Hotel Monona

The staff was awesome, especially front desk. Lots of good food/beverage recommendations. Loved the fresh-baked cookies before bed. The bed and pillows were the most comfortable we've had on our two week road trip. Also was upgraded to a King room without asking.

Nada. Well, except the persons next door to us who at 4:30am made multiple trips down the hall and let their door slam shut each time rather than gently closing it. But those were just fellow travelers being totally unaware!

Vincent on the front desk was awesome, very helpful. Breakfast selection was one of the best, far superior to other hotels in same price category. BREAFAST WAS GREAT! Great location close to downtown. I'd definitely stay here again. Great value. Helpful staff.

Friendly staff, from the front desk to the breakfast staff. The beds were very comfortable and clean. I liked that they had white sheets AND comforters. Smelled clean with faint bleach smell. I love that! Bathroom looked clean. I liked that they had a small dining table and 2 chairs in the room, as well as a refrigerator and microwave.

They had a great variety for breakfast, but it was very busy and you had to be quick to get food before it was gone, especially the hot food. Took awhile to restock food, even with three people working the breakfast. (Maybe an additional or larger cooking device is needed to increase cooking capacity.) The employees seemed to be doing the best they could. Challenging to get a table to sit at, very crowded. The pool area is very slippery. Textured floors would be safer.

We booked literally minutes before we checked in, as snow had started to become more of a driving burden than we'd hoped. The price was great (less than half of the Sheraton right next door to Hotel Monona), and the facility was excellent. Normally, when you stay at a local-brand hotel, you don't expect it to be anything but average. Hotel Monona was definitely a cut above the rest. Check-in was fast and easy (less than 2 minutes); the room was large, clean, and comfortable (a selection of pillows, large comfy beds, in-room iron/board and coffee maker, etc). Oh, and, the included breakfast was terrific. Normally, smaller hotels give you your basic set of "continental" offerings: dry cereal, white bread, a sweet roll, and some coffee/juice. Hotel Monona had waffle makers, ready for making a hot breakfast (we had the waffles, using their batter from a dispenser, and they were delicious). There were eggs and potatoes warming in a steam tray, and a variety of other items could be had, as well. By the way, they had complimentary cookies (seemingly fresh-baked, but I don't know for sure) at the counter for check-in. They, too, were delicious. Check-out was even quicker than check-in, and the parking lot had been plowed several times throughout the evening snowfall, so getting out and on our way in the morning was a breeze. We DID notice a large number of cars that were not there when we checked in ... presumably many others escaping the snow.

Honestly, everything was pretty terrific. The only issue we had was one of our key cards needed to be replaced, as it wasn't working. That took all of 30 seconds to rectify.

Excellent value and quality for the price. Very quiet, didn't hear another guest the entire time. Beds are comfortable, lots of good pillows, and the big TV was perfect for watching the amazing NCCA football playoffs. The breakfast was very clean and decent to get the day going. Has an indoor pool, and can use the next door Sheraton pool as well. The location is not a close walk to Madison downtown (maybe 2.5 miles), but only a short 5-minute drive (for parking, plug in State Street Brats and there is a public parking garage just before it). Other Monona restaurant and strip-center facilities nearby ... we really liked hanging out a the fire pit at the Monona Bank RiverRink, and the Off Broadway Drafthouse was a great find for a local pub with great food. Also perfect for us, a very nice forest and lakeside hike at the Turville Conservation Park is just behind the hotel on the other side of the RR tracks (cross the tracks, go right about 20-30 yards for the side trail leading to the main trail -- also can go out to the bike path along Nolen Dr, go right, and pick up the at the trailhead parking lot about a half mile down). When this has snow it looks like a good little cross-country ski park. Other Madison attractions: State Street for shops, restaurants and bars; U of Wisconsin Campus (check to see if seated Pres Lincoln stands up - haha); Picnic Point is a good hike, you can also reserve fire pits near the point; the free Henry Vilas Zoo is a good excursion to walk around, especially for young kids.

$50 "incidentals" credit card reserve charge in addition to what you pay online, supposed to be refunded within "3-5 days." Also, daily maid service was not offered. After day 3 we requested twice from the front desk, but no cleaning when we returned later in the day. Luckily in the evening a maid was on our floor and we asked her to "freshen" the room while we went to dinner.

The room and beds were good. Bed was comfortable. Breakfast was not really that great. Assortment was okay but not spectacular. Eggs were "different" sort of runny. Very disappointed that the hot tub was unavailable, something that should have been listed on the website. Misleading.... The girl checking us in was very good, she was able to put all the family on the same floor and close together.

The room and beds were good. Bed was comfortable. Breakfast was not really that great. Assortment was okay but not spectacular. Eggs were "different" sort of runny. Very disappointed that the hot tub was unavailable, something that should have been listed on the website. Misleading.... The girl checking us in was very good, she was able to put all the family on the same floor and close together.

Staff was great and very helpful.

I just don’t understand why the room doesn’t have a blackout curtain. We had one window with a thin curtain across. There was a very thick blackout curtain that did not extend across the window. It is apparently there to make the room appearance more appealing for photos. The building next to us are condos that have security lighting. This amazing spot light shines directly into the bedroom. If you are the unlucky side of the bed, it hits your eyes. I was that unlucky one that did not sleep well.

The room was spacious and very well lit, air conditioner worked well, bed was comfortable with nice linens. The breakfast was generous and standard quality - no surprises. The staff was very helpful and very pleasant.

There was a smell of cleaning fluid or air freshener in the room. I really don't like artificial scents - they're too strong and leave me with the sense that they're masking something so they make the room feel less clean. BUT - the room and the bathroom were very clean.

Breakfast was great. Included eggs, sausage, potatoes, a variety of bread and muffins. Excellent spread included in your stay. Always appreciated when traveling with children. Free coffee and cookies in the lobby. Loved the pool and spa. Facility was clean, water wasn't too cold and plenty of towels. Room was standard, but clean. I had a broken hair dryer in my bathroom, but it was promptly replaced. Location was less than 10 mins to downtown, and central to most of our sight seeing. Would stay here again. .

Housekeeping to freshen up would be great, but it's understandable that short visits don't include this. Anything we needed was provided right away.

Breakfast was easy to grab and go. Could use some more gluten free options. Some teenagers were causing trouble in the lobby when I arrived back at my room. The manager kicked them out and said he was going to call the cops.

Room had a faint smoke smell. Former smoking room? Confused if there was wi fi?