DEXTER HOTEL AT ELK RAPIDS BRINGS DESIGN-FORWARD BOUTIQUE HOSPITALITY TO NORTHERN MICHIGAN | News
The redesigned Dexter Hotel in Elk Rapids, Michigan, one of the region’s first hotels dedicated to contemporary design, regional craft and authentic Michigan heritage, announces its official opening on May 19, 2026. Featuring 29 thoughtfully designed rooms and suites and the Noble Lounge – a vibrant restaurant and bar just above the pristine Lake Michigan waterfront – Dexter Hotel brings a new standard of elevated yet grounded hospitality to one of the Great Lakes’ most beautiful coastal destinations.
The Dexter Hotel was created by the former creative director of Shinola and built by Shore North Development in collaboration with Kinship Hospitality founders Daniel Caudill and Kamron Bijeh-Apple. It reinterprets a former apartment-style building in the charming waterfront town of Elk Rapids, just minutes from Traverse City and the newly expanded Cherry Capital Airport. The vision focuses on material honesty, regional manufacturing and a design language rooted in Michigan’s influential mid-century furniture heritage.
A contemporary reflection of Michigan’s heritage
Rather than a themed experience, the Dexter Hotel offers a modern, sophisticated aesthetic rooted in carefully selected materials, custom manufacturing by Michigan makers and curated vintage furnishings that honor the state’s design heritage. The aesthetic palette emphasizes natural, durable finishes designed to age beautifully: custom white oak furniture anchors the rooms, while copper and warm metals define the Noble Lounge bar and reception area.
The rooms are designed to feel like warm, peaceful apartments with muted tones, natural materials, woven textiles and soft upholstery, with gallery walls featuring a mix of artistic styles. Handmade Serta mattresses combined with down bedding and Frette linens complete the sleeping experience.
Every detail, made in Michigan
What sets Dexter Hotel apart is its extensive commitment to regional production. Nearly every element – from custom sofas and armchairs to the Kinship lighting collection, the reception desk, the bar, beds, nightstands and even curtains sewn by a local Traverse City seamstress – was designed by Kinship Studio and crafted by Michigan artisans.
Features of the Dexter Hotel:
Kinship Ceramics Collection: Bowls, trays, cups, plates, soap dishes and lamps created specifically for the hotel by local Traverse City ceramicists
Custom Lighting: Recessed ceiling fixtures designed for Dexter Hotel and manufactured by Britten Inc. in Traverse City
Gallery Walls: Salon-style artwork featuring original pieces by Michigan artists including Martyna Alexander, Pier Wright and Jesse Hickman
Custom Millwork: Handcrafted reception and Noble Lounge bar highlighting the regional woodworking tradition
Signature Fragrance: Custom Kinship fragrance that creates a fully immersive sensory experience
Salt and stone facilities and ClaySpace ceramics: carefully curated to complete the regional craft story
Noble Lounge: Elk Rapids’ living room
Designed to be a vibrant, welcoming space for guests and locals alike, Noble Lounge offers a thoughtful and accessible food and beverage experience just above the pristine Lake Michigan waterfront, specifically on Grand Traverse Bay. The bar program, led by Beverage Director Anthony DiMaria, balances classic technique with more original compositions that lean toward creativity within a structured, ingredient-driven approach. The program uses molecular mixology techniques, including clarified juices and fat-washed alcohol, to transform familiar ingredients into unexpected, layered flavors. An opening menu of six to seven cocktails will be complemented by a robust non-alcoholic program, reflecting the growing demand for premium non-alcoholic options.
At the same time, Chef John Korycki’s menu offers refined, shareable dishes rooted in seasonal Northern Michigan sources, with a focus on thoughtful composition and a bar sensibility. The cuisine comes from renowned local farms and artisans, including internationally award-winning cheesemakers from Suttons Bay and Northport, and will launch in early to mid-June with 9 to 12 seasonal small plates.
At the heart of both programs is a spirit of mutual collaboration: the bar and kitchen teams will work together to maximize every ingredient. Together they offer guests something quintessentially Northern Michigan: familiar in feel, surprising in execution.
Chef John Korycki – Executive Chef
Chef John Korycki brings more than thirty years of experience, rooted in Italian tradition and Mediterranean-inspired, ingredient-driven cuisine. Korycki is a graduate of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and an alumnus of the Bartolotta Restaurant Group under the leadership of James Beard Award-winning Chef Paul Bartolotta. He has led acclaimed kitchens in the Midwest and founded a collegiate culinary program.
Anthony DiMaria – Beverage Director
Anthony “Tony” DiMaria has a distinguished background in craft cocktail programs, including a key role at Detroit’s critically acclaimed Sugar House and a tenure redefining the bar experience at Northern Michigan’s Otis Harbor Springs. At Dexter Hotel, DiMaria is building a program that balances creativity with precision and anchored by a proprietary beer made with Arbor Brewing Company in Ann Arbor and a line of signature bottled cocktails developed specifically for the hotel.
Architectural innovation
The Dexter Hotel uses an advanced modular stacked box construction, which is manufactured off-site and assembled on-site within days. This approach provides exceptional sound insulation; no rooms share connected walls, ceilings or floors, while maintaining structural precision and quality. Future exterior improvements will add a warm cream facade with black metal hardware, shutters and planters.
A region on the rise
The opening of the Dexter Hotel aligns with an important moment for Northern Michigan. A $120 million expansion at Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) in Traverse City, with groundbreaking in April 2026 and completion expected in spring 2028, will triple the airport’s capacity and add more direct flights from LaGuardia, making the region increasingly accessible from major cities.
The area offers a rich calendar of experiences: the Traverse City Horse Show (June-September), the National Cherry Festival celebrating its 100th anniversary in July 2026, more than 40 wineries spread across the Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The Dexter Hotel offers direct access to the waterfront public park via stairs from the hotel patio – a natural gateway to Northern Michigan’s outdoor and cultural scene.
Visionary collaboration
“Dexter Hotel represents a collaborative, design-driven vision rooted in storytelling and place,” said Daniel Caudill, co-founder and creative director of Kinship Hospitality. “We approached this project asking if every element (every piece of furniture, every ceramic, every fixture) could be made by Michigan makers. By collaborating with Northern Michigan’s extraordinary community of artisans, we were able to develop truly custom pieces that don’t exist anywhere else, creating an authentic connection between design and region.”
“What we’re building with Dexter is a style of hospitality that feels easy but deliberate, where nothing is overdone but everything matters,” said Kamron Bijeh-Apple, co-founder and managing partner of Kinship Hospitality. “A lot of that comes to life in the Noble Lounge, which is really the heart of the property: a place where guests spend time naturally, whether they drop in for a drink, stay for dinner or just sit down for the evening. The aim is for everything to be seamless, social and worth lingering in, without ever feeling like you’re being moved by an experience.”
Shore North Development brings expertise in identifying properties with transformation potential and reimagining them as elevated hospitality experiences. The partnership with Kinship Hospitality has created a property that celebrates Michigan’s design history while establishing a new standard for boutique hospitality in the region.
Access and availability
Dexter Hotel is located in Elk Rapids, approximately 15 minutes from Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) and three and a half hours from Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW).
For more information about Dexter Hotel and to make a reservation, please visit https://www.dexterhotel.com/.
