The Blue Sky Resort in Hume Township is under new ownership, who is looking to update the resort’s cabins when it reopens later this year.
Merrick and Colleen Maris are the new owners since December 17, 2021. They are from the Romeo area, have been married for 21 years and have four children together. Merrick has her own Farm Bureau insurance agency in Romeo while Colleen is primarily a stay-at-home mom.
Merrick said they had been coming to the Port Austin-Caseville area for 15 years, as Colleen’s father owned a home in Port Austin. They rented houses in the area for the summer or stayed in hotels.
“We had seen it over the years traveling in the area and saw it was for sale,” Merrick said of Blue Sky Resort, which consists of seven cabins in Hume Township between McGraw and Oak Beach County Parks. “We did our due diligence and ended up buying it.”
The seven cabins include five one-bedroom cabins that sleep up to four people, one two-bedroom cabin that sleeps up to six people, and one three-bedroom cabin that sleeps up to nine people.
“We wanted to get an Airbnb and we thought it was perfect,” Merrick said. “We wanted something to use as a family and to rent out. It ticked both boxes.
The Maris hired local contractors to help with the renovations, a five-month project. The works include remodeling the bathrooms, updating all the kitchens with new appliances and worktops, re-doing most of the flooring and all new furniture. Some aesthetic changes to the landscaping will also take place on the exterior property.
Once all the renovations are complete, the Husbands plan to rent out the cabins through Airbnb, Vrbo and HomeAway. They plan to be open for the season beginning May 1 and plan to be open year-round, with at least three cabins open during the winter.
“We do weekly or longer rentals during peak season,” Merrick said. “We also plan to keep a few cabins open over the winter for rental.”
Completed cabins will have a full kitchen with utensils and appliances, their own bathroom, free Wi-Fi, Smart TV, private fire pit, charcoal grill, picnic table, chairs of patio and designated parking for each unit.
Weekly charter rates quoted vary for each cabin, with one of the one bedroom cabins costing $1,000 per week to the three bedroom cabin at $1,795 per week.
Renters are encouraged to bring beach towels, extra paper towels and toilet paper, coffee, ice, bottled water, beach chairs and sand toys. Pets are not accepted.
Maris can be contacted via the Blue Sky Resort Facebook page or by email at [email protected].
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