The Abbey Resort & Avani Spa — Hotel in Fontana-on-Geneva Lake

I have been a loyal guest for over 20 years (I come at least twice a year) and have always looked forward to the spa and Saturday nights with D'lite Duo. This year, I chose to share that joy with my family by purchasing gift cards as Christmas presents for my parents, my husband and me, and my brother and his wife. We had all been looking forward to this trip for months.

Unfortunately, what was meant to be a special and memorable family getaway quickly turned into a distressing and disheartening experience. After arriving at the Waterfront around 9:00 PM, my husband stepped out onto the deck—where in previous years he had occasionally smoked—to use his nicotine vape. There was no signs stating that he couldn't vape nor were we ever told that was a new rule on the grounds. He was alone, discreet, and did not intend to disturb anyone.

A hostess came outside and informed him that he could not vape there, and he immediately complied. However, the situation escalated unnecessarily when she returned inside and locked the door behind her, preventing him from reentering. I opened the door for him, and shortly after, we were approached by security who informed us that we were being combative and had to leave.

I tried to speak with a manager (I believe her name is Laura) to understand what had happened, and during our conversation, I leaned in slightly in an effort to hear her better. She responded by saying that I was getting in her "bubble," which was surprising and frustrating, as I was only trying to calmly communicate. I was not raising my voice or acting aggressively in any way. Despite my efforts to deescalate and gain clarity, we were told again that we had to leave. This felt like an extreme and inappropriate reaction to a situation that could have been handled with a simple conversation.

I’ve worked in customer service my entire life, I currently own a very busy Salon on the North shore, and my husband and father have both worked as bouncers and own their own businesses, so we are very familiar with how to handle guests and manage challenging situations calmly and professionally. Based on our combined experience, we truly cannot understand how this situation was considered acceptable or appropriately handled. There was no aggression, no refusal to comply—only confusion in an effort to gain clarity.

I am deeply upset that my family’s first experience at The Abbey ended this way, and that the Christmas gift I had been so excited to give was effectively ruined.

The following day, I spoke with the manager, Craig, who initially offered to cover brunch or dinner for us. I accepted brunch for our entire group as a good faith gesture. We had brunch—without champagne or any extras—but later Craig said he only intended to cover brunch for just my husband and me, even though we had all been removed and affected the evening prior. This change in the offer felt misleading and only added to our disappointment. However, after further discussion, once we explained that no one in our group had ordered champagne or anything extravagant, Craig did ultimately honor his original offer and covered the brunch for all of us. I appreciated that gesture, though it still did not address the root of the issue.

When I spoke with Craig again, I told him that the most important thing to me wasn’t the meal—it was receiving a genuine apology for the way we were treated, particularly by management the night of the incident. I have yet to hear back from Ben who seemed like he wanted to deescalate the problem via Email and I'm sure I will never get an apology from Laura who effectively ruined our weekend.

I do not plan on giving the Abbey another penny of mine. Not to mention the Whirlpool was broken both times that we came to the spa this year, hard to believe that's not an ongoing issue that's not being addressed, just as I feel about getting embarrassingly kicked out of a bar for no reason except for a hostess and manager on a power trip.

Edit: 2 weeks have passed since Ben responded to my review. I have not received a phone...

I went to the Abbey with my bridesmaids for my Bachelorette party, and from the very moment we pulled in we were greeted with rude sarcasm. The valet guys rudely asked "do you guys know what you're doing" when we were just trying to unload some of our belongings. When in reality, this gentleman didn't even know what to do with the Valet ticket and had to ask another valet guy about the details on location, and how he would give me my stub to retrieve my car. The front desk woman was not responsive to us standing there or asking for help as to how we get to the spa. When we got to the spa itself we realized that the pool was very dirty (bugs and a panty liner were floating around) and the coffee machine by the pool was broken (on and working but only spitting out milk and water). The "salt room" should hardly be called a room as it's a pallet of salt blocks on two walls. We were joking about it not even being salt because the bricks looked fake. The facials me and my other friend had were also mediocre at best. For spending 170 dollars on one facial you'd think it would be amazing but we were sadly disappointed. I told my lady my trouble areas and she simply ignored them. She was rough with my arms, didn't massage my hands, didn't massage all of my feet, she was rough with my face and eye area. And then proceeded to pretty much just rub my forehead. She said extractions were included but nothing was extracted. I popped my own zits once I got out of the facial because I had two white heads visible that she just ignored. It was the most non relaxing facial/spa experience i have ever received. Then for dinner we chose resturant 240 and regretted it as soon as we got our entrees. 4 out of the 5 of us ordered a burger and 3 of the 4 girls asked for medium rare and I had asked for medium but all of them were rare and cold in the middle. The cheese wasn't even melted on top. Our waitress tried to persuade us into keeping the food even though we told her 2 of us are pregnant and cannot eat raw beef. She then tried to guilt trip us about her having to take the food back because she got yelled at by the cook When the burgers came back they were better cooked, cheese was melted, and you could actually smell the food in front of you but by the time the burgers arrived a lot of us got full off of our fries. Were also the typr of people to not ever send our food back if theres something wrong with it, but we just could not settle for eating raw cold hamburger. We ended our meal with another sarcastic comment that was made by the waitress asking me, the bride, "if I'm always the one in charge" I simply told her no but when my friends and I are together to celebrate a life event i like to make sure everyone gets what they asked for and are paying for. Mind you these burgers are 24 dollars each.

The rooms were fine. Well decorated and the beds are comfortable. There are no microwaves in the rooms though

Overall my only positive experience from my weekend at the Abbey and Avani spa was that the rooms were fine and the front desk refunded us some of our money. I will not ever return or recommend it to anyone I know. I do feel it's important to say that me and my friends are not high maintenence or rude people. I personally don't ever complain about little things here and there because I understand that when a place is large and busy, little things are going to slip through the cracks. However with this being one big thing after another I had to complain to the front desk manager and...

My husband and I were married at The Abbey in late July. Overall, our experience had both highlights and frustrations, which I think are important for future couples to know.

We chose The Abbey because of its package options and the convenience of having everything in one place. This was a major benefit during planning and helped reduce stress. Jonathan, the coordinator, was personable and communicative throughout most of the process. We booked over a year in advance, and although communication dipped in the spring (likely due to a management transition), we were understanding. After that, things ran smoothly leading up to the big day.

The actual ceremony and reception were beautiful, and we were so happy with how everything turned out. The staff executed the wedding day well, and we were able to enjoy ourselves.

That said, we did hear from our guests about some logistical challenges:

Hotel Check-In: Some guests couldn’t check in until after 4:00, which left them scrambling with our 5:00 ceremony. Those who had planned to get ready on-site were especially affected.

Parking & Shuttles: Guests not staying at the resort had to park at a local elementary school and be shuttled in, something that was not communicated to us in advance. Had we known, we would have included it on our wedding website. Parking was very limited, and at the end of the night, shuttle delays left many guests waiting extended periods of time to get back to their cars.

The most disappointing part of our experience happened after the wedding. We were told by multiple staff members (including our Day-of Coordinator from Graceful Events) that we could safely leave our items on a designated table overnight and collect them in the morning. Unfortunately, this did not happen.

When we returned, the table had been cleared, and our vases and bathroom caddies were missing. Boxes we had left to pack the vases were untouched, but the items themselves were gone. I emailed Jonathan and our Day-of Coordinator immediately, but did not receive a reply until four days later. We were told there had been a miscommunication with the striking team, and that the items had been moved to the service entrance under the assumption vendors would collect them. We were also told our bathroom caddies had been found.

Excited, we made the two-hour drive back after our honeymoon to pick everything up. When we arrived, only our bud vases and a few small items were located—along with several items that did not belong to us. The bathroom caddies were nowhere to be found. Neither Jonathan nor the events manager were on-site, but the wonderful lady at the front desk gave the resort manager's contact info to leave a message. I later spoke with Tim Somerville, the resort manager, who assured me someone from his team would follow up. Unfortunately, no one ever did. I also sent a follow-up email to Jonathan and never received a response.

While the wedding day itself was wonderful, the post-event experience left us deeply disappointed. Once the event was over and payment was collected, communication and customer service dropped off completely.

Before & During the Wedding: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Great packages, convenience, and overall a smooth event.

After the Wedding: ⭐ (1/5) – Very poor communication and follow-through, unresolved issues with missing items.

We are grateful for the memories made at The Abbey, but we hope management addresses these issues so future couples do not have the same post-wedding...