If You Only Have One Day for Vacation — You Can’t Top Soaring Eagle [REVIEW]

If you're like me, and only have one day to squeeze in an entire vacation, you won't find many places that can rival what Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort brings to the table.

Vacations are great in theory, but are much more problematic in practice. That's especially true if you're like my wife and I, and want need a getaway. We both work, sometimes opposite schedules, so getting time off can be somewhat difficult. Then there's the constant struggle of finding someone to take the kids for a couple nights. Even if we are able to make all of those arrangements -- we don't have the funds to escape to some extravagant destination. I mean, we do okay, but we're not making "Let's fly out to Vegas or Chicago for the weekend" money.

So, desperate for a night off, my wife and I examined our options. We knew that we wouldn't have much time, and, because of our current work schedules, a weekend getaway was off the table. After realizing we might only be able to get one weeknight off -- we made what was actually a really easy decision. We decided to spend a night at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort.

Soaring Eagle is only a 90-minute trek from Flint, making it an easy round trip that doesn't burn too much of your precious leisure time. Plus, Mt. Pleasant is my old stomping ground. I have lots of great, yet fuzzy, memories up there. However, in the five years I lived there, I only visited the casino maybe four times... and three of those were visits with my parents. I figured the casino wasn't a great place for a broke college kid to hang out, at least not one with my luck. So I was very surprised to learn how many awesome things to do they have there. Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort had everything we were looking for in a getaway, including:

A Spa

I had no idea that they had a spa right in the hotel, which was great because the wife and I badly needed a massage. My back has been a little messed up of late, and needed a good rub down. You're supposed to book ahead of time, but we didn't. I called a few hours before were going to get there, and they were able to squeeze us in at 12:30p and 1:00p massage. We had just enough time to get there.They gave us these fancy robes and slippers and let us relax in the sauna beforehand. Collete was our masseuse and took great care of us. If you haven't started your day with a massage before -- do it. It was a great kickoff to a great day.

A Classy Room

One of the main things we wanted was a really nice room. So many times in our previous travels with the kids, we've opted for cheap hotel rooms and were amazed when a few of them were nice. Most weren't though. At Soaring Eagle, we checked into one of the Superior Rooms, which had a fireplace, a jacuzzi soaking tub, and a duel-headed shower that was perfect for drinking a beer in before hitting the casino. Side note: If you haven't had shower beers before -- do it. It will change your life, bro. From top to bottom -- everything was first class at the resort. It's a top notch place to stay.

Pool and Hot Tub

After getting our massages and checking in -- check-in is usually at four, but they had a room ready for us at 1p -- we dropped our stuff off in the room and headed down to the pool. There was nobody in there, and it was a really nice setup. It was also warm enough that we were able to hit the outdoor hot tub (there is one inside, by the pool as well), which was a nice change of pace. We actually spent a couple of hours at the pool, split up by a mid-day break for a snack.

Fine Dining

We wanted to eat at a really nice restaurant too, and the casino has a couple of options for that -- Siniikaung Steak & Chop House and Isabella's. We opted for the latter... the wife has a soft spot for cannolis, and they have strategically placed photos of them throughout the hotel and casino. My meal was great, and they make a hell of a caesar salad too. Plus, I finally tried a Moscow Mule, which was pretty damn tasty.

Gaming, Obviously

Let us not bury the lead here -- we went to the casino to gamble, and boy did we ever. We actually did a few different trips to the gaming floor, our final one lasting until nearly 4am, because I was finally winning. I mentioned my luck earlier, because when it comes to games of chance -- I have negative luck. So, obviously, I lost all the money I brought for gambling (never bring more than you're okay with losing), but my wife did okay. No, this isn't a picture of me, but this dude won a buttload of money on one of the machines I was playing. Guess I was a week early. Sad emoji.

Room Service

There are no pictures, because at this point it was 4-something in the morning and we absolutely destroyed the bacon cheeseburgers we had delivered to the room. They looked like the one in the pic above though. The food arrived quickly, was great, had classy presentation, and was actually affordable. I've stayed in hotels where two omelettes cost me $45. I think we the burgers cost around $20(?), which my wife paid for with the points she accrued on the player's club card she signed up for earlier in the day. Even if we had paid cash for them -- $20 is a steal for two burgers delivered right to your door at 4am.

Stuff We Didn't Take Advantage Of

We spent an entire day and night at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, and didn't even take advantage of everything they have to offer, including

Kids Quest/Cyber Quest 

If you do want to bring the kids, I'll bet you didn't know they have a place for them to have fun too. Right up the hall from the casino floor is a place called Kids Quest, where they'll watch your kids (12 and under) for $10/hour per kid, ($9.25/hr if 6 weeks-30 month-olds). There's also an arcade for older kids called Cyber Quest. Kids Quest has all kinds of games and activities, our kids had a blast in there on a previous trip. Almost as much fun as they had earlier in the day at the...

Soaring Eagle Waterpark

Our kids LOVED the waterpark when we went late last summer. Between the lazy river, the pools, the hot tubs, the surfing pool, and the water slides, there was plenty to keep them (and us) occupied. The kids must've gone down those slides at least 40 times. The best part was that it was super affordable. Day passes were only around $24/person, but they're even cheaper if you get a room. Sometimes they have even better deals than that.

Concerts and Live Entertainment

There wasn't anything going on the night we went (we planned it that way), but there are a ton of great shows coming to the Soaring Eagle this summer. Bill Maher will be there June 3rd, Avenged Sevenfold and In This Moment June 19th, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Nick Swardson & Rob Schneider on June 22nd, Journey June 24th, The I love the 90s tour August 2nd, the list goes on. whether it's indoor or outdoor -- there's a show coming to Soaring Eagle for you.

Soaring Eagle is Hard to Beat

We had an incredible time on our little Mid-Michigan daycation. If you've only got a day or two for a vacation, you're going to have a tough time finding a place that offers as much as the Soaring Eagle. There's so much to do in one place, that you really can't experience it all in just a day, so it's good for extended stays too. Our little mini-vacay was just what the doctor ordered, and I'm really excited to go back and do it again this summer.