The Osthoff, Elkhart Lake Wisconsin
The Osthoff
GENERATIONS OF CHICAGOANS AND MILWAUKEANS have made Elkhart Lake a favourite weekend getaway thanks to clean beaches, lush IceAge-carved hiking trails and a tree-lined Victorian-era village setting. For racing enthusiasts from around the world, however, it is best known for Road America, a complex containing a globally televised speedway, driving school, go-carts and activities. Within the village of Elkhart Lake, historic markers trace the route of the Elkhart Lake Road Races, staged between 1950 and 1952, which drew the greatest racers of the era, making way for the construction and 1955 opening of Road America. IT IS NO SURPRISE auto race fans will be driven to stop in at many of the town's restaurants, bedecked with fascinating autorelated memorabilia from the 60s and 70s. Beer lovers, meanwhile, will take note of old advertising tins and posters revealing how Wisconsin's brews shaped American beer bar and pub culture during the 20th century. Even with a bit of kitsch here and there, the tie that binds hotels and eateries in town is the food, which is uniformly excellent and built upon traditions brought to the Midwest by German
immigrants who introduced many of America's favourite comfort foods, from cheese, rye bread and bratwurst to beer and ale.
Three large and still independently owned resorts, Victorian Village, Seibkens Resort and The Osthoff Resort, are collectively the de-facto living room and patio for car connoisseurs coming to town for major races as well as expansive gatherings of Porsche and Ferrari owners. The Osthoff Resort, however, started expanding the resort experience about a decade ago in a solid effort to make the hearts of gourmands, luxury travellers and beauty enthusiasts race. This includes the Aspira Spa, several on-property restaurants, and cooking school L'Ecole de la Maison, spotlighting the bounty of the resort's gardens and indigenous ingredients that reflect the Wisconsin-bred general manager Lola Roeh and executive chef Benjamin Sommerfeldt's undying love for their native “Badger State.”