MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich., May 6, 1998 - Friday, May 8, 1998 marks the opening of Grand Hotel's 112th season. Guests this year will enjoy the addition of five new suites themed after the five living former First Ladies.

Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush were all consulted on the decor for the apartments that will bear their individual names. The suites are located on the third and fourth floors on the west end of the hotel, overlooking the Mackinac Bridge, and are part of a renovation that took place over the winter to that end of the hotel.

"We are very proud of these new suites and of the willingness of all five of these distinguished women to allow us to name a suite after them and to work with us on the designs for their respective suites," said R.D. (Dan) Musser, III, President of the Grand Hotel. "These new suites add to the unique, historic nature of this hotel as we open for our 112th season."

Carleton Varney, President of Dorothy Draper Company of New York and the Interior Designer for Grand Hotel, developed the concept for the new suites in consultation with each of the former first ladies. Each suite will include the official White House portrait of the First Lady after whom it is named as well as a brass plate on the door with the First Lady's signature. Two additional suites -- the Grand Suite and the Carleton Varney Suite -- also will be added to the west end of the hotel. Seven other guestrooms were renovated during the winter.

Grand Hotel has earned several awards during the past 12 months, confirming that its status as a world class hotel continues unchallenged. Gourmet Magazine selected Grand Hotel as the top hotel in the Midwest and one of the top 25 hotels in the world. Grand Hotel also carries a "Four Diamond" rating by the American Automobile Association (AAA). During the 1998 season, Grand Hotel will offer several special package weekends designed to highlight the many attributes that make a stay at Grand Hotel truly a "one of a kind" experience.

Grand Hotel has been one of America's premier summer vacation spots since it opened on July 10, 1887 to receive summer vacationers who arrive by lake steamer or by rail. The continuity of its excellence is enhanced considerably by the fact that it has been owned and operated by the same family since 1933. Throughout its history, Grand Hotel has lodged dignitaries from around the country and the world, including five U.S. Presidents (Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Gerald R. Ford, George Bush, and Bill Clinton).