Ranking the Most Luxurious Casinos in Michigan
Michigan may be synonymous with the Great Lakes and the auto industry, but the state has quietly built a reputation for something else: casinos. With 26 venues spread across the state, from tribal resorts tucked near Lake Superior to commercial properties in the heart of Detroit, the options run wider than most people expect. That reach extends to the digital side too, with Michigan online casinos fully legal and tethered to their land-based counterparts.
Not all of those 26 casinos are created equal, though. Some offer spa treatments, championship golf, and fine dining. Others fall well short of that standard. To separate the genuine luxury destinations from the rest, we analyzed Tripadvisor reviews, tracking mentions of words like “luxury,” “magnificent,” “comfortable,” and “exclusive” to calculate a Luxury Score for each property.
How Michigan Became a Casino State
Michigan legalized betting on horse racing back in 1933, but the broader casino industry took decades to follow. The Gaming Control and Revenue Act passed in 1997, opening the door for three commercial casinos in Detroit. Tribal gaming expanded from there, and the state now hosts 23 tribal casinos alongside those three commercial properties.
The industry employs over 60,000 people statewide. Gambling oversight sits with the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which regulates both land-based venues and the digital platforms connected to them.
The Full Luxury Ranking
| Rank | Casino | No. Reviews | 4/5 Star Reviews | Luxury % |
| 1 | Island Resort & Casino | 155 | 104 | 12.90% |
| 2 | Lac Vieux Desert Resort and Casino | 65 | 24 | 10.77% |
| 3 | Saganing Eagles Landing | 106 | 49 | 10.38% |
| 4 | Bay Mills Resort & Casinos | 162 | 109 | 8.64% |
| 5 | MotorCity Casino | 354 | 180 | 8.19% |
| 6 | Four Winds Casino New Buffalo | 858 | 562 | 7.57% |
| 7 | Soaring Eagle Casino | 1022 | 577 | 6.55% |
| 8 | Kewadin Casino, Sault Ste. Marie | 259 | 118 | 6.18% |
| 9 | MGM Grand Detroit Casino | 486 | 286 | 5.76% |
| 10 | Hollywood Casino at Greektown | 442 | 187 | 5.43% |
| 11 | Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel | 235 | 121 | 5.11% |
| 12 | Firekeeper’s Casino | 864 | 567 | 4.17% |
| 13 | Kewadin Shores Casino | 244 | 136 | 3.28% |
| 14 | Odawa Casino, Petoskey | 553 | 36 | 3.07% |
| 15 | Gun Lake Casino | 424 | 173 | 2.83% |
| 16 | Odawa Casino, Mackinaw City | 72 | 321 | 2.78% |
| 17 | Kewadin Casinos Christmas | 46 | 30 | 0% |
| 18 | Four Winds Casino Dowagiac | 51 | 27 | 0% |
The Standout Properties
Island Resort & Casino in Harris tops the list with a Luxury Score of 12.90%. Of the 155 Tripadvisor reviews analyzed, 16 mentioned the word “comfortable” and three specifically described the property as “fancy.” Those numbers placed Island Resort well ahead of every other casino on the list.
The resort pairs its casino floor with a hotel, spa, and two golf courses. One reviewer summed it up cleanly: “Easy check in, comfortable rooms, the pool/hot tub is great, a dry spa, a steam spa, and a very large, modern exercise room. A large, fun sports bar. Wide range of entertainment. Four different places to eat.”
Lac Vieux Desert Resort and Casino came in second at 10.77%, with seven keyword mentions across 65 reviews. The property markets itself on a quieter, more relaxed kind of comfort, and the reviews reflected that. One guest raved about the all-you-can-eat crab legs, which tells you something about the overall atmosphere.
Third place went to Saganing Eagles Landing at 10.38%. The word “luxury” appeared in the reviews here, if only once, attached to a note about reasonably priced rooms. That combination of value and quality is exactly what most travelers are looking for.
The Detroit Commercial Casinos
MGM Grand Detroit Casino ranked ninth overall with a Luxury Score of 5.76%, making it the top-performing commercial casino in the state. MotorCity Casino placed fifth at 8.19%, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown came in tenth at 5.43%.
Those scores might look lower than the tribal resort leaders, but context matters. Detroit’s commercial casinos handle far more visitors. Soaring Eagle Casino had 1,022 Tripadvisor reviews, the most of any casino on the list, which naturally dilutes keyword frequency. Volume and luxury tend to pull in opposite directions.
Casino Style and Red Carpet Glamour
There is a reason casino aesthetics have always overlapped with high fashion. The chandeliers, the dress codes at certain tables, the way a well-designed resort lobby can feel like a stage set. Luxury casino design borrows from the same visual language that defines awards season style: deliberate, layered, and built to impress at first glance.
Both worlds trade in spectacle. A piece on the best dressed celebrities at major awards ceremonies carries the same underlying logic as a resort hotel that spends serious money on its lobby: the impression made in the first few seconds is the one that lasts.
The Bottom of the List
Four Winds Casino Dowagiac and Kewadin Casinos Christmas both scored zero on the Luxury Scale. Not one reviewer used any of the tracked keywords across their combined 97 reviews. Nobody called either venue comfortable, impressive, or satisfying.
One Kewadin reviewer described looking into the kitchen from the bar and being put off by what they found. The casino still managed 12 five-star reviews somehow, which says something about the gap between individual experience and overall reputation.
Four Winds Casino Dowagiac drew harsher feedback. One reviewer named Steve wrote that his family would not visit another Four Winds casino again. That is the kind of review that a Luxury Score of zero tends to accompany.
What the Numbers Tell You
Luxury here is not just about decor. It is about whether a visit feels coherent: clean rooms, attentive service, decent food, and a casino floor that does not feel like an afterthought. The properties at the top of this list tend to get those basics right and then add something extra, whether that is a spa, a golf course, or a genuinely memorable dining option.
Michigan’s spread of tribal and commercial casinos means the range is wide. If you are planning a visit and want the full resort experience, the north of the state has options that will surprise you. If you are heading to Detroit, the commercial casinos hold their own. And if you are comparing destinations before you travel, the numbers above give you a clearer starting point than most reviews will.
For more style and entertainment coverage, check out this season’s red carpet highlights alongside the casino rankings.
Methodology: Casinos.com analyzed Tripadvisor reviews to identify phrases associated with luxury across Michigan’s casino properties. The Luxury Score reflects the percentage of keyword mentions relative to total reviews. Keywords tracked included: luxury, luxurious, magnificent, delightful, comfort, comfortable, impressive, pleasure, indulge, extravagant, fancy, exclusive, satisfied.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended as a factual representation of any of the establishments listed.
FTC Disclaimer: Keep in mind that I may receive commissions when you click links and make purchases. However, this does not impact my reviews.
