My husband's family is from Houghton and recommended this hotel. It was by no means horrible, but terribly it was far from luxury, the way it had been advertised. Our room 516, had probably not been renovated since the hotel was built in the 80's. Everything was scuffed up and seemed old, worn, and tired. The hair dryer didn't work. The bead spreads were long overdue for a replacement. The wallpaper in the bathroom was from the 80's. The whole place hadn't been painted in a while. There were some solidified mystery substances in places on the walls. Needless to say, the exercise equipment in the exercise room was fairly old, and some of it looked like it could have been donated from someone's personal gym. If we visit Houghton again, we will not be staying at the Franklin Square Inn. Good things: We had a canal side room and the view was gorgeous. The cleaning staff seemed good. We liked the downtown location. The rooms are reasonably priced.

I've stayed here 3 times in trips to Michigan Tech, and each time I've found it a good place to stay for working with colleagues on campus - the breakfast is good, it's close to downtown, and just a short drive to campus. They'll also shuttle you from the Houghton-Hancock airport if you call them. It's my favorite place to stay in Houghton.

This is, it appears, one of the two nicest hotels in the area. It looks like the hotel caters to whatever visiting professors and parents MTU gets. We paid less than $100 per night and were very impressed with the size, cleanliness and newness of the room (the king bed, the bath, the linens, etc)--as well as the awesome view from the window (if you're staying there, splurge for a room with the view of the Portage--it's really lovely and worth it). The Restaurant on the seventh floor (Spica?) was all right--I liked my food and my travel companion did not like his; but the service there was irreproachable, the view was lovely, and the prices were very reasonable for a hotel place. The staff at the hotel was knowledgeable and helpful, gave good directions and excellent advice as far as places to eat. Would gladly stay there again!

When I called to make the reservation, I requested a non-smoking room on one of the upper floors on the river side with a mini-fridge. We got all that we asked for. That's why I highly recommend contacting the property directly. We (my son, husband and I) arrived after an 11 hour drive and checked in - very friendly staff. We were given 3 breakfast vouchers which were good for a free breakfast - 2 eggs, sausage or bacon and hash browns or $4.00 off anything else on the menu (which the prices were very reasonable and the food was very good). Then after breakfast every day you would pick up more vouchers for the following day's breakfast. The restaurant is on the 7th floor with a great view of the river, the hills and old mining sites. Our room was nice - 2 queen-sized beds, desk, table and chairs with a good-sized bathroom. There is also free wireless internet. We were on the 5th floor. One thing that really impressed me is when I checked out, they told me that since I reserved the room, their rate for that room went from $108/night to $112/night. They charged us the rate that was originally quoted to me. That's good business! There is a convenience store/gas station right next to the hotel and a fantastic restaurant/brewpub (The Library) just 3 blocks away. One of the boats that takes you to Isle Royale National Park was right outside our window. We did not take advantage of that but many people did.