Give it a rest

The Abbey Resort, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Distance 77 miles
Travel time 2 hours
Don’t miss The trilogy massage

The Abbey manages to keep wintertime business bustling with its pampering Fontana spa offerings—facials, massages, body wraps and a full salon (nails and hair).

The 45-year-old resort is right on the Lake Geneva marina and features recently renovated rooms and bathrooms as well as large, comfy beds. But here, the spa’s the thing—at 35,000 square feet, it includes separate women’s and men’s treatment areas; each wing also has a dry and wet sauna, a quiet room and hot tub, and opens out onto a large, heated, enclosed glass natatorium replete with plants and sunlight.

This coed “main” area offers lap swimming, another dry sauna and hot tub, and a bar that serves snacks and drinks. Standout spa services include the relaxing trilogy ($110, 50 minutes) and Japanese hot-stone massages ($165, 75 minutes), muscle-relaxing wrap ($110, 50 minutes) and the purifying facial ($155, 80 minutes). Therapists and aestheticians are friendly and attentive, and though the spa facilities are starting to show their age, management is beginning renovations in late February.

With all the sumptuous spa basking, there’s only one reason to step outside: the mediocre resort food. For your grub, head instead to the extraordinary Gilbert’s (327 Wrigley Dr, Lake Geneva, WI, 262-248-6680, gilbertsrestaurant.com), which features a delectably fresh, daily-changing menu of items such as seared Alaskan halibut ($29.95); pumpkin gnocchi ($9.95); flaky, melt-in-your-mouth fresh fruit tarts ($10.50); and free housemade candies.

269 Fontana Blvd, Fontana, WI, 262-275-9000, theabbeyresort.com; $139/night

—Gretchen Kalwinski