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.

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.

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 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.

The breakfast exceeded my expectations. And it was great that it started at 6 even on the weekends.

I was not expecting the construction so was very surprised by that. And the wireless did not have a password so I was unable to use it (no password = not secure). Also not expecting to have such limited food nearby / Sheraton was close but service hours were less than desired.

The bedroom was nice and met all of our needs. The staff was amazing and made sure to get us an accommodations we needed! Everyone was super friendly.

The parking situation could have been better, though that was due to construction, so not a long-term thing. The hot tub was fine, but a bit dirty, and the ice machine on floor 3 was broken, but we had no major issues!

Breakfast was amazing and the location to our event was perfect. Hotel was very clean. room was large and comfortable

there was one day where they didn't service the room and said we had requested no service, which was strange. the hot tub was broken so sad - a long soak after a busy day is wonderful. they did offer the hotel next door but it was snowing and who wants to be all wet in the snow! The pillows offered no support.

The hotel staff were very friendly, professional, and accommodating when my plans changed and needed make other arrangements. The overall experience was a breath of fresh air!

That I wasn't able to stay longer...