
Image courtesy of Whiskey Properties
Whiskey on the River in Petal, Mississippi
If there was one real estate purchase that has come to define Michael Craven’s career, it would be the Hotel Whiskey. And the property came to him completely by accident.
Craven and his family partners had been renovating historic properties in New Orleans and Mobile for years. While looking up a vacation property on the Gulf Coast he was interested in, he clicked a wrong link—which brought them to Hotel Whiskey, a struggling hotel and restaurant for sale in the heart of Pass Christian. On a lark, Craven delivered an offer, never thinking the owners would accept. But they did, with minimal negotiation.
“I hadn’t talked to my partners,” laughed Craven. “I hadn’t talked to my wife. I hadn’t talked to anyone.”
Upon acquiring the hotel, his team set to pumping up advertising—placing the hotel on Google, Expedia, and other online travel agencies and search engines. “Our objective was to make sure people knew we were there,” Craven said. “We pushed occupancy from an estimated thirty percent to ninety percent in two years.”

Image courtesy of Whiskey Properties
Hotel Whiskey in Pass Christian, the first of the Craven family's Whiskey Properties.
After Hotel Whiskey became a vital anchor to downtown Pass Christian, which has seen a renaissance since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the success made Craven rethink his future. Since then, under the consortium of “Whiskey Properties,” he has opened Whiskey on the River in 2022, a collection of cabins outside Hattiesburg that are completely off the power grid, and Hotel Whiskey Pascagoula, which opened this spring. And plenty of future plans are in the works.
From Warehouses to Whiskeys
A native of Metairie and current resident of Baton Rouge, Craven started renovating historic properties with his contractor brother Danny Craven, Jr. and father Dan Craven, along with other partners, in 2010. One project took two old warehouses on Chartres and Decatur streets in the French Quarter and transformed them into housing. The Chartres building, built in 1910, sat on a lot that had previously housed a shirt and pants factory and had fallen victim to the fire of August 30, 1908. “It’s unclear to me from [records] if that property was a total loss, or just really badly damaged,” said Craven. Regardless, the current building that stood there required a complete interior overhaul. “It was an interesting rebuild,” he said. “Some of the things we found inside were incredible.”
The company’s goal was not just to bring old buildings back on to the market, but to take a sustainable approach to restoration and real estate—prioritizing historic preservation and the use of renewable energy when possible. “It’s what I’m mostly excited about,” said Craven. “I’m not throwing up a brick building, I’m putting one back in service.”

Courtesy of Whiskey Properties
The bedroom at Whiskey On the River
A few years after opening Hotel Whiskey in Pass Christian, Craven was asked to consider a rural parcel of land on the Leaf River in Petal, Mississippi—just east of Hattiesburg. The property fronted the river, framed by ancient oaks and magnolias.
“It was unbelievably beautiful,” Craven said. “It was raw land. There was no road. We had to cut through hunting trails. I hadn’t been on a piece of land like that in my lifetime—it was untouched.” Along the slow-moving river was a pristine beach that, according to Craven, had likely not been used in hundreds of years.
After carving out roads into the 100-acre property, Craven’s brother Danny built a series of cabins, each with a master bedroom, kitchen, and seating area on the first floor and two twin beds in the upstairs loft. All cabins are raised off the ground, with the porches open to views of the woods and river, and one wall closed to ensure privacy from adjacent cabins. Ice machines and laundry facilities are located on site.

Courtesy of Whiskey Properties
Drinking whiskey at Whiskey On the River
The property, dubbed the “Whiskey on the River” and opened in 2022, is entirely off grid, with a bank of solar panels providing electricity to the cabins’ lights, kitchenette appliances, A/C and heat, satellite Wifi, and smart TVs. A back-up generator ensures the power never goes down. “We’re completely a little town back there,” said Craven.
In winter, the sun shines through the empty canopy, providing natural light and warmth. In the summer, the shade from the thick woods provides relief from the semitropical heat. The summer also offers the refreshment of dips in the Leaf River. Guests can enjoy the tranquil waterside experience of the private beach onsite, or take advantage of Pinebelt Blueways’ guided float trips on both the nearby Leaf and Bouie rivers. Members of the nonprofit will pick up visitors at their cabin doors for kayak and canoe trips on the Leaf—with stops on sandbars and swimming in the placid river, ending up back at the property’s beach.

Courtesy of Whiskey Properties
The Leaf River, near Whiskey on the River
There are also several hiking trails on the property, including a fascinating trek to the Porter J. Myers family cemetery. When carving out trails, Danny Craven discovered the tombstones of Porter Myers and his wife Renvy, who came to the area from South Carolina in 1822. Porter lived on thousands of acres along the Leaf River and served as the area’s representative in the state legislature. He was the largest landowner to be elected to the Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1861 and was one of fifteen men who voted against Mississippi’s secession.
In nearby Pascagoula, where a movement is underway to revitalize the downtown district, Craven took advantage of government incentives to open a new hotel, similar in design to Hotel Whiskey in Pass Christian—but this time built from scratch.
“The city received grants and they were trying to figure out how to reemploy them into their downtown,” he said. “The hotel was a key.”

Courtesy of Whiskey Properties
Hotel Whiskey in Pascagoula
Hotel Whiskey Pascagoula opened in April 2024 on Delmas Avenue in the heart of downtown, with hotel rooms for overnight guests and one-bedroom suites and efficiencies with full kitchens for employees of the local shipbuilding and oil industries. In addition, Uncle Joe’s Pizza and Wings opened its newest location on the hotel’s ground floor, adding another dining option to Pascagoula’s downtown.
Like the Petal property, Hotel Whiskey Pascagoula was built for sustainability. The company installed a GAF solar roof that produces thirty percent more power than the Petal property, Craven said. From the street, visitors would hardly notice the solar panels. “It’s really cool and it’s pretty too,” Craven said of the roof, which is directly connected to Mississippi Power. “Pretty in a unique way.” The property also offers Tesla chargers for electric vehicles.
“I have high hopes for it,” Craven said of his new investment. “I think Pascagoula’s a really neat little town.”
In the Works
Whiskey Properties is already looking for new projects, including building a hotel on a Jeff Davis Avenue lot across from the Long Beach library and public park. Like in Pascagoula, this will be a hotel built from the ground up. Craven estimates the 27-room property will be available for bookings in 2026.
“We’re right in the middle of town,” he said. “It will be our biggest project yet.”
Other ideas in the works include a historic renovation in Gulfport and hotels in Ocean Springs, Gautier and possibly Laurel, Miss.