3 Best Hotels in Madison, Wisconsin

Across the street from Camp Randall Stadium, where the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers football team hosts home games, Hotel RED is also a quick walk to downtown Madison. Each room is decked out in pops of red and yellow—plus modern art and red-glass sinks—against an urban-chic gray-and-white palette. Sleek kitchenettes add to the convenience, and some rooms have a balcony. Ingredients used to craft small plates at The Wise, its ground-floor bistro, represent a tour of 45 Wisconsin farms. During the warmer months an outdoor patio coaxes passers-by with couches and roving bartenders.

As Madison's most elegant hotel—a half-block off State Street and one block from Capitol Square—the Concourse attracts important public figures. Rooms are awash in neutral, classy hues and feature Bath & Body Works toiletries, a 37-inch flat-screen television, and the hotel's own Dayton Street Comfort Collection bed linens. Dayton Street Grille sources ingredients from Wisconsin's farms and dairies, serving everything from fried cheese curds to braised pheasant. The 100 rooms on the Governor's Club executive level include access to a private lounge serving complimentary breakfast and evening cocktails.

Directly across the street from Alliant Energy Center, Dane County Coliseum and Expo Center, and on the Capital City Trail bike path, this hotel also affords breathtaking views of Lake Monona and the downtown Madison's skyline. Each room features a flat-screen television and a one-cup coffeemaker paired with Starbucks coffee, and the signature Sheraton Sweet Sleeper. No-cost courtesy shuttles depart for six spots in downtown Madison daily every half hour between 8 am and 11 pm. Foods inspired by the region are served at Heartland Grill, Sheraton Madison Hotel's on-site restaurant.