Wisconsin - Illinois Border Road Trip

Road Trip Leg #1 Milwaukee to Wisconsin Dells

If your thinking about visiting Wisconsin Dells, then you're surely thinking about a family vacation. But did you know that there's also opportunities for adults to have fun too? What about visiting the dells to experience gambling?

The Dells offers HoChunk Casino More Info We like to stay in West Baraboo which is out of the hustle and bustle of Wisconsin Dells area, yet close enough to simply drive and experience the dells if you wish.

We stayed at Park Plaza, which is now a Clarion. The hotel has great rates, is updated with sufficient amenities and has a great restaurant called Glacier Rock. The restaurant has never disappointed and I highly recommend the Friday night fish fry for a reasonable price.

Road Trip Leg #2 Wisconsin Dells to Galena

Having never visited Galena, we were pleasantly surprised. The town has a very historic feel and is home to one of President Grants historic homes.

Down the main street you'll find numerous shops that offer a range of different specialty items. Word of caution, if you're going during the weekend, (summer season) it can get pretty crowded and parking can be challenging. Also note that the meter maids are out in full force and pay strict attention to the parking regulations.

We stayed at Eagle Ridge Resort More Info During our stay, we were surprised to see that the annual Galena Triathlon was taking place and the hotel itself was a main gathering point for the festivities. Fortunately, by the time we checked in, most everyone had cleared out.

The hotel was clean, decorated amazingly, and the landscape was well attended too. My wife and I didn't take advantage of the hiking trails, but apparently there's over 20 miles of well groomed trails, both hiking and biking.

The resort itself is mainly featured for it's world class golf course, but we enjoyed the other amenities the facility had to offer.

In the morning we took advantage of the Sunday Brunch. Omelet stations, Crepe Stations and a wide variety of different meats / cheeses / and full brunch items. (Prime Rib etc) The desert station was amazing! (wish we had room for more than one)

Road Trip Leg #3 Galena to Rockford

We stayed at the Clock Tower Inn in Rockford. More Info good news is that they have since added a great indoor waterpark along with an entertaining arcade with some great interactive games.

Down the main street you'll find numerous shops that offer a range of different specialty items. Word of caution, if you're going during the weekend, (summer season) it can get pretty crowded and parking can be challenging. Also note that the meter maids are out in full force and pay strict attention to the parking regulations.

The bad news, the hotel could use some updating and maintenance. The rooms had some issues, lose handicap bar in the bathtub, and a poor connection on the TV. Although the repair crew was at the room in a short period of time, the problem really wasn't resolved and I had to fix it myself.

Road Trip Leg #4 Rockford to Lake Geneva

Our final stop on our Wisconsin Illinois border journey ended in Lake Geneva, WI. We planned to spend two nights in the area, one night located at Lake Lawn Resort, and we decided to save our last night of our journey to be spent at the long anticipated Geneva Grand. My wife and I had never stayed at either resort, and we were looking forward to a relaxed/pampered vacation.

Lake Lawn Resort meets every expectation and more! We reserved a standard room, which had nothing standard about it. Microwave, Flat Screen TV, WIFI, Jacuzzi Tub, Porch out looking lake delavan, and a shower that extended from the ceiling (rain shower, I believe they call it?) More Info

The pool was clean, well maintained and the perfect temperature. My wife and I had the whole pool to ourselves, although it was a monday afternoon. There was no drinks allowed in the pool area, which seemed a little strict. We cheated the rules by mixing a couple cocktails in water bottles, since the rules stated you could have water bottles in the pool area (my wife enjoyed a cranberry juice since she was 5 months pregnant with our first child)

Lake Lawn, offered some great activities on the premise itself. Tennis, Water Sports, Mini Golf, and a great arcade with some up to date video games. If anyone manages to get the Mickey Mouse from the crane game, we spent about $10 trying to loosen him up

We had dinner at The Frontier located directly on the premise. Amazing food, along with great service. The restaurant overlooked Lake Delavan, and we had great seats to watch the sunset while eating dinner. Prices were moderate, and I would recommend the Peanut Button cheesecake, well worth the eight dollars.

Checking out was simple and my wife and I headed over to the anticipated Geneva Grand, the last stop on our Wisconsin Illinois Border Trip. More Info

Valet parked the car at the resort lobby and had great bell service who offered to take our bags. Unfortunately, we ran in to a reservation snag upon arrival. Even though we made the reservations two months in advance, the hotel had overbooked and we were bumped in to their “sister hotel” called the Timberlodge. The front desk informed us that they tried to contact us, (although we never received any phone call or email) and assured us that our new room choice was an upgrade.

So we called our car back and headed toward the Timber Lodge. The Timber Lodge is actually a separate location on the premise that contains a water park which is really geared towards kids. The room we were upgraded to was nice, with a jacuzzi, small kitchenette, and porch. The staff, was very helpful and courteous.

Although I was happy with the room, I booked the Geneva Grand to enjoy the resort amenities. With my wife being 5 months pregnant, with our first child, the idea of the trip was to have our last (dual income no kids) vacation. By being bumped to their sister site, we didn't get to enjoy fully what the Geneva Grand had to offer. I did venture back through the lobby and tried to sneak a few peaks of some of the rooms, but my keycard unfortunately restricted me from the resort, even though I booked a room at the Geneva Grand which was confirmed and we were staying at the sister site.

If I had my choice of the two lodging establishments I suppose I would choose Lake Lawn Resort, only because I couldn't experience the full features of what the Lake Geneva Grand Resort had to offer. Although the staff was very friendly, they seemed to have the "Corporate Who Cares" mentality. If you're not satisfied, then talk to my manager. And then that manager, tells you to call another manager, and then manager tells you that you should call customer service. What a shame.