If your idea of a perfect weekend escape involves checking your stress at the door and stepping into a world of pure, unadulterated comfort, you might want to point your GPS toward the Midwest.
While tropical islands and desert wellness retreats tend to get all the corporate marketing hype, true relaxation junkies know that the ultimate hidden gem for a luxurious weekend reset is tucked away in the charming village of Kohler, Wisconsin.
It’s a destination that effortlessly balances historic charm with high-end luxury, from cozy, fire-lit restaurants and the gorgeous, glass-walled Greenhouse cafe inside the resort gardens to a bustling downtown marketplace district that makes it easy to melt away an entire weekend.
If you’ve ever attended the iconic Kohler Food & Wine weekend—where lifestyle legend Martha Stewarthas taken the stage as keynote speaker—you already know the property is flawless. In fact, as an official ambassador for Kohler’s iconic cast-iron tubs, Martha would safely give her highest stamp of approval to the resort’s latest design masterpiece.
The American Club has officially wrapped up a massive overhaul of The Carriage House, turning it into the ultimate adults-only wellness sanctuary.
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Courtesy of Kohler Co.
For those who have experienced it, the location of this annex holds the ultimate hospitality cheat code: it sits directly across the brick courtyard from the main historic hotel building, and the multi-floor Kohler Waters Spa—Wisconsin’s only Forbes Five-Star spa—actually occupies its lower levels.
This means you can roll out of bed, slip into a plush resort robe, and take a private elevator straight down to your massage or thermal hydrotherapy soak without ever having to step foot outside or pass through a public hotel lobby.
The overhaul completely transforms the 55 guestrooms into warm, residential-style sanctuaries. Think rich woods, soft leathers, and deeply textured fabrics designed to make you want to move right in.
But because this is Kohler, the real reason to book a stay here might just be the bathroom engineering. Designed to act as a seamless extension of the five-star spa downstairs, the new layouts feature deep cast-iron soaking tubs, sleek Robern vanities, and premium fixtures designed by Studio McGee for Ann Sacks. They’ve even integrated Anthem digital controls, meaning you can program and save the exact water temperature, spray angles, and multi-port pressure of your dreams with a single touchscreen tap before stepping onto custom-heated tile floors.
“The Carriage House is a celebration of our equestrian roots, our reverence for craft, and the small details that turn a room into a sanctuary,” said Nina Kohler, Strategy & Design Lead of Kohler Hospitality. “This space reflects a broader vision—a Village built on the belief that design can change how we move through the world. These walls carry over a century of history, and they welcome every guest to add their own.”
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The hallways and expanded lounge spaces—which have been updated with deep, sink-in seating to encourage you to pour a glass of wine and actually linger—are lined with striking, large-scale black-and-white horse photography by award-winning artist Drew Doggett, a nod to the champion Morgan horses raised at the local Kohler Stables just down the road.
The stunning reveal drops right in the middle of a massive, village-wide revitalization that makes it easy to build a dynamic three-day itinerary. Once you finally decide to change out of your spa robe, you can grab a casual pint by the fire at The Horse & Plow, explore the design showrooms at the marketplace, or check out the resort’s massive expansion of active wellness spaces. They are on track to open The Serve, a premier indoor racquet and pickleball facility, later this fall, alongside a brand-new, minimalist 14-hole golf course called Purebred Farm at the Blackwolf Run complex.
Whether you’re planning a romantic milestone weekend or a solo mental reset before the summer winds down, the new Carriage House layout proves that you don’t need to fly across the ocean to find a world-class sanctuary. Everything you actually need for a restorative, elevated weekend is already waiting for you right down the elevator.
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