The Waterpark Capital of the World Is Getting Its First Luxury Hotel With 4 Tree House Villas Overlooking Wisconsin's Mirror Lake

Travel + Leisure

22-05-2025

The Treetop Villas at Mirror Lake, located in Wisconsin Dells, will open to the public on June 2 with four treehouse-style villas overlooking the lake's shores.
The residences boast full kitchens, gas fireplaces, oversized closets, private patios, and hot tubs; one of the villas, a four-bedroom, four-bath sanctuary, also has a sauna.
The original 1855 Dawn Manor restaurant, an Antebellum-style restaurant and speakeasy, is located next to the villas, allowing guests to order room service from it.
Wisconsin Dells, located in the southern part of the Badger State, is known for its many waterparks, including the country's first rotating waterslide and the world's first floating waterpark, earning it the title of the Waterpark Capital of the World.
On June 2, the city will make a different kind of splash, this time with The Treetop Villas at Mirror Lake, the area's newest accommodations comprising four treehouse-style villas, cantilevered 35 feet above the ground along the shores of Mirror Lake.
'I didn't want to build treehouses that are not in the trees. We put them right in the canopy of the trees,' said Steve Uphoff, CEO and president of Uphoff Resorts, the villas' developer. 'You're on a beautiful, quiet lake that's 165 years old, formed in 1860. You're nestled in the treetops and looking at gorgeous vegetation.'
Of the four villas, three feature two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a sleeper sofa, while the fourth boasts four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, and a sauna. Other common amenities include full kitchens, gas fireplaces, and oversized closets, large enough to store ski, snowboarding, and hiking gear, as this part of Wisconsin is a mecca for outdoor adventure. Guests can also book chef-catered in-room dinners on their private patios, made even cozier with fire pits, and cap off the day under the stars while soaking in an outdoor hot tub facing the lake.
Designed by ADCI, the villas' interiors were inspired by the work of Wisconsin's most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and feature an abundance of natural materials, such as white-pine tree trunks. (One of Wright's projects, the Seth Peterson Cottage, completed in 1958, is on the other side of Mirror Lake.) A deep soaking tub in the villa bathroom.
Megan Elizabeth/Venture Luxury Estates The larger of the three villas will also have a personal sauna.
Megan Elizabeth/Venture Luxury Estates
'Wright was also known for very few rectangular or square rooms, and furniture was built into the property. Our designers copied those unique features,' explained Uphoff. 'It's got a contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright type of flair while capturing all of the elements of the outside, and while maintaining privacy.'
Next door to the villas is the original 1855 Dawn Manor restaurant, an Antebellum-style restaurant and speakeasy, which opens this month after an extensive renovation, including to its 170-year-old sandstone exterior. Guests at the treehouse villas will be able to order room service from this 1800s-themed eatery.
Nightly rates at The Treetop Villas at Mirror Lake start from $250 per night for a two-bedroom villa, and you can book your stay at ventureluxuryestates.com.