The 29-room property opened on
19 May 2026 and includes the Noble Lounge restaurant and bar overlooking Grand
Traverse Bay on the Lake Michigan waterfront.
The hotel was created by the
former creative director of Shinola and developed by Shore North Development in collaboration
with Kinship Hospitality founders Daniel Caudill and Kamron
Bijeh-Apple.
The project transforms a
former apartment-style building in Elk Rapids, located near Traverse City and
Cherry Capital Airport, into a boutique hospitality destination centred on
Michigan’s Mid-century design heritage and regional production.
The hotel’s interiors
incorporate custom white oak furniture, copper accents, woven textiles and
curated vintage furnishings, with guestrooms designed to resemble residential
apartments through muted colour palettes and natural materials.
Guestrooms feature handcrafted
Serta mattresses, down bedding and Frette linens, alongside gallery walls
displaying artworks from Michigan-based artists including Martyna Alexander,
Pier Wright and Jesse Hickman.
According to the developers,
nearly every element of the property was designed by Kinship Studio and produced by Michigan
craftspeople, including sofas, lounge chairs, lighting, millwork, drapery and
ceramic collections.
The property also includes a
signature scent programme, custom ceramics created by Traverse City artisans
and a lighting collection manufactured locally in Michigan.
The opening cocktail menu includes six to seven signature drinks, alongside a non-alcoholic beverage programme and a custom beer developed with Arbor Brewing Company.
Executive Chef John Korycki oversees the food programme, which focuses on seasonal Northern Michigan ingredients and shareable small plates sourced from local farms and producers, including cheesemakers in Suttons Bay and Northport.
John Korycki brings more than 30 years of culinary experience, including work with the Bartolotta Restaurant Group under James Beard Award-winning chef Paul Bartolotta.
The hotel was constructed using modular stacked-box construction methods, allowing off-site fabrication and rapid on-site assembly while also improving sound insulation between guestrooms.
The opening of Dexter Hotel coincides with broader tourism and infrastructure developments in Northern Michigan, including the ongoing USD 120 million expansion of Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City.
The region continues to attract visitors through events and attractions including the Traverse City Horse Show, the National Cherry Festival, wineries across Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Daniel Caudill, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Kinship Hospitality, said: “Dexter Hotel represents a collaborative, design-led vision rooted in storytelling and place. We approached this project by asking whether every element – every piece of furniture, every ceramic, every fixture – could be created by Michigan makers. Working with Northern Michigan’s extraordinary community of artisans allowed us to develop truly custom pieces that exist nowhere else, creating an authentic connection between design and region.”
Kamron Bijeh-Apple, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Kinship Hospitality, added: “What we’re building with Dexter is a style of hospitality that feels easy but considered, where nothing is overdone, but everything matters. A big part of that comes to life in Noble Lounge, which is really the heart of the property – a place guests naturally spend time, whether they’re coming down for a drink, staying for food, or just settling in for the evening. The goal is for everything to feel seamless, social, and worth lingering in, without ever feeling like you’re being moved through an experience.”
Tags: Kamron Bijeh-Apple, Kinship Hospitality Daniel Caudill Michigan Shore North Development
