Overpriced and outdated, with quirky service My wife and I stayed at the Carriage House wing of the American Club for three nights over the Fourth of July long weekend. While there are some lovely aspects to the Kohler experience, overall we thought it fell well short of the expectations set by the lofty room rate of ~$1,000 per night — at that price point we were expecting something pretty special (to contrast this we had just come from the Peninsula in Chicago for $575/night which included a daily $100 allowance for food/spa). For starters, the room (478) was very old fashioned, looked like it had not been renovated for a decade or more, and was very dark. It’s small windows were covered with heavy brown wooden shutters, leaving the room depressingly dark, even in the middle of summer. The hotel does not offer complementary breakfast, an odd omission for a secluded, resort-style hotel at this price point. The Carriage House did offer a very weird breakfast box, with a few items that one had no choice over (for example, yogurt was included but one could not specify flavor; cake was offered but again, sometimes it was banana cake, sometimes coffee cake). The only choice one could make was between two very odd ‘breakfast’ items: a kale breakfast salad and a blueberry quinoa smoothie. Since neither of those choices appealed to my wife and I, we went without. The hotel offers a coffee service in the lobby, but on the first morning the only ‘milk’ like item was a soy based vanilla-flavored creamer. When we asked for milk we were offered an unflavored soy-based creamer. When we asked again we were offered half & half. Later that day we spied 2% milk in the nearby spa café fridge, so for the next few mornings we snuck into the spa and helped ourselves to milk from the spa café. When we went to enjoy the spa we were told about the spa café. When our massages were done at 12:37pm we asked to eat in the spa café and were told that the café only seats on the half hour and one needs a minimum of 30 minutes notice, meaning that the next time we could be seated was 1:30pm (and this was not because it was full, just because of this quirky rule). With some pushback we were eventually seated by 1pm, but again, this is inconsistent with the high end service expected at this price point. The Carriage House, it should be noted, does not have any real outdoor area where one can sit, enjoy breakfast or a drink etc., other than a few tables on the street that are usually in the sun. It also does not have a concierge on site. One can use the outdoor spaces and the concierge at American Club across the parking lot but when we did, she was unaware that River Wild was closed that day (July 4th) meaning we lost out on the chance to enjoy that facility. Her comment was that we should have booked it earlier but how were we to know that? Another omission for the hotel and spa is that they have no outdoor pool or hot tub. There is a small hot tub and a nice lake at Sports Core, but it has limited hours and is a 10 minute walk / 5 min shuttle ride away. Other spas we have been to (at much lower price points) all have these facilities. I was also unable to secure a tennis pro to hit with for the Saturday afternoon or all day Sunday. So all in all, the American Club fell well short of our expectations.

Best hotel experience in years! Unparalleled service! Last night, my best friend and I met up after not seeing each other for two years to spend some time together for one night there. I just wanted to tell you that my expectations were exceeded in just about every way. Every single associate that I encountered was genuine about our interactions - I believe it was Delaine who checked me in and gave me a great introduction to the Kohler area. Our server at The Immigrant, Angel, was excellent and anticipated all of our needs, and the food and cocktails were exquisite. The rooms were lovely and clean, and we had a great spa experience as well. Kelsey at the Front Desk today was also lovely and helpful, as was our server Clare in the Wisconsin Room for breakfast. It's probably been the best hospitality experience I've had in years!

Great golf experience This is clearly the best place to stay when visiting the area. We were there for three nights and played golf everyday and my wife also did a visit to the spa. The rooms are nice but are on the smaller side. The restaurants were all very good. My only complaint might be that the menus at several of them seem to be pretty similar. While the shuttle service is great, some of the amenities are rather spaced out (Straits and Irish courses are about 20 minutes away).

Fun Getaway with Girlfriends but Small Spa I came here with two girlfriends for our first getaway as our first post-vaccine getaway. From Chicago, it's an easy 2-hour drive. The hotel is steeped in history and gives you a feel of being transported to another time. The rooms are small for the price but beautiful. We took advantage of the spa, the restaurant, the fitness center and a walk on the grounds. The two biggest pluses are 1) food and 2) service. I was skeptical of the level of food here, but we went to three different restaurants there, including the Immigrant Room, and they were all delicious. I was particularly surprised by the breakfast pastries in the morning in the Wisconsin Room. They bake their own things, and they were some of the best I've had in the U.S. The restaurant service at each location was very good and truly genuine. For example, at breakfast, when the pastries we chose were sold out, the server brought us two other pastries on top of our second choice picks to make up for it (tip: get the double chocolate muffin if they offer it). The spa facility, to be honest, is disappointing especially if you've been to any of Kohler's newer Water spas. Their Chicago location, for example, is spacious with a pool-sized jacuzzi. Here, the jacuzzi inside the ladies room is no bigger than a home hot tub. They have a pool in the common area, but it's a cold pool. On the top floor they have another jacuzzi, but it's pretty small. During pandemic times, only 8 people can be in it safely. Given that they have direct access to the outside, it's surprising there is no jacuzzi outside. The whole space feels cramped, and we had to get through a lot of little spaces up and down elevators and stairs to get around. We had a good time nonetheless, but the $50+ spa usage fee is exceedingly overpriced for what it is, especially given that it doesn't including fitness or pools like would be typical in spa experiences of first class hotels. Given that they are a bath company, it's surprising that they have not renovated this space. Seems like the spa should be more of a marquee experience. However, I do recommend the spa services themselves. We had excellent pedicures and I had one of the best facials I've ever gotten anywhere. I would come back here again for another short getaway with friends, and the one-on-one service had been outstanding, but what stops me from raving about this place is that the hotel needs a bit of updating in terms of amenities. The American Club bills itself as a first class experience, and its prices are commiserate, but it lacks amenities that have become normal even for four star hotels. The one that stood out for me as an example is that they do not have complimentary coffee service in the main hotel, only in the ultra-luxury carriage house. They also don't offer newspapers. The resort has no doubt been a first class establishment for decades, and the experience feels like that, but for them to truly be a 21st century five-star luxury resort, they really need to overhaul the spa and bring their amenities to 2021 standards. In short, I recommend this place for a short, easy getaway from a nearby area, but it would not be one of my choices for a destination resort. The one caveat - we are not golfers and did not take advantage of their world class golf club.

Escape From Reality From the moment we got out of our vehicle we were pampered! Kelsey helped out with flowers and John was always there to take care of us! The spa facilities and services made it a perfect couple’s getaway!