YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A resort in northeast Ohio is preparing for the summer rush now that construction is complete on a major renovation project. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Grand Resort in Warren wrapped up a $30 million renovation last fall

  • It boosted the local economy by nearly $550 million

  • The Grand Resort combines golf courses, a spa, cigar lounge, bars, recreation areas and other amenities under one roof 

The Grand Resort in Warren was designed to help guests get away from it all and is making a name for itself as a staycation destination. 

It’s a hit with Jim Linton, who’s been driving down fairways for a fair amount of time. 

“Oh, I’ve been golfing probably 35 years,” he said. “I only play days that end in ‘y’ though.”

He’s even gotten his wife, Marian, into the game. 

“It gives me exercise,” she said. “The courses are beautiful, the landscaping’s beautiful and I enjoy the game.”

The couple makes the trip to stay at the Grand Resort several times a year.

“Kind of get away from the every day stuff,” he said. “At home, you can always find yard work and work to do.”

“I feel like we can get away, completely relax and pull away from work,” Marian said. “But, yet, an hour and 15 minutes, we’re here.”

Roz Platt has no trouble relaxing.

“I just had a 90-minute massage,” she said. 

She’s also a little surprised after the last time she was here.

“Maybe 40 years ago with my husband,” Platt said. “And I think it was a motel and a bubble for tennis.”

This visit, she spent some quality time with other family members, including her daughter Dana Biltstein. The women, all mothers, were celebrating a “mom’s getaway.”

“I mean, what could be bad?” Biltstein said. “We’re not with our children. We’re not with our husbands. We’ve been stuck with them for a year and a half. I mean, it’s like freedom.”

“We didn’t want to travel very far, so we said, ‘Well, let’s go',’” said Platt. “It’s an hour from Pittsburgh, an hour from where we live in Cleveland.”

Road trips like theirs are helping making tourism a top industry in Trumbull County, according to Trumbull County Tourism Bureau Executive Director Beth Carmichael. Pre-pandemic, tourism boosted the local economy by about $550 million, she said.

“We have the only luxury resort in north Ohio, and I might say even in Ohio,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of this type of product in any of Ohio.”

The Grand Resort combines golf courses, a spa, cigar lounge, bars, recreation areas and other amenities under one roof in the unlikely vacation destination of Warren, Ohio.

Mike Case, the director of account management for the Grand Resort, said the property has an even greater impact on the community.

“We employ over 700 people and we have people visiting here from all over the country, let alone Cleveland and Pittsburgh and all the different parts of Ohio,” he said. “So, it really is a big deal.”

A five-year, $30 million renovation and expansion project wrapped at the resort last fall. 

“Not too many resorts have opened in the last 50 years or so, and we feel like we’re about the only one,” said Case. “And people around this area have really gravitated toward it.”

People like the Linton, who like to go “green," visiting golf greens. 

“I do a lot of praying,” joked Jim Linton, as he described his putting strategy. “Just try to get the speed right.”

The Grand Resort is also a popular wedding destination in the area, with almost all weekends this summer already booked. 

There’s plenty of space for smaller groups and individual guests. Packages are available at TheGrandResort.com.