HotelChatter

Killer View / Madison Hotel Reviews / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags

Room with a Killer View: Hilton Monona Terrace

We are suckers for a room with a killer view.  We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.

Today we present the view from Room 1131 at the Hilton Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisc. The photo was dropped into the HotelChatter Flicr Pool by member ajbelongia--thanks you!

Ajbelongia writes of the view, which you may at first realize is not so killer:

It's not often I want a room with a few of the roof of the adjoining building but in this case the roof is a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

And that makes it all the better.

Related Stories:
· Hotels in Madison [HotelChatter]

Hotel News / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags

Hotel Restaurant in Madison Spices Things Up

Where: 1 West Dayon Street [map], Madison, WI, United States, 53703

[Ed. Note: Every now and then we like to take some time out and recognize that the Midwest is not just a flyover zone between LA and NY. So if you ever get dropped in Madison, Wisconsin, stay calm. There are actually some things to do there, namely eating. Hotel Maven Courtney reports from her first-hand experience with the city.]

In a city that has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the country, you can bet on some good food to satisfy your taste buds while you study these strange Midwestern surroundings. This also means hotel restaurants have to compete harder to keep the food snobs interested.

Madison is an island in the sea of Wisconsin that is full of diversity, a place where haute cuisine sidles up cozily next to neighbors of a Lebanese cafe and a Vietnamese noodle shop. So the hotel restaurant scene has not really had it's time in the spotlight yet.

The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor's Club is trying to fix that though. They have recently hired a new executive chef, Charles Lazzareschi from San Francisco to head up their new Mediterranean-cuisine restaurant called Ovations.

Dishes include "prosciutto and manchego terrine, roasted rack of lamb with artichoke mashed potatoes and the chef's signature dish, confit of duck with porcini filled crepes and orange-raspberry reduction."

Charles' vision is to use only the freshest ingredients and feature those flavors in each dish," said Stephen Zanoni, General Manager of The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor's Club. "He believes food should have a flavor that people recognize and presents each dish in an artistic, natural way.

Seeing as the hotel is located right on the "Square", a social part of the city, this hotel restaurant stands a real chance at bringing in hungry hoards, even the ones still trying to figure out where the heck they are.

Related Stories:
· Madison Concourse Hotel Appoints Lazzareschi as New Executive Chef [Hospitality.Net]
· Concourse Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]

Hotels / → All Tags

Offensive Floral Prints at Edgewater

Where: 666 Wisconsin Avenue [map], Madison, WI, United States, 53703

Depsite this hotel's groovy history, the terribly gaudy and old-fashioned floral prints are ruining the fun at The Edgewater Hotel is downtown Madison.

The hotel sits right on Lake Monona and is within walking distance of Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace. This old school hotel puts you right in the action of Madtown, especially during the summer when the city comes alive. Plus it's a relatively cheap getaway with plenty of package deals.

But those damned floral printed duvets...oh yeah and on the carpet in the lobby...and the sofas! Thankfully, the great views of the lake outside and the ever-so-charming Pier Café and other adjoined restaurants offer some refuge from the floral prints. And besides, you can turn your duvet inside out if it comes down to that.

Further confirming our suspicions that no one likes these floral prints, the hotel web site offers no decent-sized pictures of the rooms for potential guests to look at.

Related Stories:
· Edgewater Hotel Reviews [Trip Advisor]
· Elvis on the Edgewater [HotelChatter]

Hotels / → All Tags

Elvis on the Edgewater

Where: 666 Wisconsin Ave. [map], Madison, WI, United States, 53701

Elvis fans often wind up in Las Vegas when they are trying to pay homage to the King's memory. But there's a hotel in Madison, Wisc. where Elvis and his roadies took over two floors during the mid-1970s. Edgewater Hotel sits on the shores of Lake Mendota. Apparently, there's even a wooden hanger from the hotel in the closet of the Lisa Marie airplane, now on display in Memphis.

So what was so special about this joint?

The Chicago Sun Times says the hotel excels at creating "a community within a borrowed city."

I catch the King's drift. I've been staying at the Edgewater for years. It is my favorite Midwest weekend destination....I prefer to head north for Wisconsin cheese, beer and a stroll back in time.

The hotel's history goes back even futher to the 1940s when a manager from the Drake Hotel in Chicago began working there. The Edgewater then stole (with permission) the Drake's logo, and basket-weaved crests on the cocktail glasses.

Other celebrity hotel guests include Bob Marley (two times), Sammy Davis Jr. (who tried to fish from his hotel room) Bob Dylan , Johnny Cash and Garbage's Shirley Manson lived there for nearly a year (she's a big Green Bay Packers fan.)

Room rates range from $119 for a standard room to $399 for a two-bed, two-bath, lakefront suite.

Related Stories:
· Hotel Maintains its Free Spirit [Chicago Sun-Times]
· Edgewater reviews [TripAdvisor]

Hotels / → All Tags

The Gobbler's Last Supper

Not long ago, we paid our respects to the Gobbler Motel, a swinging place just outside Madison, Wisconsin, that became a "70s era utopia, complete with clamshell phone booths, a rotating bar, king size water beds with built in televisions, shag carpeting, passion pits, hot tubs."

Sadly, we last heard the famous Gobbler Motel Restaurant (which looked like a giant turkey from the sky) was being used by some auto dealership for overflow parking, but that the restaurant was still standing.

But now we have an update! A far out lady friend let us know that

The Gobbler resturant is still standing. It is for sale however. It is not used for the car dealership's overflow parking but they do use it once in a while for a big car sales event.

The restaurant is not open for business, however, the Humane Society of Jefferson County is having a blow-out 60's bash at The Gobbler on Saturday night, March 4th at 7:00.

The theme of the event (our annual Fur Ball fund-raiser) is "Woofstock." Of course, The Gobbler was the perfect place for it. Flower Power Daisies, peace signs, lava lamps, black light posters and tie-dye abound.

Contact the HSJC at phone: 920.674.2048 for reservations and further information.

We highly encourage you to attend and mail us some photos so we can honor this groovy spot one last time.

Related Stories:
· The Mystery of the Gobbler Hotel [HotelChatter]
· Requiem for the Gobbler [Gobbler Motel]
· Gobbler Motel [Lileks]