My sister and I are making a short getaway in late August. We have selected Door County as neither of us have been there. We are trying to decide on which town and lodging to select for the 5 nights. The choices so far are:

Scandinavian Lodge in Sister Bay
Homestead Suites in Fish Creek
Stone Harbor Resort in Sturgeon Bay.

We are not interested in romantic hotels but would like something that is close to town activites, maybe a water view, and Air conditioning. Any ideas concerning these places, or others that would suit the criterea, would be appreciated.

I am not familiar with any of those specific establishments however I do know the towns.

Definately go for Fish Creek or Sister Bay. I would avoid Sturgeon Bay as a destination place.

I also am not familiar with any of those, but second the notion of Fish Creek or Sister Bay. When I have been to Door County, IMHO, you get more of the atmosphere outside of Sturgeon Bay. Also, to get some of that atmosphere, in Sister Bay, you may want to try eating at Al Johnson's. It may be considered touristy, but you need to try it atleast once. Another place that I like to eat at in Sister Bay is the Bay Bowl. I think that restaurant is only open for supper. It has changed a bit over the years. It is a bit more expensive, what isn't these days, but I personally like the food there.

We go to Door County every year and don't ever stop in Sturgeon Bay. It is much larger than the other communities and IMHO it isn't anything special. I have stayed at the Scandanavian Lodge and the units are very nice but not on the water. We eat at the Sister Bay Bowl as well and they serve lunch in their bar area. Fish Creek is very crowded and busy. Wherever you stay you will most likely use it as a starting point and drive to all the different towns to enjoy the shopping, activities, restaurants, parks and views.

If you want water views you might want to stay in Ephraim. The town is small but has a few restaurants and quirky, fun shops. We have stayed at the Edgewater and it was very nice. They have sailboats/catamarans in the marina that will take you on a nice little cruise.

We have also stayed at The Country House in Sister Bay. It's adults only and has a trail that goes down to the water with a small dock. The grounds are beautiful. You can walk along the shore to Sister Bay. I think they have bikes that you can use.

Another vote for Sister Bay Bowl - best broasted chicken I've had. Look the food at the Swedish Cafe (I think that's the name) - across from the "goats on the roof".

This is a follow-up note about our trip to Door County last week. We stayed at Homestead Suites for two nights in Fish Creek. It was quite nice, good for families, had an indoor pool, close enough to walk into the town, but no water view! We ate at Julie's which is right next to Homestead Suites. Also ate three times at the Cookery which was great. Oh, I should also say that we did the Fish Boil at the Olde Post Office in Ephraim. That was a fun thing and good eating. We were surprised to learn that Ephraim is a "dry" town so no wine with the fish.

We also stayed in Fish Creek at the Cedar Crest Motel (or something like that). It was right in town and gave us a different vantage point as it was one block from the harbor.

We also went to Manantoc for one night and then back to Green Bay for the night before leaving GB by air.

It was a nice get away.