While Welk’s vision was for a respite for fans, Welk Resort San Diego these days also caters to a diverse group of multigenerational vacationers. Today you can still see live theater and musical acts in the property’s Welk Theater and take a photo with Welk’s statue near the resort’s downtown village of restaurants and shops. When he bought the Welk Resort San Diego property in 1964, (then a small mobile home resort) he transformed it into a mecca for fans of the Lawrence Welk show. Lawrence Welk, it turns out, was an avid swimmer and a very good golfer. The Chief Fun Officer goes to amusement-park and attraction-industry expos and brings back innovations such as the goggles that had me swimming with sea creatures through coral reefs and sunken ships. “About 10 or 12 years ago,” says Fredricks, “we hired a Chief Fun Officer … the thought being that we could really create a massive amount of innovation and just test different ideas and activities.” Each outdoor activity has been a huge hit and the brainchild of the company’s CFO (“Chief Fun Officer”).
Over the course of two days, I tested several of Welk Resort San Diego’s amenities, including archery and ax throwing, electric bike riding on the undulating cart paths along two 18-hole championship golf courses and a wild virtual-reality experience that turned a pool into the underwater city of Atlantis.
The flagship property, Lawrence Welk’s first purchase, blends a community of red-roofed villas beautifully into 450 acres of lush canyon surrounded by mountains outside the city of Escondido in northern San Diego County. “My grandfather was very much somebody who cared about whether consumers were getting value for whatever product was being offered,” says Jon Fredricks, Welk Resorts’ president and CEO. Happy Wanderer: Yosemite’s ‘shoulder season’ a great time to visit Happy Wanderer: After pandemic, ‘there is fun to be done’ in Calistoga It turns out the folksy entertainer best known for champagne music was pretty perceptive about customer service.
From electric bike rides in the country to virtual-reality goggles in the pool, resorts are reinventing what guests can do outside.Īn industry leader in outdoor adventures is a group of properties started by famed bandleader Lawrence Welk. If there’s a silver lining to COVID-19 restrictions, it’s that the hospitality industry has found new ways to enjoy the outdoors. Happy Wanderer: Welk Resort San Diego offers innovative fun Close Menu