History of the Rosemont Inn

The Rosemont Inn has served tens of thousands of guests over its 121 year history. It is the oldest resort property in the Saugatuck / Douglas and has a rich history.

Samuel Willison Bryan Jr. was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Christmas Eve in 1847. He married Ellen Serena (Olsen) from Chicago, IL in the spring of 1882. In 1883 they had a daughter named Nellie. In 1886, they bought a 40-acre farm that extended east from Lake Michigan and north from Center Street. The property featured a small farmhouse and several outbuildings.

The young Bryan family set about the business of growing peaches and several other fruit crops. After initial success, in the 1890’s a blight struck much of the area and caused the trees to produce deformed fruit. Within just a few years the Bryans – like many other local orchards were forced to cut down all their trees to prevent the spread of the blight.

Children Willis, Lillian and Hallie were all born in the early 1890’s. In 1900 the farmhouse was destroyed by fire. In 1901 a new house was erected. This structure exists today as the front part of the Rosemont Inn. Son Douglas was born here in 1902.

The Saugatuck / Douglas area was beginning to flourish as a vacation destination. The Bryans began to take seasonal borders. Samuel had some hospitality experience as his parents ran a hotel in Kalamazoo for a time. They were successful in their first year and commissioned a local builder to move one of the outbuildings – originally used as a cannery – to the back of their house. This allowed them to add a wing of sleeping rooms.

In 1904 they sold the area that is today the Douglas Public Beach to the Village. At this same time the lake shore area became a part of the Village of Douglas. Other lots were sold to individuals as well – cottages and homes began to sprout up across the acreage that had been the farm. Families from Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit and many other places began to “summer” in the area. At this point the Bryans venture was called the Rose Mont and was quite popular. At this time meals were served to guests with the ground floor of the rear building was occupied by a large kitchen and dining area.

Samuel died in 1918. Ellen along with help from Nellie continued to run the business. Later Douglas and his wife took over operations and the Rosemont thrived. Hallie and Douglas each built homes just to the south of the resort. Willis built a house along Center Street. Over time all the other remaining lots were sold to other families for development. Many of those families still occupy homes here on a seasonal basis.

In 1979 Harry and Lynda Holmes bought the property and ran it until 1982 selling it to Ric and Cathy Gillette. The Gillettes demolished the rear building and rebuilt it with two new wings in the mid 1980’s. This “footprint” remains in place today. Extensive renovation to the original structure took place adding private baths and fireplaces to all the rooms. An outdoor heated pool and indoor spa area were also created. At this point the Rosemont Inn had 14 sleeping rooms. In the early 1989 the Inn was sold to Joe and Marilyn Sajdak from Chicago.

While attending a hospitality trade show in Chicago they visited with a builder from Pennsylvania who constructed gazebos. They struck a deal to buy the gazebo at the show to save the builder the expense of shipment back to Pennsylvania. That gazebo still sits in the front yard of the Inn and has been the site of at least three weddings.

In 2001 the Sajdak family sold the Inn to Pat and Pieter Lion. Pieter was an executive with Holiday Inn for many years. Pat and Pieter set about to create their vision of the Inn. After over a decade of success, Pieter fell ill and eventually passed. Pat was joined by her sister Marcia. After a time, they decided that the Inn was too much for them to manage and listed it for sale.

In February of 2021, Tammy and Kerry Cunnion happened to drive by the Inn and noted the for-sale sign. While they never thought of owning an inn – the idea of living across the street from Lake Michigan was compelling. They took over operation of the Inn in June 2021.

Since that time, they have embarked on the process to update and restore the Inn. New landscaping has been added and sleeping rooms updated. The breakfast room and lakefront room got facelifts as well. A patio was added to the front yard for those million-dollar sunsets.

Visitors will note a new sign for the Rosemont Inn with a wave design and “1901”. These are references to the 122-year history of the Inn and our beautiful neighbor Lake Michigan.