Wisconsin Dells Spa

The gods must be smiling on Dells' Mt. Olympus

Wisconsin Dells - Nick Laskaris, owner of one of the Dells' largest tourist attractions, traces the origins of his multimillion-dollar business to a small stash of cash his mother had bundled away and forgotten.

His parents, the late Jim and Fotoula Laskaris, had moved to Wisconsin Dells from the Chicago area in 1970 to open a hot dog and hamburger stand. But their Big Chief restaurant had such sparse sales that the couple were soon running out of cash. They decided to return to Illinois.

That's when they discovered a windfall: $700, wrapped in a sock, hidden in a desk and forgotten by Fotoula Laskaris, who had a habit of storing cash around the house. The couple used the money - worth about $4,000 today - to keep their business afloat.

More than 40 years later, Nick, and his wife, Eva, own Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park, as well as the Top Secret attraction, Hotel Rome and other properties totaling 220 acres. The Laskaris family in recent months bought and remodeled six other hotels along with a campground, a $22 million investment that makes them the second-largest owner of Dells-area hotel rooms.

"With that $700, we are where we're at today," said Nick Laskaris, who keeps the small desk in his office. "That's what kept us here."

Laskaris was just 4 years old when his parents moved to the Dells. He and Eva operate businesses that stretch over a mile along Wisconsin Dells Parkway, the 5-mile strip of hotels, restaurants, waterparks and attractions in the state's largest tourism destination. The Laskaris family's businesses, which have about 1,000 employees during the peak season, provide a more affordable choice for vacationers than the large waterpark resorts that are popular in the Dells.

At Hotel Rome, a family of four staying during a late June weekend would pay an average nightly rate of $223. But at other Laskaris-owned hotels, daily rates on the Mt. Olympus website recently were much lower, ranging from $117 at Poseidon's Village to $155 at Mykonos Resort. Hotel guests get free daily passes to Mt. Olympus, which has waterparks and amusement parks, featuring roller coasters and go-carts, and is known for its 65-foot Trojan horse and other Greek mythology décor.

At Great Wolf Lodge waterpark resort, rates for the same June weekend started at $220. At Kalahari resort, the starting room rate was $260, according to online searches.

Great Wolf, Kalahari, Wilderness Territory and Chula Vista Resort are the largest resorts in the Dells area. Their indoor waterparks over the past 15 years have transformed the Dells into a full-year tourism destination, helping generate more than $1 billion in annual spending by visitors to Sauk County, according to the state Department of Tourism.

hun001555796 - Relax at the Sundara Inn & Spa in Wisconsin Dells ...

Even though I’d lived in the area almost half my life, I still needed directions to find Sundara Inn & Spa. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word for “beautiful.” Wisconsin Dells in Wisconsin has been a midwest family getaway staple for decades, but Sundara brings a new element to the Dells (as locals [...]

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