The Abbey Resort and Spa: A surprise foodie retreat in the Midwest

by Katie Hammel on

When you stay at a resort like The Abbey Resort and Spa on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, chances are that you’ll eat many of your meals at the property’s on-site restaurant. This can sometimes mean dining on uninspired dishes like rubbery “hotel chicken” or resigning yourself to the fact that you’ll be spending a fortune on each meal in order to avoid heading offsite in search of better or cheaper food.

So one of the things that impressed me most about The Abbey Resort was the clear dedication to quality food at affordable prices. Over the course of my stay, I had the chance to sample several of their signature dishes, from a hearty dinner that included grilled scallops, tender beef filet and rich espresso creme brulee to a light meal from the spa menu that featured an Asian chicken salad, fresh veggies and a dessert of grilled pound cake with strawberry puree. I’m a picky eater with a former chef for a husband, so I can be hard to please. But there was not one dish I tried that I did not like. Even more impressive: almost everything served at The Abbey is made from scratch.

The Abbey’s foodie focus extends beyond the kitchen walls though. On summer Sunday afternoons (Memorial Day to Labor Day), the resort hosts “Burning Down the Docks” -an all-day celebration of “brews, blues and BBQ”. Nearly 200 people attend each event and indulge in $2 Leinenkugel beers and BBQ straight from the onsite smoker while listing to live performances from local (and local to Chicago) blues bands.

With the season for outdoor barbecues behind them, The Abbey has moved on to a new series of culinary events for the Fall. For three weekends in October and November, The Abbey will host their third “Great Chefs at the Lake” series. Guests who pay for the package ($219 per person for two nights) will arrive on Friday for a welcome reception with that weekend’s featured chef. On Saturday, they’ll watch that chef prepare some of his or her signature meals and then enjoy a four-course dinner, with wine pairing, created by the chef specifically for the event.

The Abbey has pulled in some pretty big names in Chicago dining for the series. October 23-25 will feature the cuisine of award-winning chef Todd Stein from cibo matto and the trendy ROOF bar at The Wit hotel (and formerly of acclaimed restaurant MK). November 6-8 they’ll welcome Dudley Nieto from tapas restaurant, Eivissa. The last weekend, November 13-15, food from Coobah, helmed by chef Jimmy Madla (who is also the drummer for the band Veruca Salt), will be served.

To find out more about the strategy behind the food focus at The Abbey, I talked with Director of Operations, Michael Lucero, who previously worked as Food and Beverage Director of House of Blues in Chicago. Here’s what he had to say:

How did working at the House of Blues prepare you to run operations at The Abbey:
When first interviewing at the House of Blues, I realized that [with multiple venues in one] the operations were very similar to a resort, without the guest rooms. The main reason I joined the House of Blues [was] because of their dedication and commitment to the culture. . . They never wavered from the quality and service standards that helped build their brand. This is where I realized broader benefits of “scratch cooking.” Although it costs more to do so, the quality is always better and more consistent. It also allows creativity and this is where chefs thrive.

When I joined The Abbey, I wanted to bring that aspect to a resort setting. When compared to stand-alone restaurants, customer perceptions of hotel food tends to be lower – too expensive, inferior food, and relatively “staid” menus. We are changing those perceptions here at The Abbey. It started with our philosophy of “hiring the smile-training the skill” – bringing back service dedicated people. Then we focused on the food. Well over 70% of the menu is prepared with raw ingredients.

A great example would be our new BBQ menu in the Waterfront (restaurant). All meats and fish are butchered by our Chef, mixed with home-made ingredients, and smoked by our Pit Master on our outdoor smoker. The Pit Master is certified with the Kansas BBQ Society. This is as good as it gets. This philosophy extends throughout the kitchens in all food preparations.

Speaking of your Pit Master, Matt Whiteford, how did you select him as The Abbey’s BBQ master?
Matt was the perfect person to do the grilling. Our goal was to create a menu and an experience unique to our dockside location, a destination that locals can enjoy frequently, and a dining scenario where all guests would share in the gospel of great BBQ. We realized a great opportunity to align the resort with an award-winning Pit Master. [Matt] has competed for the last five years nationally. . his process was exactly what we were looking for. His “layers of flavors” technique, applying spice rubs and various marinades and glazes during the cooking process, followed by one of Whiteford’s gourmet BBQ sauces [which the resort sells], delivers exceptionally tender and delicious BBQ. He truly has a passion for BBQ and his personality is perfect, always interacting with the guests as they enjoy their food.

I didn’t get a chance to watch Matt in action (or try his famous pulled pork), but I did chat with him for a few minutes and it’s true, his love for what he does is immediately apparent. It’s that obsession with quality food that I think makes The Abbey stand out among other Midwest resorts. They not only serve delicious meals at a variety of price points, they recognize that their guests have a passion for creative cuisine too.

Disclosure: The Abbey Resort and Spa did cover the cost of my stay, but the views expressed within my post are entirely my own. Gratis or not, the food here was delicious and I’m carrying the extra five pounds to prove it.

First look: Tcherassi Hotel

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Tcherassi Hotel + Spa in Cartagena, Colombia is now open! The stylish property is located on the Caribbean coast and blends the property’s 250 years of history with two years of renovations and a fresh new look. Latin fashion designer Silvia Tcherassi’s touch is salient in this new resort, and Gadling is happy to bring you photos of the property that haven’t been published anywhere else.

Get ready to make a reservation – this resort definitely looks like a great place to chill for a week or two. Have a welcome cocktail and relax for a while; you’ve earned it.

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Inside of Bangkok’s five star luxury hotel, lebua at State Tower

by Grant Martin on

Perched at the top of the second tallest tower in Bangkok among the skyscrapers, steel and concrete is the strangest sight. Twenty Ionic columns, white stone and glass come together to form a Roman styled building, as if the center of the Pantheon was picked up and moved halfway around the world.

The structure is called The Dome, it’s home, the lebua hotel at State Tower. As one of the finest five star hotels in Bangkok, lebua operates restaurants and bars in and adjacent to the dome, from where dazzled gastronomers can admire the glowing city below.

It’s all part of the lebua package, an opulent, luxury experience that begins when you step out of the airport. Indulgent and VIP visitors will have access to the new BMW 730 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class during their stay, and it’s a quick, twenty minute ride from Suvarnabhumi Airport into Silom, the financial and burgeoning cultural quarter of the city.

Situated near the banks of the Chao Phraya River, lebua takes up the top floors of State Tower, the second tallest building in Bangkok and a massive stone-faced structure in the skyline. An all-suite hotel, each room has balconies from where visitors can gaze out into the endless landscape and watch the city breathe.

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Suites also offer the finest in amenities, from Bvlgari shampoos and lotions to robes, slippers and premium luxury sheets. You can even have a masseuse sent up to your room for a private, Thai massage.

Those willing to tear themselves away from their rooms have seven restaurants to choose from including sky bar, the highest bar in Bangkok, and Café Mozu an Indian/Lebanese fusion restaurant with a top notch breakfast and lively club scene.

The pinnacle of the entire property, however, is The Dome. Dining outside at Sirocco, at the base of the dome is a surreal experience. With the ancient columns above, the sweeping views around you and the city below, it’s easy to feel awed by the grandeous setting around you. If for nothing else, visit lebua for this.

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Disclaimer: lebua sponsored our trip to come check out their hotels, though our opinions and experiences were all of our own design. No animals were harmed in creating these blog posts.

Hotels in the U.S. Virgin Islands offer 25 cent nightly rate

by Katie Hammel on

The U.S. Virgin Islands are going to be featured on a newly designed quarter and to celebrate, hotels around the islands are offering up rooms at 25 cents – yes, just 25 cents! – per night.

Of course, there is some fine print to the offer. Guests will still be responsible for taxes of 7%, resort fees, and government taxes of 8%, so the total ends up being a litte more than the 75 cents you might immediately assume when learning of the offer (packages I checked totaled around $100 in taxes and fees). Nine different hotels are participating in the promotion, including the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort and the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort and Spa.

The offer is valid for travel now through December 15, though each resort may have its own blackout dates. There is a three night limit for the 25 cent rate and air-inclusive packages must be booked through the BookIt website. Guests who book the package do get a few perks – they’ll receive a $25 activities credit, $25 dining credit and a commemorative quarter.

The other caveat: you’ve got to act fast. There are a limited number of rooms available and you must book by November 2.

[via Budget Travel]

Cool travel souvenir: Hotel door hangers

by Katie Hammel on

Much of my apartment is decorated with travel souvenirs. The ceramic wine carafe I bought in Cinque Terre sits on the bar. Pictures I found at the Buenos Aires San Telmo Sunday market line the wall. Postcards bought in Iceland are propped on the fireplace mantel. I love being surrounding by reminders of my adventures, so I was intrigued and inspired when I saw this collection of vintage hotel room door hangers.

Michael Leibowitz says on his website that the collection belonged to his recently deceased grandfather, who had covered a wall of his study with “do not disturb” signs from hotels around the world. Locations represented in his collection range across the globe and include Athens, Bangkok, Budapest, Hawaii, Paris, New Zealand, Florence, Tasmania, and Tokyo.

There are signs from hotels like the Beirut Phoenicia Intercontinental, and from countries such as Yugoslavia, that no longer exist, and there are hangers from iconic hotels like the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok that have been around for over 100 years. It’s a beautiful set with designs ranging from simple to elegant to totally retro. And it’s inspired me to start my own collection. While I’m not going to start displaying them on my wall just yet, I think that years from now they’ll be interesting to look at as a memory of my travels.

What’s your favorite travel trinket to collect and how do you display your memories? Whether you collect matchbooks you store in a jar or or postcards you display on a wall, tell me about your favorite travel souvenirs in the comments below.