/out:

• Not explicitly stated on the official page; third-party sources converge on 3pm/11am (standard Wyndham brand policy).

• *Good to know:

• Dog-friendly rooms available for an extra nightly fee; non-smoking property.

Quality Inn Petoskey

A roughly 65-room budget chain hotel on US-31 overlooking Little Traverse Bay, with some bay-view rooms available, pet-friendly, with free breakfast.

• *Check-in/out:

• The official Choice Hotels page blocked/timed out on verification; third-party aggregators converge on 3pm/11am (standard Choice Hotels brand policy).

• *Good to know:

• Don't confuse this property (at 1314 US-31 N) with a separate, similarly-named "Quality Inn Petoskey-Harbor Springs" location, which has since rebranded as "City Express by Marriott Petoskey Harbor Springs" — this Quality Inn Petoskey remains open and correctly branded under its original name.

Super 8 by Wyndham Petoskey

A low-key budget hotel with free breakfast.

• *Check-in/out:

• Not explicitly stated on the official page; third-party sources converge on 3pm/11am (standard Wyndham brand policy).

• *Good to know:

• Pet-friendly with additional charges; free parking and a heated indoor pool; about 22 miles from Pellston Regional Airport per the property's own page.

Practical Tips

• If staying inside the Gaslight District itself matters to you, Stafford's Perry Hotel (now Hotel Perry) is genuinely the only option on this list that qualifies — Bay View Inn and The Terrace Inn are both about a mile north, and Inn at Bay Harbor is several miles west.

• Stafford's Perry Hotel and Stafford's Bay View Inn are both run by the same locally owned hospitality group, worth knowing if you're comparing the two — both have also recently dropped "Stafford's" from their public branding, now marketed as Hotel Perry and Bay View Inn respectively.

• Baymont, Quality Inn, and Super 8 are the straightforward budget options if historic character isn't a priority.

• Exact nightly rates aren't included here since they change constantly by season and demand, and the original scraped pricing data included currency-conversion artifacts — check each property's own site for current rates.

Sources and Verification Notes

Each hotel's operating status, address, and history were checked against its own official site and cross-checked against at least one third-party source. Inn at Bay Harbor's recent exit from Marriott's Autograph Collection was specifically verified against independent business-press reporting, since many aggregator sites still display the outdated Marriott branding. Stafford's Perry Hotel was added independently after research found the original scraped list skewed heavily toward budget chains without a genuine downtown option. Check-in/out times were confirmed directly on official sites for Hotel Perry (formerly Stafford's Perry Hotel), Bay View Inn (formerly Stafford's Bay View Inn), and Inn at Bay Harbor; The Terrace Inn, Apple Tree Inn, Baymont, Quality Inn Petoskey, and Super 8 all rest on third-party brand-standard consensus since their official sites either didn't state the detail or blocked direct verification. The rebranding of both Stafford's-named properties, and the distinction between this Quality Inn Petoskey and a separate, now Marriott-rebranded "Quality Inn Petoskey-Harbor Springs" property, were both independently verified rather than assumed.