[ZooGirl]

suydam explained it best, I think. The coastal towns of W. Michigan try their hardest to keep the big box retail stores and chain restaurants OUT of their downtown areas, opting instead for the unique boutiques, eateries and galleries. That's the appeal of these cities and villages.

Saugatuck has Oval Beach, Mount Baldhead park (you can climb 282 steps up Mt. Baldy for a great view of Saugatuck on one side, and Lake MI on the other), and lots of art galleries and boutiques. There are some excellent restaurants, but you won't find any chain restaurants downtown. If you're looking for Applebee's, you won't find it here. Saugatuck is a gay-friendly town, so the atmosphere is very accepting. I've heard people refer to Saugatuck as the Key West of the midwest for its gay-friendliness and flair for the arts.

Holland is more conservative (some stores still close on Sundays, and I believe no beer/wine is sold on Sunday), but has its share of unique boutiques and restaurants on 8th Street downtown. There are some excellend restaurants downtown -- try Butch's, The Claddagh, Via Maria. You can also visit the New Holland Brewing Company for beer and 84-East for pasta dishes. If you head north on US-31, you'll hit the outlet mall (which is half empty, I think the biggest draws are the Gap, Reebok, and Eddie Bauer outlets) as well as a smaller mall and a few strip malls. If you head west down Douglas St. (which turns into Ottawa Beach Rd), you'll come to the State Park, across the harbor from Big Red lighthouse.

Haven't been to South Haven in a while, but I do remember they primarily had boutique stores and locally-owned restaurants.

FWIW, I live in Kalamazoo now, but lived in Holland for 4 years. There's plenty to do in South Haven and Holland -- it just sounds like what these towns have to offer are drastically different than what you were expecting.