The Abbey Resort & Avani Spa - Fontana-On-Geneva Lake, Wisconsin

Carol N.

This place literally sucks ass big time!!! The elevators are small and slow and outdated and aren't that convenient for special needs or disabled people. The staff or front desk people are not good with explaining anything. You have to walk these super long long hallways in order to get from one place to another. It's not designed well at all. The waterfront restaurant is super gross food with ants on the floor. There is a lot of chaos at the pools and the hot tub. You have to pay 50 bucks extra per person for the spa area and it doesn't include a massage. There are no family bathroom either. So if you had a special needs adult of the opposite gender than they have to change into your bathing suits in your room which you have to walk down long hallways to get around. You can't enjoy the salt room , spa or steam room with your special needs person of the opposite gender because it's not mixed gender so that sucks ass big time. So your paying for stuff ya can't use because your special needs loved one is a different gender and that only leaves you the pool and tiny hot tub. Then you have to walk all over the place in your wet bathing suits to get back to your room because of no family bathroom. The arcade is super outdated and most of the machines don't work or broken down and don't give out your prize. It's a bunch of dumb ass bullshit and sucks ass big time!!! We will NEVER come back to this place EVER again!!!

Amber P.

I had a fantastic stay at The Abby. The check-in with Tasha really set my stay up for success! She was very helpful and helped me get the right room for my needs. Very friendly and accommodating. I spent my day at the spa and had a couple of wonderful spa services. Relaxed at the pool with lunch and drinks. The only disappointment was that the hot tub wasn't working. Noel was very helpful at spa checkout. I had a nice dinner in the main restaurant and slept great in the very comfortable. This wasn't my first stay at The Abbey and it won't be my last!

Paul D.

Been coming here since early 80s. I remember the free apples in lobby, boat wheel downstairs near restaurant, getting bird feed to feed birds near harbor / beach and when the Avani Spa was the arcade / bowling alley. Will continue to visit. In my opinion, need a different restaurant concept. The Waterfront Grill declined. Seemed like all the food was a deep fried concept for quick and easy cooking. The steak and burger we ordered weren’t properly cooked but the restaurant at least refunded those. Maybe a fresh sandwich option at the lobby coffee shop would be a suggestion. Should also consider a little more crowd control with kids and pool toys at the indoor pool. All in all we do enjoy the place and will continue to visit.

shelly D.

Girls weekend & had a blast!! Loved the resort & the employees were amazing!! Especially Faith & Megan! They went over & beyond!! The only minor issue was our floor ice machine was out of order. The prime rib at the 240 West was fabulous. They did give me a more done piece then ordered, still great. They need to consider allowing substitutions on the prime special for the cost. If I am paying that much for my dinner, I should be allowed to substitute. Such a fun weekend .. can't wait to go again!! Thank you Abbey Resort!!

Dan T.

We stayed this past weekend for Anniversary. The room, service ice and overall experience was above average. We did have a very rough experience with dinner at the 240 restaurant. My wife ordered the prime rib dinner, medium rare. Came cold and sent back, came back warm and the prime rib was very tough and close to well done. My wife will not send food back so we took it home and I will see if I can save it in another dish. The salad was good but the shrimp cocktail that came with meal was two shrimp in glass serving cup.

Recommend you stay away from the prime rib dinner on Saturday

Virginia C.

I was a little nervous trying out the spa for the first time based on reviews, but my husband and I really enjoyed it! The couples massage was great and we enjoyed the space by the pool to hang out and relax for a while. They could work on a few things with the staff to improve the overall experience (only some people received a tour while others had to ask each other for guidance, staff could be more professional overall), but we'll definitely be back. The hotel itself is very charming but a little confusing. They must have added on over the years. We and another family struggled to find the restaurant based on the signage. However, the food was delicious and the service was good. We had a great mini getaway!

Skyler Q.

Overview: We booked the Avani Spa package and stayed 3 days and 2 nights at the Abbey Resort. This was our "babymoon" and we wanted to simply relax. ||Arrival: We arrived early, I did not expect that they would have our room ready at 11am, but we at least wanted to get our spa access then come back and check in. To my surprise, our room was ready!||We did an early check-in and I had requested a quiet location away from rooms with large groups and families. The front desk staff were very polite and accommodating. There was ample parking in the front of the resort to check in, then I was able to move our vehicle to another lot that was closer to our room. ||Room: We booked a harbor view king. The room was cozy and lake house themed. There was a comfortable king sized bed, loveseat with a table in front of it, desk with a chair, a bench area with storage drawers, and two night stands. The bathroom was decently sized and had a shower with a built in seat, sink with a vanity and two light up makeup mirrors, and a standard toilet. ||The amenities were nice and included a Keurig coffee maker with coffee and tea, as large, flat screen TV mounted to the wall, a mini fridge, phone, and adjustable air conditioner/heat. There was also a balcony, but we decided not to use it since it was about 2 degrees outside! ||The only thing that I did not like about the room accommodations was that the extra pillow and blanket in the closet had a particular smell to them. Not that they were dirty, but could use some freshening up and a run through the wash. Other than that, the towels, sheets, and blankets were all comfortable and in good condition. ||Food: The first night we stayed, we opted for a more formal dinner at 240 West. Immediately upon sitting down we noticed the restaurant was very warm... uncomfortably hot, actually. I thought it was because we were seated by the window and there was a heat register, so I asked to move. The host said that he "didn't know where the cool spots were" and "the whole restaurant is hot." Perhaps someone overheard this and went to adjust the thermostat because it did cool down over the next 30 minutes, but not by much. My pregnant wife was flushed and fanning herself with a menu in the meantime. ||I thought about changing our plans for dinner due to the climate, but I'm glad we stayed. We were brought warm bread with butter as an appetizer. I ordered a beer and my wife requested a mocktail with fruit puree. They made the mocktail and my wife was very pleased with it. I ordered the 8oz filet with roasted mushroom and garlic mashed potatoes. Phenomenal. The steak was cooked perfectly, the mashed potatoes were delicious, and the presentation of the dish was beautiful. My wife ordered the Pappardelle, a pasta dish with short rib, roasted mushroom, marinated tomato, and burrata. She was also delighted with her meal. Our dinner was accompanied by a live pianist, a Saturday night special. ||Other food options available were room service, which we did for Sunday morning breakfast, the Waterfront restaurant, which we did not visit, and the 240 Bar, which is right next to the 240 West restaurant. ||When we ordered room service for breakfast, my wife ordered southern style rolled oats. It was a good sized portion with banana, roasted pecans, and berries. I did the Eggs Your Way breakfast, but pretty much everything except the potatoes were overcooked. I'm sure I could've sent it back and had them remake everything, but I was hungry and didn't feel like being "that guy." We also got a carafe of coffee which was actually pretty good. ||Activities: Even though it is winter here in Wisconsin, there were still plenty of activities to enjoy at the resort. There was a little ice skating rink out back and ice skates to use. The weekends also have "Fireside s'mores" nights, with s'mores and hot cider. There is also an entertainment center with games and a cinema. All of these activities are covered by the resort fee, so there's no additional charge. ||Avani Spa: The Spa was meant to be the highlight of our trip. We booked massages and pedicures ahead of time and most of our plans revolved around lounging in the pool area of the Spa. Checking into the Spa was easy, since we were resort guests staying with the Spa package, we just signed in on a roster and the desk attendant gave us the men's and women's locker room codes for the day. ||The men's locker room was overall very clean and well taken care of, minus some minor things. For example, some of the hooks to hang your robe in the stalls when using the restroom or the changing rooms are loose or missing. There's a few areas outside of the showers where water pools up and would need frequent squeegee attention to keep it under control. They do provide Spa-quality shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, as well as mouthwash, shaving cream, q-tips, and razors. My wife told me that the women's locker room had additional items such as washcloths and spray deodorant that the men's locker room didn't have. ||The towels were always stocked, trash cans emptied, lockers were clean inside and out, and the steam room and sauna were also clean and in good working order. My wife told me that the women's locker room also has a salt room, but there's a co-ed one in the pool area so that didn't make much of a difference to me. I do wish that there were washcloths and deodorant in the men's though. ||In the pool area of the Spa, there is a large pool with a circular area to float/swim that is about 3.5-4 feet deep, along with 3 small lap swimming lanes, probably 4 feet deep. The hot tub is right next to the pool and on the same level, there's just a wall dividing the two underwater and a ledge at the surface. A water feature with sprinkling water is next to the pool as well. ||There are plenty of plush, comfy lounge chairs all around the pool and a few tables with chairs. There is coffee, tea, cold water, hot water, and fruit water set up at a station in the pool area as well. You can also order room service to the pool, which was nice. We did that several times for beverages (beer, wine, sparkling wine, sparkling water, etc.) and food. Food items are reasonably priced and delivered right to your lounge chair. I had the BLT with avocado and chips twice while we were there and my wife had fruit bowls, grain bowls, and salads. Saturday it took a while for our food to get there because they were so busy, but Sunday and Monday the food came shortly after we ordered it (maybe 20-30 minutes, tops). ||Again, the pool area was kept very clean and orderly. Attendants were constantly picking up towels, doing turn over on lounge chairs when people were done using them, and refilling the fruit water. There were a few spots in the floor outside of the pool and hot tub where water seems to pool up and gets a little slick, but that could easily be fixed with a squeegee or mop. ||The massages we had were absolutely wonderful. My wife had a prenatal massage with Karissa and was completely satisfied with her experience. I had a deep tissue massage with Kim that was also phenomenal. The rooms were relaxing and quiet, and the massage therapists were professional and kind. ||Our pedicures were also great, Sandy was fun to talk to and made sure I was comfortable (I haven't had many pedicures in my life). The nail area didn't smell like nail polish like a nail salon normally does. It was very clean and sanitary. ||Overall, the staff at the spa made sure we had the best experience we could possibly have, for which I'm grateful. The Spa also offers yoga, aqua aerobics, and a fitness center, but we did not utilize those. ||Check-out: The checkout process was simple and pretty much typical for any resort. I went to the front desk and informed them I'd like to check out. I was informed of the additional charges going to my card from charging things to the room. I authorized those charges but still had questions because we were checking out of the room before getting pedicures, so I wanted to know how billing for that would work. I was told that the charges would get added later, but I didn't quite know what that meant. The gentlemen asked if I wanted an itemized receipt, to which I said yes. When he printed the receipt I was even more confused because of the lack of detail. It was very generic and did not show any of the discounts that were taken off with our packaged deal. I know that the dining credit was applied to our meal at 240 West because the charge to the room was $75 less than what we spent, so obviously the dining credit was applied, but no where did it show that it was applied. He then told me that an amount listed under "Room fee" (or something similar to that) was for spa treatments... I asked if they pre-charged the spa treatments and he said they would be added on later, but I told him I already paid for the spa treatments at the spa... again, no way to verify what was what because of the vague receipt descriptions and not showing which credits were actually credited to my charges. I ended up taking the room receipt with me to the spa and they told me that I was not charged for any spa treatments on the room receipt, just the treatments I had paid for the previous day. This could all be avoided with a better way of itemization or adding a notes section so guests can see that their credits included in their package were redeemed. ||Summary: This was my second time staying at the Abbey Resort and Avani Spa, and my wife's first. We both agreed that we would return, both as a couple and as a family with our two older kids and the baby. There's really something for everyone, and most of the staff truly want you to enjoy your experience here. As long as you make your expectations, wants, or needs known, they will likely find a way to accommodate them. Be aware, there are negative reviews out there, but remember that is only one person's subjective experience. If you are a kind, reasonable, polite person, you will leave feeling relaxed and happy with your experience.

Wendy N.

In the offseason, it's a great location for a spa day and we had a very reasonable room rate with no 2 night requirement. It's wise to book a service because the day passes are purportedly limited quantity; sold in person/day of only etc etc. Access isn't part of a room reservation. That said, the spa was very relaxing - lots of towels, very comfy chaises, a good number of attendants and the technicians were very good. We also enjoyed some food & beverage delivery poolside (a small limited "healthy" menu) which was very convenient (gratuity is added). The spa had areas that also had their wear & tear, along with a broken whirlpool and ants (!!) that were in the steam room by the steam vents - YUCK YUCK YUCK!!||||As to the resort itself, they want to assess an early check in fee before actual check in - I've never heard of this in my life. Any other hotel or resort I've stayed at just graciously allows you to obtain your room with no add-on fees. Also ridiculous considering you pay a resort fee for very little by way of amenities. The Abbey is really about location - being waterfront, having indoor & outdoor pools plus the spa, a bar/coffee shop and Little Bar (pizza only) within a short walk. You can also walk to Chuck's or Gordy's but the latter is closed in the off season as we learned. ||||Otherwise, this is a dated property. It's fine for one night, though the very loud bathroom fan that runs automatically when you turn on the bathroom light was driving me to deafness and insanity. Bed was comfy, bathroom towels were good and plenty of hot water & water pressure. BAD lighting for application of makeup, ladies, with a makeup mirror that doesn't light up. We did not dine on premises other than the spa food delivery but we visited the bar/lounge area that had a live duo. The music was a bit painful although the 2 fellas seemed very nice. ||||To wrap up, if you're looking for a more glamorous spot, my go to is the Grand Geneva. If you're spending little time on property or in your room, the Abbey is suitable.