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Steps away from East Bay

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Exterior
Entrance to 2nd Floor on the northwest corner of the house. Porch faces East Bay
View of the Bay from porch
Property grounds
Exterior

Reviews

9.8 out of 10
Exceptional
3 bedrooms1 bathroomSleeps 81900 sq ft

Popular amenities

  • Kitchen
  • Washer
  • Dryer
  • Pet friendly
  • Free WiFi
  • Air conditioning

Rooms & beds

3 bedrooms (sleeps 8)

2nd Floor-Bedroom 1

1 Queen Bed

2nd Floor-Bedroom 2

1 Queen Bed

2nd Floor-Bedroom 3

1 Double Bed and 2 Twin Beds

1 bathroom

Full Bath

Bathtub or shower · Toilet

Spaces

Porch or lanai
Kitchen
Separate dining area
Outdoor play area
Garden

About this property

Steps away from East Bay

Historic Hughes House offers a glimpse into the past with a large wrap-around porch and stately staircase. The house is 1/2 block from Memorial Park and the beach at East Grand Traverse Bay that includes playground, tennis and basketball courts. Rental of this home is limited to the second floor and includes 3 bedrooms, kitchen, full bath, dining and great room. There are Queen sized beds in two of the bedrooms and a full/double loft bed & two twin beds in the third room. There is also a day bed that converts into a king size bed made of two twins together.

Rental includes use of the porch and porch furniture, grill, picnic table, fire pit, wagon, paddle boards, garage for bike storage, cruiser bikes, yard games and large yard.

It is a short 3 block walk to restaurants and shops. Elk Lake, Torch Lake, Traverse City, and Charlevoix are short drives. The Sleeping Bear Dunes, Leelanau County, and Mackinac Island are a day-trip away. Come for the food, the wine, the beer, and stay for the best sunsets in all of Michigan.

This property is available by the week or multiple weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Sunday to Sunday. We also run specials in the spring and fall. Look for great nightly rates with a 2-night minimum.
Our prices include all fees. No hidden fees.

Add dates for prices

Amenities

Kitchen
Washer
Dryer
Pet friendly
Free WiFi
Air conditioning

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Exterior
My Place Elk Rapids MI only 2 blocks to beach
  • Washer
  • Dryer
  • Pet friendly
  • Air conditioning
9.8 out of 10, Exceptional, (16 reviews)
My Place Elk Rapids MI only 2 blocks to beach

House Rules

Check in after 4:00 PM
Minimum age to rent: 21
Check out before 12:00 PM
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Children

Children allowed: ages 0-17
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Events

No events allowed
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Pets

Pets allowed: dogs (limit 2 total)
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Smoking

Smoking is not permitted

Check-out instructions

The host requires you complete the following before checking out:
Load and start the dishwasher
Strip any used beds and gather used towels
Remove personal items, remove leftover food and drinks, and take out the trash
Start a load of laundry before you go. Thanks!
Failure to complete these may result in a negative review from the host.

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
Onsite parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit, and a deadbolt lock
Property Registration Number STRB20-007

We should mention

A car is recommended for transportation to and from this property

About the neighborhood

Elk Rapids

Located in Elk Rapids, this vacation home is in the city center. The area's natural beauty can be seen at Lake Michigan and Torch Lake. Traveling with kids? Consider Guntzviller's Spirit of the Woods Museum and Music House Museum. Be sure to check out the area's animals with activities such as game walks and birdwatching.
View more Vacation Homes in Elk RapidsOpens in a new window
Map
Elk Rapids, MI

What's nearby

  • Torch Lake - 15 min drive - 15.2 km
  • Turtle Creek Casino - 18 min drive - 21.3 km
  • Traverse City Beach - 21 min drive - 24.4 km
  • Torch Lake Park - 23 min drive - 29.2 km
  • Front Street - 29 min drive - 30.2 km

Getting around

  • Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) - 27 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Oasis Tavern - ‬7 min drive
  • ‪Pearl's New Orleans Kitchen - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪The Dam Shop - ‬9 min walk
  • ‪Masala Magic by Anita - ‬16 min walk
  • ‪Jolly Pumpkin - ‬38 min drive

Frequently asked questions

Is Steps away from East Bay pet-friendly?

Yes, this property allows dogs (limit 2 total).

How much does it cost to stay at Steps away from East Bay?

As of Mar 6, 2026, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at Steps away from East Bay on May 29, 2026 start from $354, including taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.

How much is parking?

Onsite parking is available at the property.

What time is check-in at Steps away from East Bay?

Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.

What time is check-out at Steps away from East Bay?

Check-out is at 12:00 PM.

Where is Steps away from East Bay located?

Located in the center of Elk Rapids, this family-friendly vacation home is within a 10-minute walk of Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall and Lake Michigan. Veterans Memorial Park and Elk Rapids District Library are also within 5 minutes.

Reviews

9.8

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labeled.
Learn moreOpens in a new window
Rating 10 - Excellent. 21 out of 23 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 1 out of 23 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 0 out of 23 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 1 out of 23 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 23 reviews

9.8/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Check-in

10/10

Communication

10/10

Location

10/10

Listing accuracy

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Rebecca L.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great

My daughter loved the swing. Great yard to spend time in. Great location and view of the beach. Overall loved it!
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2024

10/10 Excellent

Maureen W.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Love The Hughes House!

Our fourth time staying at this wonderful home! The entire family loves our week at the Hughes House. Beautiful front porch, short walk to the beach/playground and downtown to shops and restaurants. Large side yard for the kids to play with picnic table to share meals. Always a great up north getaway!
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2024

10/10 Excellent

Rachel H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Amazing location and owners

If you’re looking for a beach house in a great location, this one is great for Elk Rapids. You can see the sunset from the porch, it’s a minute walk to the beach/ play sets for kids and a few minute walk into town. The owners were great when needed. The house is a historic home so even better if you like historic houses.
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Linda D.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Elk Rapids Gem

This is our second year staying at the Hughes house. The home accommodates our family of seven, five adults and two children, very well. The location is perfect! A three minute walk to the beach and downtown and close to Traverse City. The view from the porch is priceless! And sunsets on the beach are Pure Michigan! This place is a gem!
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Maureen W.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Another great week

Our third time staying at the Hughes House. Plenty of room for our family, love the porch and view of the bay! Bikes, toys and chairs for the beach. Large yard with picnic table where we enjoyed several meals. And to top it off you’re within walking distance to the beach, downtown, restaurants and ice cream! Already booked for next summer! Thank you Ann and Matt for sharing your home.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2023
This review was submitted before 2018 and can't be verified.

8/10 Good

Sue R.

Pure Michigan vacation

This home is an historical home in which some of the old wood trim and doors still remain. This gave the house a very homey feel. The front porch is amazing and you can see the Grand Traverse Bay from the porch. It is an easy walk to the beach, playground and tennis courts. The owners also provide 2 paddle boards. It was also a short walk to downtown Elk Rapids. Very convenient for the beach or if you wanted to browse around the downtown area. We had 8 people sleep here comfortably. The living room area is very large and the kitchen is also a good size. Linens and towels were supplied which makes it much easier not to have to pack those items. There is also a grill for guest use if you wanted to grill out. There is also a picnic table for guest use. The kitchen was also fairly well stocked. There is not a dishwasher, but handwashing the dishes or using paper plates worked out fine. This was a great get away to enjoy time with family and friends. We ate at Chef Charles and Siren Hall. We also enjoyed a few nights at the Town Club and walked around Elk Rapids street fair which is on Wednesdays. We also took a drive into Bellaire to the Shorts Brewing Company. We enjoyed a river float one of the days at Ranch Rudolf. The owners were very accommodating and we liked that the check out wasn't until 12!

10/10 Excellent

Kelly B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Our new favorite place in Michigan

The week was perfection. Location, views, activities, and lodging exceeded our expectations. We have a large family and everyone found a place to sleep comfortably in the house. The homeowners are attentive but provide privacy to their guests. We had such a wonderful trip - hope to make this an annual stay.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Maureen W.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Stay!

Lovely home! Wonderful location close to beach and downtown. Quiet neighborhood and loved the porch!
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

connie m.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Elk Rapids Victorian

Lovely comfortable getaway, we'll be back again next summer😊
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

connie m.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Victorian Charmer

Great stay, comfortable, clean, we all felt at home. Close proximity to East Bay and the town for shopping and restaurants. We will definitely be back again!
Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2021

10/10 Excellent

Denise L.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Historic House close to beach and downtown

Beautiful historic house that was within walking distance to town and beach in quiet neighborhood. Very relaxing atmosphere with hammocks, shaded picnic area, and great wrap around porch. The only problem we encountered was how to work the AC, but we were finally able to figure it out. It might have helped if there had been printed instructions for use.

10/10 Excellent

Robert B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Historic House with Lots of Charm

Great location in Elk Rapids with short walk to everything restaurants, parts, beach harbor, marina, great shops, town activities and what a view of the lake! The house is historic and that makes it special. Fun stories about it that you can tell your friends and family about. The owners were very nice and helped with anything we needed. Will we stay again, for sure!!!!
Stayed 3 nights in May 2021

10/10 Excellent

connie m.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Elk Rapids Beauty

Our whole family (ages 66 to 1 and a half) thoroughly enjoyed staying in this magnificent home built in 1867. We were pleased to have all the modern amenities of air conditioning, dishwasher, washer and dryer, flat screen tv, while still retaining the character and charm of a 19th century home. We had 4 adults and 3 children and never felt crowded with 1800 square feet of living space; and even though with one bathroom it worked. Sitting on the porch gazing at East Bay was a favorite pastime each day. And only steps to the beach, you couldn't ask for more. The owners, Anne and Matt really thought of everything you would need to have a great vacation! We can't wait to come back next summer😊
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2020

10/10 Excellent

Charlotte C.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Hughes House

Loved our stay at this beautiful house. Perfect location. Great views of Lake Michigan. Charming house. Lovely porch.
Stayed 8 nights in Jun 2020

10/10 Excellent

John B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great location to town!

This property met our needs...a place to sleep with comfortable beds.It would be helpful to have written instructions for the television and which remote goes with each unit. Thank you!

10/10 Excellent

James A.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Excellent family get away

Were there with our three adult sons, and this place was perfect. Plenty of space upstairs with a great living room, large dining room. What we didn't know about ahead of time was how great the community and beach park would be with grassy areas, shaded areas, tables, tennis courts and basketball courts, walking trails -- among other features. Also recommend getting gear for Lake Michigan (like stand-up paddle boards) at Right Tree Adventure, which delivers to the porch. You can also rent boats to go out on Elk Lake to fish/ski/tube at Elk River Marina. Then you have dining choices including Pearl's (New Orleans), Kolu's (bbq/soul), Cellar 152 and Riverwalk Grill. The owners keep the property in great condition and it has all of the amenities you'll need.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful, relaxing and beautiful.

This house is wonderful! We loved staying Here. It’s moments from the best beach, park and restaurants. Plenty of room for our family and VERY comfortable. The Family who owns it, are very attentive and considerate.

10/10 Excellent

Christine T.

EXCELLENT PLACE TO STAY AND JUST STEPS AWAY FROM THE BEACH!!!!!!!!!

We can not say enough wonderful things about this place! This home accommodated all 10 people we needed to house for my son’s “surprise” engagement weekend. The owners were SO VERY NICE and easy to work with. We even forgot some clothes at the place we also rented that weekend and Anne Conrad went over and checked to see if they were still there for us. This home, typically, is only open to 7 day rentals but upon explaining our situation and only needing a place for 2 nights (Friday and Saturday in August), Shannon from the Air B&B next door and Anne and Matt Conrad from the VRBO accommodated our needs above and beyond! We word can not really express our gratitude for the use of their home. The only issue we had was that there is only 1 bathroom and for 10 people it was hard to figure out the bathroom times. However, we had the same issue next door at the Air B &B with 12 people but with both places, we managed to make it work. I would NOT HESITATE staying at this VRBO again. Quaint little town (Elk Rapids) that I would have never stopped at if we were not staying at this home. Not far at all from downtown Traverse City AND without all of the traffic and people. Fabulous beach just steps away from this lovely home. Anne and Matt Conrad were such gracious hosts and extremely accommodating. Want a great place to stay, stay at THIS VRBO for a wonderful get away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life and enjoy the lovely accommodates and beautiful beach and park, literally, just steps away. Thank you Anne and Matt for a wonderful place to celebrate our son’s proposal weekend - She said “YES”! Blessings to each of you (Shannon next door too). Sincerely, Henry and Christine Truer
This review was submitted before 2018 and can't be verified.

10/10 Excellent

Fatima & Jon B.

Great location for Up North vacation

The property owners, Matt and Anne, were easy to work with and they live on the first floor of this property. Guests enter through their own entrance and have plenty of privacy on the entire second level of this large home which sits on a double sized lot. The location is ideal as you are just a block from the beach and you can see the bay from the house. Our family of 2 adults, 5 children and a dog had plenty of room during our Fall weekend stay. The house was clean and everything worked. If we were staying longer than just a few nights, a dishwasher would be a convenient appliance to add to the kitchen, but given our short stay, it was not missed. We hope to return back to this wonderful location in the summer!
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2017
This review was submitted before 2018 and can't be verified.

4/10 Poor

Michele C., Waterford Township, MI

We love Elk Rapids; it's our favorite vacation! I cannot, however, recommend this rental.

While this home is spacious and in a very good location, I cannot recommend this particular rental. There were several misunderstandings in communication that presented issues: 1. Towels were to be provided; however, the owner did not intend to replenish soiled towels with clean throughout the week. No washer or dryer is made available to guests and there is no laundromat in town. We were told that we could drive to Acme. 2. The owner provided a written contract for the rental, which we signed and agreed to prior to our stay; however, the owner charged us several hundred dollars more than what was listed on the contract. When confronted, he indicated that he sent us an agreement for a different rental--they have 2. He apologized for any misunderstanding but charged us more because he said that the property we stayed at was listed for a higher price on the site--and that he was charging us the correct price. In addition, the home was not well maintained. There was only 1 bathroom, and we were okay with that; however; there was no ventilation fan and the windows needed to be propped open with a piece of wood. The toilet also had a leak, and a good portion of the plaster ceiling in the bathroom fell down during our stay. Overall, the home was just not at par with past rentals; it was not well stocked, it lacked amenities, and Did not present well. The kitchen needs some updating; there were unsightly stains in the wallpaper and it was not well stocked. I was also surprised to find exposed outlets. In my bedroom the only outlet in the room had a broken cover--It only covered 1/2 of the outlet. Simply put, this house did not measure up; and for all of these reasons I am unable to recommend this rental.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2017
This review was submitted before 2018 and can't be verified.

10/10 Excellent

Prashant B., Canton, MI

Great Owners. Beautiful place and location.

Matt and Anne are great hosts. Made sure we had everything we need and gave us privacy. They were really prompt in response. Hughes house is a little old (and is Historic) but was very well kept and decent enough for my kids to play around. Kids had a great time playing in yard and at the beach. Awesome location. Beach is right across the road and is super clean and quiet. Elk rapids is a gem and we plan to come back.
This review was submitted before 2018 and can't be verified.

10/10 Excellent

elizabeth w.

we had a wonderful time - close to beaches, boats, restaurants,etc.

the property is very well kept. plenty of space inside and out. the porch is like an extra room with the wonderful breezes coming in off the bay. Kitchen was well stocked with every cooking appliance, dishes, pots and pans. Bath had plenty of towels, mats, hand towels, etc. We met the owners and they are friendly without being intrusive - we will be going back!
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2017

10/10 Excellent

Shane C.

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2025

About the host

Hosted by Matt Conrad & Anne Conrad

Host profile image
The story of Matt and Anne is a really-small-world kind of story. Anne grew up on Elk Lake in Elk Rapids, while Matt was what is know in town as a summer kid, spending summers across the lake. Anne worked at the bakery, Matt visited the bakery; Matt worked in the cherry orchard, Anne worked in the cherry processing plant; Anne worked at what is now the Riverwalk Grill, Matt visited the Riverwalk Grill; Anne went to Michigan State, Matt went to Michigan State(2 years overlapping) and never met... Anne went to live in Chicago, Matt worked managing large construction projects and went to live in Washington DC for two years. One year to the day from when Anne returned to Elk Rapids, and 6 months after Matt returned from Washington, a mutual friend suggested a meeting... and 18 months later they were married. We now reside on the first floor with our kids Harrison and Polly and spend our weekends and summers at Matt's family's small resort on Elk Lake.

Why they chose this property

One of Matt's construction projects was the restoration of and addition to the Virginia Capitol Building in Richmond where he found a passion for restoration. When this property was put on the market it seemed a natural fit as this house is on the national register of historic places along with being a Michigan Historic Site.

What makes this property unique

This is a truly unique house in that so much of the historic fabric (floors, walls, windows, siding, veranda) is intact and in serviceable condition. It really is like stepping into what once was, with the modern conveniences to make it comfortable....

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