06.23.15

GolfWisconsin.com

Grand Geneva Resort & Spa is All-Season Family Experience
Life is Grand

By: Jerry Slaske

The ‘grand’ in Grand Geneva Resort & Spa is no exaggeration.

The former Playboy Club and then Americana Resort was almost left for dead back in the early 1990s, but under the ownership of Milwaukee-based Marcus Corporation, it has come roaring back to become one of the Midwest’s finest all-season entertainment experiences for the whole family. Moreover, with its two meticulously groomed championship golf courses, The Brute and The Highlands, Grand Geneva fits in well with Wisconsin’s burgeoning recognition as an international golf mecca.

Located in Lake Geneva, 45 miles southwest of Milwaukee, the resort provides everything from carriage rides and horseback riding to zip-lining to massages to indoor tennis and basketball to snow skiing and boarding to rock climbing to…you get the picture, a self-contained family playground.

But if you must leave the property, downtown Lake Geneva is about a mile away on beautiful and historic…you guessed it…Lake Geneva. It’s a hoppin’ place made for walking, with dozens of small shops and cafes to explore. You can also climb aboard an early 20th century steamer for a cruise to view the spectacular summer homes (palatial estates to the rest of us) of some of Chicago’s early industrialists. And if you want to see the stars, take a tour of the famous and fascinating Yerkes Observatory on the southwest side of the lake.

Grand Geneva’s just-under 400-room hotel is a sprawling, four-story Frank Lloyd Wright type of building that runs about 3/10 of a mile. It’s easy to get lost in this place and thank God you can park near your room. But since I like to walk, I enjoyed it. The hotel’s expansive and open lobby sits high above the 1,300-acre property, and the vista from the outdoor pool and the top-shelf restaurants is mesmerizing and, some might say, romantic.

See more here.