Welcome one and all!

Please note, our B&B is open May though October each year, 4 days per week (Thursday – Sunday).

Thank you for considering us!

Experience THE destination Bed & Breakfast, Art Gallery and Tea Room

From your first step inside the door to your moment of departure, enjoy the enchantment of Secrets on Main. Built in 1892 boasting 10 gables, this Victorian Lady is just footsteps from downtown Cheboygan, marinas, the Opera House, historic museum, miles of all-season trails, river, lake, golf, movie theater and minutes from Mackinaw Island. A home from a bygone era, rebirthed with a variety of guest room flavors. Literally.

Unwind and rejuvenate in the warm magical hospitality found at Secrets on Main –where we take fun seriously!

Stay

We are open May through October

4 days per week, (Thursday – Sunday)

All Rooms are $195 / night per room

Online reservations will open April 1, 2025. Call: 833-832-8963 to talk to us directly. We will be happy to save your dates.

BOOK NOW

Truffles Room

Pamper yourself and stay awhile in this historically luxurious bedroom. This Victorian themed room is the perfect way to celebrate any occasion. This spacious abode hosts true to the times furniture – the headboard dates back to 1878! This room includes its own loo, glass sink and oversized shower with fancy handrails on both sides to enter safely and enabling its guests to enjoy classy tiled elegance. There are plush robes for your use during your stay.

Cracker Jack Room

Escape reality in style! On the other side of the door you will be magically taken to an outdoor drive-in theater! You’ll be in a 1939 Dodge pickup, parked behind a 1957 Chevy as you watch your movies on a 75″ screen! You have window-hung drive-in speakers and Northern Lights in the sky! Your private bathroom is just outside the door with a claw-foot tub/shower. Robes and toiletries are provided. Bring your imagination and this room will deliver FUN!

Jolly Rancher Room

This barn themed room has been a favorite from its first conception. As antique lovers, many lifetime collection pieces are showcased in this daydream gone wild. Rustic meets classy with a windmill headboard, a sliding barn door window treatment and inlaid lighting with decorative cast iron coverings. Private in-room shower featuring a watering can shower head and river rock tile.

Taffy Room

Let your imagination go crazy in this nest of creativity. This artsy room provides a view of the Main Street to downtown and the Cheboygan River just across the street while also offering darkening shades for privacy. Enjoy the beautiful colors of the custom backlit river rock picture between a two person soaking tub and the attached bathroom. This room beckons you to relax and dream big.

Double Bubble Gum Room

Romance under the stars! Imagine sleeping in the bed of an actual 1961 GMC pickup truck while gazing at the stars above – all the while crickets are chirping in the distance. You’ll be sitting in vintage lawn chairs while enjoying the electric fireplace and for a complete surprise – your own private porch! Thick, fluffy robes are available to use for your dedicated bathroom with shower and truck room decor right outside your door.

Our Amenities:

Shhh… Tell Everybody These Secrets:

Unique B&B, Art Gallery and Tea Room Open May – October 4 days a week (Thursday through Sunday)
Free Parking behind BnB
Conveniently Located in Downtown Cheboygan Area
Each Room with its own Private Bath
Coffee and Tea for early risers
Smart TV’s with Netflix (not Cable)
Free High-Speed Internet
Plentiful Family-Style Breakfast Served Every Morning
Outdoor Hot Tub
Evening Marshmallows Around the Fire Pit (weather permitting)
The Boho Bungelow Secret Hideout
Miles of Bike & Snowmobiling Trails 2 Blocks Away
Bikes Available plus our Surrey 4 person Quadracycle
Kayaks Available
Minutes from Lake Huron, Parks, the Opera House, Movie Theater, Golf, Cheboygan Microbrewery, Meadery, Wine Bars, Rum Runner Bar, Recreation Center, Historic Museum, Antique Shops, Restaurants, live music and more!

Policies

Bringing the Kids
Secrets on Main is tailored as an adult getaway. Given that we have guests that are eager to introduce us to their children, special arrangements can be made for families who wish to reserve all the rooms for a special event or get-together where children would be welcome.

Coming & Going
Guests are welcome to arrive as early as 2:00 p.m. but we cannot promise your accommodations will be ready before 4:00 p.m. Departure is 11:00 a.m. At check-in you will receive a key chain with your room key and house key.

House Rules
Please note that smoking is not permitted inside our home. There will be a minimum cleaning fee of $150 if smoking is detected.
As much as we adore animals, we are not equipped to accept your pet. Check for local pet kennel options (we have a sweet, old great dane that loves people but not pets.)
Every now and then various organizations have meetings at Secrets on Main, so it is possible a group may be occupying the common areas (late afternoon or early evening) during your stay.

Gift Certificates
Gift certificates are available on a days’ notice for every occasion. If you are undecided about what to give friends for their wedding, Christmas, birthday, anniversary, retirement or special thank you gift, this is a unique way to express how much they mean to you.

Cancellation & Refund Policy
Due to our intimate size, cancellations affect us significantly. We understand that changes in plans are sometimes unavoidable. A full refund will be given if we are notified within 14 days of your arrival; half will be refunded within 7 days. Less than that, we regret we are unable to offer a refund.

Breakfast

Family-Style Breakfast

After a night of restful sleep on your Sealy Posturpedic bed and 1800 thread count cotton sheets, your senses will be awakened by the fragrance of fresh ground coffee and freshly brewed tea. You’ll know when it’s time for you to take your seat for the most important meal of the day by the sound of the antique chime around 9:00 a.m. Our menu changes every day, but our specialty – one we never waver from – is using locally grown and made foods whenever possible. On our table you’ll find maple syrup coaxed from trees in Cheboygan, artisan coffee roasted locally, breads, rolls, muffins and sweets made in our kitchen daily and the best eggs, cheese, meat, vegetables and fruits we can find in our local area all served on our everyday dishes, China!

What’s all that mean to you? An unbelievably fresh, fantastic mouthwatering most-important-meal-of-the-day experience of course! We couldn’t tempt you out of bed for anything else.

About Us

Your Hosts, Mark & Ann Kessler

Ann is a native Michigander. As a child her grandparents had a house on Mullet Lake where she spent many summers fishing, floating around on the inner tube, and gardening with her grandparents. Coming back to Cheboygan, where so many wonderful memories were made, was a dream come true.

Mark and Ann always talked about living in a Victorian house with a large wraparound porch and running a bed and breakfast. Secrets on Main was the perfect combination.

History of Secrets on Main

This beautiful Victorian was built in 1892 by Henry Wetmore, a local merchant, banker, farmer and former Mayor of Cheboygan. The home was sold in 1913 to JP & Sarah Och who opened the Gables home for tourists rooms in June of 1924.

From the Cheboygan Democrat newspaper, June 25, 1925:

“Mr. and Mrs. John P. Och have inaugurated a move that we would like to see become general throughout the city and that the project of making proper arrangements for the taking care of summer visitors at their home on south Main Street. Mr. and Mrs. Och have a beautiful and roomy home and the location is very fine, and to throw such a place open to roomers is a very commendable enterprise and one that will no doubt bring them in satisfactory returns.There has always been a great demand for rooms for summer visitors and there have been but few people that have considered throwing their homes open to such people. Petoskey people do it and have so arranged their homes and have furnished and fixed up especially to attract the summer visitor to their gates and we know theyhave profited by such undertakings. It is possible for Cheboygan to entertain a great many more visitors and doomed them to class servitude during the summer months than it does. As there are sufficient attractions here and the summer life of our community and our city cannot help but appeal to the visitors if they are only encouraged to stay by providing good accommodations for them.

Mr. and Mrs. Och have named their home “the Gables.” Others now should go and do likewise and get in a position to reap a little harvest while it is possible to do so.”

After John Och’s passing, his wife Sarah continued to live in the home and rented rooms to tourists until her death in the late 1950’s. Her daughter then rented the home to Mr. and Mrs. Jenson who continued to rent rooms to tourists.

In November of 1961, Mr. and Mrs. John Corlett purchased the home and maintained it as a boarding house until 1974.

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Cheli purchased the home in 1975. It was used for offices until it was sold to the Counseling Center of Petoskey.

In 1992 Mr. and Mrs. William Campbell purchased and renovated the home and ran it as a Bed & Breakfast.

Eight years later Mr. & Mrs. Churchill purchased the home and in 2014 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cunningham rented the rooms shortly after purchasing the home.

In 2017, Terry & Laurie Musclow purchased the home. They lovingly restored it and changed the name to Secrets On Main Bed & Breakfast.

Mark & Ann Kessler purchased the home from Terry & Laurie on October 17, 2024 and will continue to run the BnB with the warm hospitality that the previous owners did. Their doors are open to you and invite you to enjoy their warm northern hospitality!