Old Harbor Village, wet and rainy. And Cold.

South Haven's Old Harbor Inn probably dates from the 1980s, but it's designed to look older.

The hotel lives in four separate buildings, arranged around this little alleyway of commercial storefronts. 40 or so very different rooms are scattered around the place. Those that face a boardwalk or the street have outside doors, while the upper-level rooms are up stairways. (Wheelchair accommodations are not a strength, here, though I expect some of the rooms are accessible.) All the guest rooms in the buildings to the right in this photo overlook South Haven's harbor, which is the hotel's best feature. Downtown South Haven's excellent restaurant selection is a couple blocks away, and it's about a half-mile to the beach. A great location.

It's quaint, but there's a catch. There are two nightclubs in the complex. The one at the end of this road, named York's Landing, runs year-round. The other, a seasonal operation called Magnolia Grille, lives on a riverboat and is just a few feet off the alley. This nightclub density is, obviously, not a problem for everyone. And since our stays have been off-season we've not had to deal with the riverboat partiers. But the place does have a reputation for rowdiness during the summer. In fact, the hotel's invoice warned us about it.

Our room--straight up from where I shot the picture--is probably far enough from the action that we'd not have been bothered. The rooms that directly face the riverboat, on the other hand, can only be attractive to folks who've come for the party.

That said: The Inn's a fine hotel, and we've been pleased with the rooms and the service. The location cannot be beat.

A similar view, seven years ago.