Success Story: Destination Resort

The Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, Lake Geneva, Wis.

Marcus Hotels & Resorts applied its in-house expertise to position the Grand Geneva Resort as one of the premier getaways in the Midwest

Originally built as a Playboy Club Resort, Marcus Hotels & Resorts purchased the property in 1993 from Americana. At that time, the property was run down and had no identity or customer base. The buildings were leaking and falling apart and the 1,300 acre site was overgrown. Marcus Hotels & Resorts closed the resort and invested tens of millions of dollars into the project, rebranded the resort as the Grand Geneva and repositioned the property into one of the premier experiential resorts in the upper Midwest.

• Led a major reconfiguration of the property including moving the registration desk, moving the indoor pool, creating a lobby lounge and living room space, enhancing and updating the restaurants and lounges, redesigning one of the two golf courses and removing an outdated recording studio.


• Reopened the resort in 1994


• Added a conference center and ballroom in 2005


• Created and introduced two successful Marcus Hotels signature restaurants, Ristorante Brissago and the Geneva ChopHouse


• Manage a complex recreational portfolio that includes two golf courses, an airport, ski hill, indoor/outdoor waterpark, horseback riding and spa. Offer 42 different recreational activities daily, at least 15 of them at no fee for guests


• Continually reinvent the property, focusing on the guest experience, customer service and operational excellence


• Completed a $30 million renovation project during the recession in 2009, with major upgrades including a new outdoor pool featuring eight arching fountains, a California-style fire pit and dining area, a complete remodeling of all the guest rooms and enhancements to the resort's signature WELL Spa & Salon


• Added Seura television mirrors in all the bathrooms, which have been a great hit with guests! Developed a strategy to increase revenues by attracting local residents as well as hotel guests for special themed events including Christmas in the Country and the July 4 fireworks.

• #1 RevPAR leader in its market with a RevPAR Index over 160%


• Received AAA Four-Diamond rating for the 13th consecutive year


• 1,109 jobs created

• Received AAA Four Diamond rating for 15 consecutive years in 2012


• One of the top award-winning golf resorts in the country


• WELL Spa recognized as one of the Midwest's most comprehensive spas


• Received Meetings MidAmerica magazine's Best of MidAmerica Award in 2011


• Received Meetings and Convention's Gold Tee Award in 2011


• Received Successful Meetings magazine's 2011 Pinnacle Award for Outstanding Meeting Facilities in the Hotels and Conference Centers category


• Honored with the Talk of the Town Award in 2011 for Excellence in Customer Service


• Recognized with Gold Certification by Elite Meetings in 2011


• Won over 15 prestigious meeting planner awards in the past five years


• Conde’ Nast Traveler’s 2012 Readers Poll for Top 10 Northern U.S. Golf Resorts


• Successful Meetings Magazine’s 2012 Pinnacle Award for Outstanding Meeting Facilities in the Hotels and Conference Centers category


• Illinois Meetings and Events Magazine Best of 2012 for Venue Outside of Chicagoland