LUDINGTON, Mich. — The Cartier Mansion in Ludington, Michigan is competing with 15 other inns across the country for best bed and breakfast in America.
Built in 1905, the Cartier Mansion was built by Warren Cartier, a successful lumber baron, and his wife Kate.
Located in Downtown Ludington, the mansion is part of a Newsweek online competition asking voters to choose the best of the best in the nation.
The neoclassical style inn was owned by the Cartier family until 1950. It now boasts six guest rooms inside the historic mansion as well as four suites inside the recently converted carriage house.
The home has only had three owners since the Cartiers sold it. The Schoenberger family purchased it in 1950, turning it into a bed and breakfast in the late 1990s. The family sold it in 2005 to the Schniker family who operated the inn until it was purchased by Chris and Jenna Simpler in 2020.
The Simpler family is now well-known for providing guests with innovative gourmet breakfasts and their community engagement in the city of Ludington.
The Cartier Mansion is not the only Michigan bed and breakfast competing for the top spot in the Newsweek poll.
The Larium Manor Inn in Larium, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula is also among the 15 competing for the title.
It was built on the Keweenaw Peninsula by mining magnate Thomas Hoatson for his wife Cornelia in 1908. The 45-room mansion became a bed and breakfast in 1989.
The polls close for voting at noon on Thursday, Aug. 15.
