Kohler is about 3.5 hours from Chicago (factoring in a bit of traffic) and tucked away in the middle of Wisconsin farmland is The American Club, a five-star resort with a spa, hiking trails, golf and the Kohler design center. There is an art museum tucked away at the Club and a series of works throughout the grounds.
We arrived on Friday evening and took a quick trip to the Kohler Market for some Spotted Cow, bottles of water and a few snacks. After a beer on our patio at the Inn on Woodlake which overlooked a putting green and Woodlake itself, we went to the ballroom at the American Club for a "Chicago Street Festival". The company had set up an entire street fair, including beer tents, lots of food (mini Chicago-style hotdogs, Italian beef sandwiches and mini deep dish pizzas) and live band entertainment. There was a large group of people watching the Blackhawks game (and a large group of us upset by the OT loss on Sunday night) and a few of us gave a game of bags/corn hole a try.
Saturday morning we awoke to beautiful blue skies and decided to take a hike around the grounds. There is a series of trails that goes through the woods behind the resort as well as around Woodlake. It was a lovely change of pace to be around trees and grass instead of skyscrapers and concrete. We then made our way to the Kohler Design Center which features all of Kohler's latest products (faucets, tubs and toilets) and a floor of showrooms that will make you want to drop $30 grand and redecorate (or desperately wish that you could). Downstairs there is a Kohler museum and an art gallery which I found really interesting. Of course, you should use the bathroom whenever possible while at the resort because everything is Kohler fixtures. (The shower in our room had 5 shower heads that could be redirected to create the perfect water flow, I definitely wanted to bring it home with us!)
For lunch on Saturday we visited the clubhouse at Whistling Straights. Our table overlooked holes 9 and 18 and I was glad to just be watching them play instead of playing ourselves. The course looks like a total monster and one colleague of Danny's described it as "defeating". But, lunch on the terrace is lovely and the food delicious, the only way it could have been better is if it was 15 degrees warmer... the winds off the lake were very cold! Saturday afternoon we both spent some time practicing chipping at the green outside our room and I took the best nap! Windows open, breeze coming through, golf on TV. Those golf whispers are so soothing!
Saturday evening was another company event, we had a cocktail hour at the American Club patio followed by a 450 person seated dinner. The ballroom had been completely transformed from the Street Festival the night before to an elegant space for dinner and a few videos. The firm brought in a group of Second City performers for a comedy and improv show which had me rolling in laughter and after all the celebrating we had a bonfire on the beach! A local shop by the Inn sold cigars so many of the guys, and a few gals, picked up a stogie for the beach. I saw a beautiful green art glass hookah which became my souvenir from the trip! (Later this summer I'll do a hookah post).
Kohler was a fun weekend get-away that balances luxurious rooms with beautiful Wisconsin surroundings! I've got a few more new destinations to try but Kohler is on the "I'd go back there" list for sure!
