The Dune Climb Inn announced the renovation and rebrand of a classic motel, formerly Duneswood Resort, right in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBDNL).
“Fortunately, the property has great bones,” Kevin Aucello said. “The bones of it are really strong. The foundation, the walls, especially the knotty pine in the rooms all look great.”
The Dune Climb Inn sits on five acres, which connects to the base of the Dune Climb, with its own trails, only a few hundred yards away from the main entrance.
When SBDNL invaded Leelanau property back in the 1970s to make a national park, the current Dune Climb Inn, was perhaps spared by former personal assistant to Pierce Stocking, Grace Greenan, who happened to be in Lansing when they were drawing park boundary lines. The property line heading north on S. Dune Hwy goes straight, then a slight indent on the west side.
The historic inn was an operating farm in the 1900s which still features a barn. Three little motel rooms were built in 1936 and have remained a mainstay in the area since then.
“A couple years later, they had success. They added a community room and two more hotel rooms,” Michelle said.
In the 1960s, they added the south wing, along with cottages on Little Glen Lake.
The Aucellos had their eye on the property for nearly two years, and they finally closed on it on April 7.
“It’s been around the clock work of getting this thing renovated,” Kevin said.
The final price of the property has not been disclosed.
“It was a fair price. We found a lot of things while we were fixing things that were a lot more than we expected ... But we were going to do it right,” Kevin said.
Kevin, a hotel consultant broker in Hawaii, specializes in watching visitor and customer trends.
The biggest challenge of renovating the motel was completely revamping the interior.
Kevin says they’ve focused on removing a musty smell, and soft good furniture in the rooms.
“We replaced all that with fresh interiors,” Kevin said.
Some projects in the future include fixing the 1900s barn structurally, replacing gutters, and continually working on the exterior.
“One of the great things is that in Hawaii we have ebbs and flows. If Japan has a recession, we have a drop (in Hawaii). Here, It’s almost a straight line. It just keeps growing. Every year there’s a little more,” Kevin said. “The demand is still there. Demand is still strong. We got a bump like most visitor destinations did after COVID, but we’re holding up pretty well .... There’s not a lot of commercial zone land left anywhere to build a hotel. Plus construction costs make it hard to build. So the good news if you’re a hotel owner is that it’s hard to add to the supply.”
There’s almost no place to stay besides Dune Climb Inn if you want to be around the park.
The Dune Climb Inn welcomed its first occupants during Memorial Day weekend.
“We’re getting a lot of bookings now that we’re open. The words getting out,” Kevin said.
Rooms house between two and six guests and have a large mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, air conditioning and 43” TVs. Two central units and the community room have larger living spaces, each with their own fireplace and kitchen. In addition to all new furnishings and bedding, returning guests will notice new exterior paint, new outdoor furniture, and an additional fire pit.
They offer complimentary bikes for guests to go down to Glen Haven, climb the Dune or Little Glen access, Pierce Stocking Drive, and more.
The Dune Climb Inn plans on being open all year. Reservations are still being accepted for 2024.
To get the cheapest price on a room visit duneclimbinn.com instead of using third party sites including Expedia or booking. com.
