In one of Wisconsin’s most popular vacation destinations, there is literally a hotel for every type of traveler. Planning to destress and chill with the girls? You might check into a resort with a spa, and don a robe for the entire weekend, all in the name of relaxation. But if you’re traveling with little kids, there must be a waterpark nearby.
With so many hotels opening within the last year—including one immersed in a medieval theme—the Waterpark Capital of the Year has proven it is more than just a family-friendly destination. Adults are coming here, too—and one major reason is the fun hotels. Below are six hotel choices to help guide your decision.
1. For a girlfriends’ getaway
Since its 2003 debut, the 42-suite Sundara Inn & Spa has broken the mold of cheesy hotels in Wisconsin Dells. The vibe is 100 percent serenity. Some suites are so large that they can accommodate up to seven guests. Tucked into a pine forest and enforcing a strict adults-only rule, it feels more like Sedona or Scottsdale, not central Wisconsin. Suites look out at the pool, hillside views, or woodland vistas.
The spa is so popular that day passes are unavailable, and only overnight guests or those who book two spa treatments in a day can use the facilities. There’s a salt-treatment room, indoor and outdoor pools, and a café. Guests can also tap into wellness activities such as a meditation trail, yoga classes, sound baths, a purifying bath ritual, and guided meditations. On-site dining options are, naturally, focused on energizing you, whether it’s an antioxidant salad, a mocktail, a Wisconsin cheese plate, or coffee-rubbed Australian lamb chops.
2. For a romantic vacation
If ultimate bliss means leaving the kids at home, then a free-standing villa perched above a lake is ideal for a couples-only vacation. Last year, Treetop Villas at Mirror Lake began renting out four two-story, treehouse-like properties artfully designed so that the bedrooms are cantilevered over a sandstone cliff. The villas range in size from two-bedroom, two-bath options to four-bedroom, 4.5-bath options. These are also ideal not just for a couple, but for a few couples traveling together who want to relax in a small group and maybe take a soak in the hot tub on each villa’s private deck, which also features a grill for cooking out.
Each villa has a full kitchen, gas fireplace, and—above all—lots of privacy. For dinner, or weekend breakfast, walk across the parking lot to The Original 1855 Dawn Manor Restaurant. This former 19th-century mansion with period-themed rooms was relocated from its original site on Lake Delton, then brought out of storage and reconstructed at the new site on Mirror Lake. Like the treetop villas, it opened in 2025. There’s also a basement-level speakeasy called Uphoff’s Rotunda.
3. For a family-friendly waterpark
For many families, folding a water park into a Wisconsin Dells vacation is non-negotiable. But what if you’ve stayed at the sprawling Kalahari Resorts many, many times and now crave something a bit different, but still want access to the waterpark?
In May, 12 new treehouse accommodations (referred to as Kalahari Treehouse Adventures) were introduced. Featuring one, two, or three bedrooms, and a loft layout, they either hover above Lake Delton or are a very short walk from the lake, still featuring lake views. Designed and built by Pete Nelson of Animal Planet’s “Treehouse Masters,” these are outfitted with kitchenettes and multiple bedrooms and baths on the interior. Stargazing nets on the sprawling decks, plus screened-in porches (to avoid bug bites) and outdoor showers, are other amenities. One of those treehouses even has its own enclosed slide shooting down from the deck, sure to thrill the kiddos (and maybe even adults) in your group.
The best part is that any of these reservations includes access to Kalahari’s waterpark, just three miles away. A new restaurant on the property, Daylene’s Supper Club, is open for lunch and dinner, leaning into a supper-club-type experience. With an indoor dining room as well as a two-tier deck above Lake Delton, the restaurant is a sweet spot to properly kick off a vacation.
4. For design fans
For architecture lovers, it doesn’t get any sweeter than staying in a home designed by Wisconsin’s most famous architect, the late Frank Lloyd Wright. At just 880 square feet, the Seth Peterson Cottage was his smallest commission, completed in 1958 for a young man named Seth Peterson, who tragically died not long after. It’s within Mirror Lake State Park, just three miles from Wisconsin Dells, and, in fact, a back deck overlooks the park’s namesake lake.
After a major restoration several decades ago, it became available as an overnight rental, although would-be guests should know the wait list is typically a year, if not two years. That just makes it well worth the wait. Featuring just one bedroom and a bath, this is an ideal getaway for a couple or a single person craving a retreat where reading by the fireplace and taking strolls in the nearby woods are the focus, not driving to and from attractions. The cottage also has a full kitchen, so you can make your own meals.
5. For a fun theme
Everybody loves a themed hotel, and by now, seasoned travelers have likely seen duplicate versions, leading to a “been there, done that” attitude. That’s what makes the new 208-room Dellshire Resort, open since May in Wisconsin Dells, so inviting. You’ll walk past “Golspar,” a 70-foot-tall, steel fire-breathing dragon crafted by a Las Vegas metal sculptor, and into the two-story lobby with cathedral-style windows and a koi pond, and then on to your guestroom with its vaulted ceilings and stone walls, which is akin to stepping way back in time, to the Middle Ages.
This medieval theme is fleshed out everywhere you look, from castle-like guestrooms reimagining fairytale dreams to Serpent’s Bay, an indoor-outdoor waterpark with five distinct areas, plus an adults-only swim-up bar. There are also five places to eat and drink on the property. Legends of Dellshire is a mixed-reality experience that launches this summer. Guestrooms range in size from typical accommodations that can comfortably hold a few people to multi-bedroom suites for up to 13 guests.
6. For multi-generational families traveling together
What do you do if the kids need things to keep them busy, but the grown-ups are tired of the hustle and bustle at waterpark hotels and crave a more relaxed (maybe even upscale) environment? The Wisconsin Hotel has all of that. The mid-sized boutique hotel opened in Wisconsin Dells during the summer of 2025, flaunting an interior design scheme accented by leather, wood, stone, and steel, plus a two-story crackling fireplace in the lobby.
With plenty of amenities—such as an indoor pool, fitness center, and communal fire pits—everyone can keep busy and spread out before meeting up for dinner over a farm-to-table meal at the Farmer in the Dells restaurant to talk about their days. There are also very intentional nods to Wisconsin, such as a recent bourbon release in partnership with Wisconsin distiller J. Henry & Sons, and a five-story silo bar with a rooftop lounge where you can try it. The hotel’s charity of choice is a local chapter of the Future Farmers of America, to further support the Dairy State’s agricultural traditions.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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