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In summer make reservations in advance, especially for weekends.
Tucked in a historic district just west of downtown, this striking bed-and-breakfast dates from 1910. Antique furnishings enhance the inn's original woodwork throughout. The lower level has a professional theater and master acting studio. Rooms are Victorian in style with wood accents. Downtown Milwaukee is less than a mile away.
The guest rooms and pub at this inn—within walking distance of Lake Michigan and downtown—evoke Ireland, from the architecture to the stained-glass windows to the wood-burning fireplace. The pub prepares such Gaelic specialties as Irish stew and shepherd's pie. The cheery rooms have queen-size four-poster beds. Irish music performances are hosted throughout the year.
This cozy, two-story motel is convenient to Wisconsin State Fair Park, restaurants, and shopping.
Not as opulent as some similarly priced downtown hotels, the Hampton is still a convenient location for business travelers and festival-goers. The minimalist approach reflects its mostly business clientele. It's close to the Midwest Airlines Center and downtown shopping.
This high-rise hotel has an 18-story open atrium and a revolving rooftop restaurant.
Inside a 100-year-old former warehouse just south of downtown Milwaukee, the Iron Horse Hotel breathes new life into this historic building with its unique design and welcoming approach. Motorcycle gear-shifts form the lobby chandeliers, and 1920s drafting chairs are lined up at the Branded bar. The hotel's breakfast room, The Library, provides cozy leather sofas, a book collection and long tables with industrial lamps that accompany breakfasts-to-order. Wait staff, although enthusiastic, is still finding its groove. In each loft-style room, Cream City brick walls were preserved and modern amenities, such as murals and tiled walk-in showers with rain showerheads, were added.
Milwaukee's grandest old hotel dates from 1893. The lobby's long, high barrel-vaulted ceiling puts you in a Victorian frame of mind from the moment you step in. Rooms are decorated with a Victorian flavor and some are odd shapes, reflecting the complications of pouring modern amenities into an old structure—but this actually adds to the charm. The Pfister is three blocks east of the lakefront. The penthouse-level bar Blu has a view of the skyline. An English tea is served in the fern-shaded dining room most afternoons.
