14 Best Hotels in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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.

Antiques fill this luxurious eight-story 1920 hotel, built on a bluff above Lake Michigan. The opulent grand lobby, with its stained-glass skylight over the reception area, somewhat overshadows the rooms, which are large and outfitted with antique-reproduction cherrywood furniture; some have impressive views of downtown Milwaukee.

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.

A bargain for the central location, the hotel is steps from the convention center and about five blocks from the lakefront.

Within blocks of all the restaurants, shopping, and sightseeing opportunities in downtown Milwaukee, this upscale hotel has a modern, glass-enclosed lobby and spare-but-comfortable guest rooms.

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.

Kids can splash and slide year-round in the hotel's indoor water park, open on weekends. The brick hotel, adjacent to Milwaukee's convention center, was built in 1929 and its lobby is quite elegant. Lakefront attractions are a few blocks away.

With its aqua and coral color scheme and innovatively designed suites, the Hotel Metro reinterprets the art deco look. A curved wall in each suite shelters the bed from the sitting area. The hotel is three blocks from the lakefront museums.

This high-rise hotel has an 18-story open atrium and a revolving rooftop restaurant.

In the center of the city's growing theater district near the river, this classy-yet-hip hotel brings downtown indoors. The lobby restaurant and bar are popular with theater-goers fresh from a show at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, which is just across the street. The InterContinental also boasts an art gallery and nightclub. Rooms are tastefully decorated with simple furniture and flat-panel TVs. You won't find this combination of luxury and location at a better price.

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.

This cream city brick Queen Anne–style B&B in the Concordia Historic District was built in 1886 as a private home for coal merchant David W. Howie and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It's filled with antiques and Persian carpets, stained-glass windows, elaborate woodwork, and an eclectic collection of art and decorative objects. Two rooms have fireplaces.

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.