Information on Traverse City, Michigan and the surrounding Northwest Michigan area

05/08/2006

Privacy is key

The Grey Hare Inn has gourmet food and owners who stay out of the way

by doug davenport
For more bed and breakfast profiles, see our Bed & Breakfasts page

Cindy and Jay Ruzak, the owners of the Grey Hare Inn Vineyard Bed & Breakfast on Old Mission Peninsula, say they don't need to be your best friend. That's not to say they aren't friendly, but according to their B&B philosophy, they don't need to be with guests every moment of the day.

"Our guests are on their own," Cindy said. "We get a lot of first-time B&B people, and I think they like that ... The distance creates comfort."

Other than breakfast and an afternoon appetizer, guests at the Grey Hare Inn are set free to explore the peninsula's wineries, beaches and parks as well as pick strawberries, grapes or cherries on the inn's property, play boule in the B&B's courtyard and relax in the living room.

The Inn, located about halfway up Old Mission Peninsula, is a little different than some other inns, Cindy said.

"We wanted to stay away from 'Victorian Cluttered' or 'Country Cute,'" she said. Instead they opted for French-style architecture, with wrought-iron railings, stone stairways and snaking vines around the archways of high ceilings. Cindy likened it to a European boutique hotel.

The heart of the experience at the Grey Hare Inn is the food. Serving "Eurpoean Eclectic" cuisine, focusing mostly on French and Italian, guests can enjoy breakfasts of Crepe du Nord, with scrambled eggs, morel mushrooms, wild rice, wild onion and asparagus.

"I try to stay away from the sweet side," Cindy said, adding that she will occasionally make French Toast for families.

Other specialties for breakfast and appetizers include, wine-poached pear, puff pastries with Brie cheese, homemade rosemary foccacia bread, cherry pecan sausage, spiced fig pear jam, and olive tapenade with basil, garlic, capers and sun-dried tomatoes.

Guests also have a choice of cherry, grape or apple juice with breakfast. Cindy said she likes to offer juices that can be made locally.

"One time, before I could even say what we had, a woman asked for orange juice," Cindy said. "I said, 'We're not in Florida, Toto.'"

The Ruzaks' attempt to give guests their space also extends to the dining experience. Although there is a large dining room table, breakfast is served at two-person bistro-style tables that provide more privacy.

"If they want to talk to other guests, they can talk. If they want to read the paper, they can do that," Cindy said. "I don't sit down next to them with a cup of coffee and talk to them all morning."

The three rooms at the Grey Hare Inn are suited to different needs. The Vineyard Suite, the largest and most luxurious room, has a sitting room and a jacuzzi bath. The Barnwood Suite has a gas fireplace, a sitting room and a wrought-iron grape trellis on the bed. The Garden Room, the smallest room in the inn, features an old-fashioned clawfoot tub and panoramic views of the peninsula.

Jay and Cindy also host an autumn wine stomp in their vineyard and host yacht charter cruises through Grand Traverse Gourmet Cruises.

For more information on The Grey Hare Inn, call (800) 873-0652 or 947-2214 or go to www.greyhareinn.com.