The Boyden House

The Boyden House is a charming and well-preserved historic inn that offers a truly unique and cozy stay. Perfect for history lovers, the property embraces its vintage character—from the classic architecture to the charming squeaks in the floorboards. While the spaces may be smaller than modern hotels, the atmosphere more than makes up for it. Shelly, the host, was exceptionally welcoming and accommodating. She served a delicious breakfast and even treated guests to freshly baked cookies, adding a warm, personal touch to the experience. If you appreciate historic charm and genuine hospitality, The Boyden House is a wonderful place to stay. Highly recommended.

Before diving into the cosmetic issues, I need to address the check-in experience, which was far from ideal. When we booked our stay, we received an initial email confirming a check-in time of 3 PM—totally understandable. However, five months later, on the day of our arrival, our second email neglected to mention this detail. After a long day of travel, including an overnight flight, we arrived around 11:00 AM feeling disoriented.||I called the number posted at the front door and was told, “Check-in isn’t until 3:00 PM, but we’ll try to get you in sooner if available.” I appreciated this response, considering our exhaustion. Unfortunately, the situation quickly turned disappointing. After four hours of wandering and waiting, we were eager to finally relax, only for the innkeeper to come outside and demand we move our car as soon as we arrived. Fair enough; we did that. What was frustrating was that they mentioned having checked in other guests who hadn’t even requested an early check-in—a clear oversight, especially for guests who had been awake for over 24 hours. This set a negative tone for our stay.||To make matters worse, we ultimately had to cut our visit short by a day and seek alternative accommodations because the air conditioner in our separate unit was broken. We tried to overlook the carpet in the bathroom, the filthy dishes left unwashed, the worn-out couch hidden under blankets, and the toilet paper holder that wasn’t even attached to the wall. There’s absolutely no excuse for renting out a space in such poor condition.||While the property itself is beautiful, the experience was lacking, and I cannot recommend this place to anyone. It’s time for more honest reviews to help others avoid wasting their money and time.

We had the best time staying here over the 4th of July! Shelly made our experience amazing, with yummy breakfast, great conversation, and a very welcoming and warm atmosphere. We were surprised to see how modern and beautifully updated our room was (the pictures really don’t do it justice!). It was walking distance to everything in town, and we really couldn’t have had a better experience! Thank you Shelly!

I booked a two-night stay just to do a reset and relax. Everything was fantastic! The room was clean, quiet, and gorgeous. Shelly, the innkeeper, was pleasant, friendly and available. The breakfasts were not only healthy, and balanced, they were delicious! I would give a hundred stars if I could, and I can't wait to book my next stay.

We LOVED our stay over the 4th of July week! Excellent location, extremely walkable. Shelly is an incredible hostess- she’s fun and easygoing, honestly the perfect balance of helpful/available, but not too in your business. Great breakfasts too!

Very nice old house and very friendly inn keeper. Good location; a short walk, maybe a 2 city block distance or 8-10 minutes, to the riverfront and town.

Room 4, The Sun room was recently given a beautiful remodel. Gorgeous tiled bathroom, including the shower. Comfy new mattress and very nice hardwood floors. I would give our room a 5 if the two sitting chairs were replaced and the inn keeper advised that it would be happening. I'd also suggest adding a suitcase rack to the room. There was easy parking on the property. We enjoyed the outdoor porches for an excellent breakfast in the morning and for relaxing at night. The gardens are very well kept, and we saw urban deer, ducks, and many birds. It was a nice walking distance to downtown, and we enjoyed the waterfront. Innkeeper Shelly was friendly, served a wonderful breakfast, and provided us information on Grand Haven. The Grand Haven musical fountain is a must-see, and there were many nice restaurants and stores in town. Great beaches and lots of sand! We would recommend staying at the Boyden House!

A million thanks to Shelly for making my stay there even more lovely and enjoyable. What a beautiful house and lovely host. I can’t wait for my next visit!

My boyfriend and I stayed here for our second anniversary, and can't recommend it highly enough. We enjoyed the private patio and jacuzzi tub in the honeymoon suite. Shelly is an extremely accommodating hostess who cooks a mean breakfast and provided great suggestions for activities in the area. She also left a bottle opener and wine glasses in our room upon arrival, which was a nice touch. All the common spaces were cozy and well-appointed. We will absolutely stay here again the next time we're in Grand Haven.

We were in town for a family reunion and stayed two nights. The bed was comfortable and breakfast on the patio was really nice. The hostess is very nice and does a great job of making you welcome. If I had the opportunity I would choose this over a hotel every time.

My fiancé and I stayed here recently in the executive suite and could not have been more impressed. Shelly made an incredible breakfast and we left wondering when we could stay here next. Highly, highly recommend.

This was the best B&B we have ever stayed at !! Beautiful home, Shelly the host was nothing short of amazing , breakfast was FANTASTIC . We came for our 14 year anniversary and did not want to leave. We will be back !!!

All I can say is WOW! My wife and I stayed there on a spur of the moment trip. We almost stayed at some crummy motor lodge, but boy- are we glad we found this amazing bed and breakfast! If you're in the area, a stay here is a must. Rooms are amazing, breakfast even better! Hospitality- an A+! We will be back!

The Boyden House is a beautiful old home divided into quaint little rooms and decorated nicely. We stayed in The Love Nest, which has a small private balcony. The library is a common area for the guests that holds all sorts of books, menus, magazines, and games. Perfect for lounging in the afternoon. The owners are very kind and accommodating, and cooked an absolutely delicious breakfast for us. The oatmeal and white wine soufflé were my favorites! It's a little over half a mile to the downtown area or water, so a manageable walk. The unfortunate downside of our stay is that it was very difficult to sleep. The old floors creek with every movement, so each time we turned or moved in bed we woke ourselves up! If you are a heavier sleeper this should not be a problem.

Off season for our anniversary. Shelly is a delight. The creme brûlée French toast for hubs was out of this world! Shelly made a dairy/gluten free quiche too just for me. Stayed in the Cabaret room with private entrance. Great ambiance. Close to everything. We will be back.

There are really TWO B&B's in Grand Haven. This place an Harbor House Inn. I've stayed at both. Would I go back to here, probably not, I would go back to Harbor House. Pro's of Boyden House: Food (home cooked) Staff Decor Atmosphere Cons: Location (a walk to the beach, not far, but a walk none the less) Small rooms

Bed and breakfasts are hard to gauge from their websites, and I tend to view them as overpriced and full of dusty doilies and noises from the neighbors (but my boyfriend likes them, and i like him, so we go). Boyden House was actually awesome. The Safari Room was beautiful, tasteful (surprising, given the theme), comfortable, large, and very private. None of the bedrooms shared walls with another bedroom, so we were able to freely have loud sex without feeling rude (and the atmosphere of the room was also conducive to getting it on, as opposed to feeling like grandma's crochet-covered closet). The house is beautiful and stately, and the neighborhood was quiet and charming for a late night walk. Shelly was really helpful and breakfast was good, and she made late check-in very simple. I recommend it to everyone, bed and breakfast aficionados and skeptics alike.

My wife & l have stayed at many B&B's over the years, and Boyden House is right at the top of the list. The setting is lovely, with beautiful landscaping & many inviting outdoor seating areas to enjoy a cup of coffee or glass of wine. Tony & Gail are more than gracious hosts, the food is out of this world, and they provide many touches not found in other B&B'S such as an upstairs guest kitchen, well stocked w/coffee pot, biscotti, popcorn & other goodies. Each room has private bath, complete w/thoughtful personal care items. My wife had to leave early one morning prior to breakfast for a business meeting, and the owners delivered hard boiled eggs & their delish oatmeal to the guest kitchen the night before so she would have a breakfast prior to departing. VERY thoughtful and kind! The location is great, and an easy walk to downtown shops & dining as well as the water. We definitely will return soon!

So Emily and I found this place on several different websites and we're intrigued by the comments left by the people that stayed there. So if you're looking for a nice cozy spot with a great hostess this is the place to go. Not only where the rooms very well put together but it was very close to the town and within walking distance to pretty much everything in Grand Haven. The wraparound porch and the back yard area is very inviting.

Wow what a wonderful experience we had at Boyden House! Grand Haven was our first stop on our West Coast Michigan trip. We wanted this anniversary trip to be different and unique. We wanted to stay at bed and breakfasts, not just traditional chain hotels. I stumbled across Boyden House online. Read the reviews here on Yelp. Everyone seemed to love the place. We booked the honeymoon suite. It was phenomenal. We had our own private driveway and entrance. The room was fabulous. The bathroom was even better. Jacuzzi tub and beautiful antique furniture. The house was built in 1874 with European influence. It is a gorgeous house. We stayed there in October 2014, so it was a little chilly. The fireplace in the room and the tub were a perfect ending to the day. We did not take advantage of the homemade breakfast. We really should have. People online rave about it. I think the thing I loved most about our room was a hardcover journal on the coffee table. I wondered what it was upon checking in. I opened up the book, and found tons of hand written messages from previous guests that stayed in the honeymoon suite. I spent hours reading their messages. Guests from all different areas of the country. Sharing their stories. Many were there on their wedding night, many anniversaries like us. It was just really nice to read all these memories. We left our little story in the book as well. I highly recommend the Boyden House if you are traveling through Grand Haven. It was a true gem!!

Charming old inn. Rich in character. The host, Shelly, could not have been kinder. She made us feel so comfortable and welcome. She even showed us each of the unique rooms. I would definitely stay there again and recommend it to any travelers

We were heading south from up north and stopped in Grand Haven - off season. Didn't have a res anywhere, so looked on Yelp and started calling.... found Boyden. It was pretty much full - but they had the carriage house avail $$$ We thought about it, and decided to take it - it was about twice what we paid at our other B&B stops. The place was very nice, and Shelly was very friendly and helpful. We had already driven around town, so we knew our way around. We took it - It was very nice.... Breakfast was home cooked, and we met some nice folks from Ohio. Took in dinner downtown, and the next day was the "bicycle parade" and the sidewalk art show. All in all - had a nice time, -

I had a wonderful stay here! Shelly was very welcoming with cookies upon arrival! I enjoyed my the honeymoon suite. The room was cozy and comfortable with a great jacuzzi tub! Breakfast was delicious and got to chat with some of the other lovely guests. I will be staying here from now on when visiting Grand Haven!

Stayed at a few B&B's over the last 20 years and this is for sure at the top. Beautiful house, beautiful garden, great location - a 10 minute great walk to downtown past some of the most amazing homes we've ever seen. Shelly, the host is wonderful and a great asset to the B&B. Can't say I'd change anything about this B&B. If we ever get back to Grand Haven we'd stay here in a heartbeat.

Beautiful house with spacious and unique bedrooms. It offers amazing little touches like an upstairs guest kitchen with popcorn and ice cream. The breakfast is out of this world and the location is terrific.

What an awesome place! The couple that own this are just great. The rooms were so nicely decorated. They made an amazing breakfast in the morning for all of the guests. Fresh homemade hot granola, strawberries with real cream, and crembrule french toast. For real? Who cooks like that? These awesome people. Stay here fo sho if youre in the Grand Haven area. Especially if you are on a romantic getaway, veerrryyy nice.

Fantastic place to stay that's walking distance from the downtown shops and water. Owners are very inviting and really make you feel welcome in their beautiful home.

Absolutely beautiful! Very quaint and cozy, I could spend a day just lounging around in the room and the wonderful garden outside. The second floor has a guest kitchen and library, so it really felt like I was right at home. It was five blocks away from the boardwalk and almost as close to the quaint little downtown shopping area. Would definitely love to come back again during the winter time!

Boyden House was an amazing place to stay, we absolutely loved it. The house itself was gorgeous, clean and such a calm atmosphere for a weekend getaway. Shelly was such a lovely host and makes a phenomenal breakfast, she even offered homemade chocolate chip cookies and lemon/lime water all day long. We stayed in the honeymoon suite which had its own private balcony where we sat and drank our morning coffee. I highly recommended this place, we will absolutely be back next summer.

Lovely B&B! The owners are a delight, and so accomodating and helpful. We asked them about restaurants to go to, and they gave us wonderful options. I also am gluten-free, and they were gracious and accomodating, making sure I had more than just fresh fruit as an option for breakfast. The rooms were clean, inviting and comfortable. There is a kitchenette upstairs that is stocked with klondike bars in the freezer, and microwave popcorn. My complaints? One insignificant one is that it's located in a quaint subdivision. I say insignificant because once you walk inside, it doesn't matter where it's located. The only "real" complaint I had was when I called them to book the place, someone other than the owner answered, and seemed to indicate that no concern would be given to my gluten free diet. I got off the phone (without booking a room) and wrote an email to the owners. Within half an hour, the person called me back and said the owners spoke with her and she wanted to make sure I knew that they would accomodate my special needs. So, while I didn't appreciate the first phone call, the owners made it right IMMEDIATELY! I'm so glad my husband and I went here.

We stayed in the carriage house at the Boyden House. It was lovely and perfect for our girl's trip. However the bathroom was in the middle of the apartment which made for some awkward maneuvering especially since the toilet room had no door! Our first night we had a rude surprise when we found out we were given the wrong key but the situation was quickly fixed by Gail. Overall, the Boyden House is centrally located, beautiful and a good place to stay if budget is not a concern... We found it a little pricey for what it was. Our trip ended on a bit of a sour note as There was some confusion with the billing of our credit card and we felt a little attacked. Overall it was a beautiful home in a quaint town and a splurge for a good weekend.

We needed a place to stay while visiting family and thought that we would look for a nice bed & breakfast, since we had never stayed in one before. We were very pleasantly surprised! The hospitality of the owners was spectacular, the rooms quaint and lovely, and the food was out of this world. It is really cozy and nice to sit with other guests at breakfast and get to know them - bonus! The location is about 5 blocks from the delightful downtown Grand Haven and the beach. We can't wait to return and stay longer!!!

Boyden House is at the top of our list, too. It's everything you want in a B&B. Friendly, comfortable beds, that special touch. We requested gluten &dairy free and Shelley made the baked oatmeal for us that way. We've stayed in the carriage house 2x, it's a neat little apartment. I like how it's a few blocks inland from the shore, it is a quiet sanctuary away from the fun night life of downtown, but still within walking distance. My 12 & 13 year olds loved it, Shelley joked around with them. Highly recommend for couples, family, or a girls weekend away.