Kohler, Wisconsin Resort — Hotel in Kohler

This is a wedding review

We held our wedding at Destination Kohler in August 2023, drawn by its reputation for excellence and the stunning venues like the Straits Chapel and The Irish Barn. While the locations themselves and the day-of banquet staff were truly exceptional, our planning experience left much to be desired.

Destination Kohler advertises a 5-star, seamless experience for weddings, but unfortunately, the service we received fell far short of that promise. We paid a significant amount for our wedding and yet, we often felt like we had to take on the role of project managers. From correcting frequent errors in documents (including one miscalculation that would have cost us $5,000 if we hadn’t caught it) to reminding our planner multiple times about details discussed in meetings, the process was far more stressful and hands-on than it should have been.

We were assigned a very junior planner, hired just days after we signed our contract. At times, we felt like our planning services didn’t receive the same care and expertise we expected, especially compared to other clients who seemed to be prioritized, presumably because of higher budgets.

We were also put off by how profit-focused the venue felt throughout the process. Every small request seemed to come with an exorbitant price tag. For example, we were charged hundreds of dollars to have a runner removed from the chapel for our 45 minute ceremony. When my husband asked if he could get a discounted round of golf the day before the wedding, the answer was a flat no. Even small touches like that could have cost the venue next to nothing were instead marked up steeply. It was clear that profits were prioritized over making clients feel special or valued.

Some other key issues included:

Poor communication: Emails often went unanswered, and weeks would pass before promised documents were sent.

Lack of attention to detail: Custom menu items were forgotten at both our rehearsal dinner and the groom's getting-ready suite. Linens were left creased out of the box despite my husband and I providing two steamers (since the venue for some reason doesn’t have them.)

Unprofessionalism: On the wedding day, I was approached with a stressful administrative issue regarding payment, which could have waited until after the event. This took us out of the moment completely and was hard to snap out of right before being introduced at the reception.

Despite raising these concerns with the weddings team manager during and after the planning process, little was done to address them. We often felt like just another number in a busy wedding season rather than valued clients.

That said, after the wedding, we reached out to Kohler’s executive staff and appreciated their prompt response. They offered us a small refund and a free weekend stay at The American Club, which we were able to enjoy. However, and somewhat ironically, during our stay, a pipe burst, forcing us to evacuate at 5:30 in the morning, and our bathroom had a spider infestation. While we can laugh about it now, these issues only reinforced the impression that Kohler has some work to do to catch up to the level of quality it advertises.

The venues themselves are breathtaking, and the banquet staff were outstanding. These elements contributed to a beautiful wedding day. However, the planning experience didn’t match the luxury standard that Kohler markets. If you’re considering this venue, I recommend being prepared to advocate for yourself and stay on top of...

Disclaimer: I'm a pretty low maintenance middle aged lady and pretty easy to please. With that said, I must say that I absolutely loved this place. Stayed in the Inn on Woodlake in the two bedroom suite with two friends and had way more space than we needed. It was terrific. Staff there was great and they had updated their breakfast from previous reviews. We visited the Kohler Design Center, visited the Shops at Woodlake, bought snacks at the Woodlake Market and enjoyed it all. We also visited the Kohler Water Spa and that was fabulous. There were a lot of wonderful young women and men taking care to keep the common areas clean and refreshed. The services that I received from Jessica and Donna were wonderful-both ladies were very professional and attentive. We ate at the spa cafe-again wonderful. We went from Wednesday afternoon until Friday noon at the end of April and did not feel crowded. Thank you to all of the staff for the incredible work you do. The reservation staff was also amazing. Nick and several others answered all of my questions and made changes several times for me. There were no surprises in terms of billing for me-another reviewer had mentioned issues with this earlier. I believe that the staff has taken customer suggestions/concerns seriously. It is expensive, but I felt that it was worth it. It kind of felt like being in Austria to me. Wonderful experience and I hope to be able to return. Trip...

They will nickel and dime you! We called to make our reservation and we’re told to get the best prices we could split our 4 night stay into 2 reservations. Then she booked us an extremely expensive package making us think we were getting free spa services. Then when we went to switch rooms, we were told that we could keep the upgraded room we were initially staying in and the 2nd 2 nights would be comped. When we went to check out this was not the case. Josh, at the front desk was very confrontational and even though he admitted they didn’t word things correctly and overcharged our spa services, didn’t make things right. All this to not forget that we couldn’t even use all the spa amenities, the men’s lounge was closed. And this was not communicated. And the food sucks. We tried several of their restaurants and found food off the resort that was 100 times better and much cheaper. And the expensive room we stayed in was not worth it. And housekeeping was mediocre. And there’s not even a microwave in a $1,600 per night room. Do...