The Abbey Resort ” A Staycation to remember”

***** In 1980, I was in a business that was slightly seasonal, so while my summers were busy, my winters were fairly loose. I found a great way to unwind by visiting the Lake Geneva area ( without the summer crowds) and found The Abbey in Fontana ( just west of Lake Geneva). It was a great spot with an indoor pool and a game room that was humongous and if memory serves me right, they had six lanes of bowling as well. While it was a great place for me to unwind, I could take the kids ( often they brought a friend to keep them occupied) and I am sure they have some great memories.

That was over 45 years ago, and lots of things in my life have changed, and so has this resort. The bowling alleys- gone. They still have a smaller game room, but they now have a fabulous spa that attracts people from all over the Midwest. The hotel itself has undergone many changes during these decades. They have a much fancier dining room, a great restaurant, a coffee shop and a bar, as well as an outdoor grill by the pools for light snacks. Let’s face it, they are a true resort allowing one to stay and be entertained, dine, relax and have great memories.

Jane and I have been on this “staycation” concept, allowing us to get away from the hectic life of theater, writing, working with newspapers, preparing interviews and for my girl, canasta games and meeting friends for lunch, so off to Wisconsin and The Abbey. This was an easy drive from Northbrook. We took what I call the scenic route using Gilmer Road until it hits Volo and meets Route 12 and then route 12 all the way into Wisconsin, and Route 50 where one is in Lake Geneva. Then through there to Fontana. We took the Lake Shore Drive route and saw lots of neat building that I had never seen before. When we pulled up to The Abbey, we could see many of the changes, and once in the lobby, although some of my past visits were in my mind, I could see a lot of change and sparkle in what they had done for the resort. We checked in and drove around to building 4 where we were, found our room and the journey began.

Our room was spacious. We faced the lake area where the boats were docked. Those on the other side of the hall, faced the two outdoor pools. I loved our view and the room itself with its king size bed, a couch, a desk, refrigerator and a wonderful large walk in shower stall. While many hotels like to go very modern, The Abbey has opted to make us comfortable and as large as the complex is, it is easy to get around and find everything you need or are looking for.

After getting settled in, we took a stroll to the Waterfront restaurant, a casual dining area with both inside and outside seating. Here you can overlook the lake where Gordy’s is. There are many boats , of all sizes, docked there and they even have a yacht club where members have meetings and meals. We felt that we should do a little lunch so we opted to start our Staycation with a well deserved drink and in order to stay on our current diets ( Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating program) split our lunch. FYI- being in a Wisconsin Supper Club atmosphere, I went with their old fashion ( extremely good) and Jane had a Mango Margarita. We opted for their special brisket/grilled cheese sandwich which was as good as a grilled cheese sandwich can be ( I LOVE GRILLED CHEESE!!) and for our side, we opted for the Mac n’ Cheese ( in Wisconsin, cheese reins high!). While we shouldn’t have, we did split a dessert. The caramel apple pie was “to die for”!

After lunch, we walked around a bit, stopping at the gift chop so Jane could get a souvenir T shirt. While she was shopping around, I spoke with the clerk about her 30 years at The Abbey. She loved everyday and will continue to stay employed there as long as she can. The environment is terrific, the guests are always a pleasure and her employers keep improving the operation for both the guests and the employees. After shopping we went to the adult pool ( outdoors, they have two pools, one for family ( with amazing fun kids stuff) and then the over 18 pool where it is quiet and peaceful. We lay in the sun for about 90 minutes, then walked back to our room, where we freshened up and prepared for our dinner at the 240*West, where chef Noah Gumustekin, has a menu that is small but amazing. Once again, I enjoyed an old fashion, while Jane opted for ice water ( two drinks in one day would send her to an AA meeting). We ordered a 240 Wedge Salad (baby iceberg , tomato, pickled onion, Roth moody blue cheese, house lardon and buttermilk dressing). A delight. They also brought some unique freshly baked breads.

For our entree’s, Jane chose the 8 ounce filet Mignon and her side was a grilled asparagus. While the menu had some very special “specialties” such as braised short ribs, seared bronzini, lobster roll and the amazing Prime Burger, my eye caught sight of their Steak Salad going by, and decided to give it a whirl. This was a 5 ounce steak, crisp romaine lettuce, tomato, bacon bits, blue cheese, hard boiled egg, French fries and caesar salad dressing. The photo will not show the fries as I opted to have them on the side ( just to taste one) so that I would not disrupt my Seattle Sutton program any more than I was already doing) and only coffee ( black) for desert.

After dinner, we took a long walk to burn some of the calories, and it was a beautiful evening. The Abbey does do a lot of customer appreciation and entertainment activities. They have a patio where on some nights, they light a bonfire and then do “smores on the patio”. Other nights they have entertainment- musicians, magicians and other assorted entertainments. Monday night they did a movie out on the patio- we stayed for part of it and watched them set up the inflatable screen and the projector. They waited until it was dark enough to see Monsters Inc. This is great for the families who were there. Only problem, NO POPCORN!

The bar, Bar West, evidently is not open every night, and since I had already had a few drinks, we decided to go back to our room, relax and watch some tv as we were getting up fairly early for our visit to the Avani Spa and Jane’s appointment on Tuesday morning. The room was delightful and the management had sent us a bowl of great snacks ( low calories and healthy stuff from mostly women owned companies) and we had a wonderful, easy to work , coffee machine in our room as well.

After a great night of sleep, we awoke, started to pack up and headed to the lobby for a visit to Cafe Latte in the lobby. Here we enjoyed some fruit, a pastry ( cheese, of course) and coffee for me, a latte for Jane. We moved out to the lobby area where I was able to read the local newspaper ( yes, they still have newspapers in Wisconsin) and prepare for the next step. A visit to the indoor pool and wonderful whirlpool. There are no photos of us in the spa, but I will tell you, the 20 minute cycle was marvelous and felt super. No aches, no pains, just relaxed. After that we went back to the room to complete the packing and Jane got ready for her massage.

While Jane prepared for her massage, I found myself in their salt cave area where I relaxed and felt serene. I am not one for massage, so being in a quiet place surrounded by salt is pure pleasure for me. While this is not a cave like the one in Buffalo Grove, I could feel the serenity the moment I walked through the locker room and found a place to sit. I checked my e-mail and followed up on a few requests, and then 30 minutes later, I met up with a very happy Jane and we started the check out process. On several occasions she did say, she would love to stay another night as this was such a pleasure. I said as much as that would be great, we already had things to do and she plays canasta on Wednesday, so we left, stopping in Lake Geneva at Popeyes ( a local dining spot that is soon changing to Nick’s on the Lake) where the food is great, the service amazing and the people as friendly as one can ask for.

Staycations are fun. Yes, they are short, but when one feels stressed out, and one does this type of get away for 24 hours ( or so), one can feel the tension flow out of their body and mind, and get back to living life the way they should, at peace. If this is what you need, may I suggest you reach out to The Abbey in Fontana Wisconsin ( a mere 60 minutes away)

https://www.theabbeyresort.com

spa 800-709-1323

resort  800-772-1000

269 Fontana Blvd. Fontana Wisconsin