we are in madison for a conference this weekend and were unable to get the business rate at the hilton for all nights, so we decided to book at the doubletree for the first night in town. after reading the generally positive reviews and after a pleasant stay at a double tree in philadelphia, i figured it was a good choice to book at the madison doubletree. things started off nicely upon our arrival at the airport, where a courtesy shuttle picked us up outside of baggage claim. the driver was friendly and a short ride later we arrived at the hotel. my initial impression was not that good. one, the exterior lacks curb appeal and walking into the lobby area i was surprised at how tiny it was. as mentioned by another reviewer the desk is run by teenagers and their neutral attitudes lacked professionalism and warmth that i expect at a hotel or any place that is customer service oriented. the service was not rude, but not friendly either. i really don't ask for much, but i think a smile would be appropriate. the room was decent, but like the rest of the hotel was outdated and unappealing. the hotel recently underwent a $4mill renovation- as i was informed repeatedly during my lengthy phone hold by the front desk- and i was trying to imagine how horrible the hotel must have looked prior to the renovations considering how unattractive it was now. the hotel surprisingly had a bar which was striving for character with its red walls, but the color could not conceal the dive. the pool/hot tub area was also a joke. one positive was that we ran into some nice folks who happened to be lugging a cooler full of beer and they offered some cold beverages to us. strange to have a cooler with you but the gesture was appreciated. in the middle of the night we both woke up thirsty and was surprised that there was no spring water in the vending machines and had to settle with lemon flavored sparkling water. i thought spring water was pretty basic, but the fact that the hotel did not have even that somehow made sense to me. immediately surrounding the hotel were some really rundown homes. i don't know if they are used as housing for the students at the nearby campus. it didn't feel unsafe to walk around, just not a scenic walk to state street, the main hub of activity. the positives of madison doubletree- it is conveniently located to state street and other points of interest and the complimentary shuttle to bring you around town is a big plus. and of course the signature cookie, warm and chewy, was a nice welcome treat. however, i have to say with complete certainty that i would never return to this doubletree and would never recommend this place to anyone i like. i was surprised at the positive reviews. before leaving i realized that i had not taken any photos as i normally like to do to post as part of my trip advisor reviews, but this place is very uninspiring and no need to remember our stay here. fortunately, this morning we checked out and are now staying at the hilton for the rest of our stay in madison. the hilton is more grown up and we are happy to be here. i will be posting a review after we check out this weekend.

When my husband and I visit Madison, we stay at the Concourse. But when I am in town on business, you can bet I will stay at the Doubletree. I just spent five nights there and have no complaints. Most of the staff at the front desk is friendly and helpful. Room service is very courteous and prompt. The housekeeping staff is especially nice. Parking was convenient. About the room: The bed was comfortable, and by far the best hotel bed I've experienced. The bathroom was clean; the amenities from Neutrogena were above average and readily replenished. I liked the fact that I could order breakfast by just checking off a menu and hanging it over the door knob. One night, a charming lady from housekeeping brought me two delicious chocolates. No complaints. Another poster noted this seemed like a hotel that had been a lower-grade place in another life. Yes, it was, and that is evident in the lack of sound-proofing. I lived in this neighborhood as a student at UW-Madison and never considered the hotel as upmarket. But I give Hilton Doubletree high marks for giving it a facelift! I will return!

My wife and I spent the weekend in Madison and had a great experience staying at the Doubletree. The main reason we picked it was the location, close to the capitol and the university. Combine that with their airport shuttle, and getting around town was a breeze. The room was clean and spacious, the bathroom spotless. We didn't hear any noise from other rooms and slept well both nights. The staff was very friendly to us. The cookies definitely make a great first impression. The fitness room is above average with a weight machine, several cardio machines, and a couple adjustable dumbbells. The pool, however is in a bizarre location, as you have to go to the 3rd floor and then down two flights of stairs. We got a good rate on the room by booking online. The only places that were any cheaper were on the outskirts of town, and we were much happier being in the middle of things. We would definitely stay here again.

I have business in Madison for the next several months so I was conernced about this Hotel. Most of the reviews were good but there were a couple of bad ones. I wrote to Double Tree and never recieved a response. I've stayed at DT in the past and experienced the teenager problem. When I complained to my wife she said "oh yea, in high school band we always stayed at the DT and it was just like that" So I guess it's the luck of the draw. My luck this trip was no teenagers, helpful friendly staff that greeted me every time I walked by the desk, helped me with restaurant recommendations, called me a cab. I look forward to staying here again next month. If it's bad I'll let you all know.

A COOKIE? So what? Every single DoubleTree gives you a cookie. That's why they're known as DBL Tree cookies. But a dang cookie doesn't make up for crappy customer service. A bunch of rude teenage kids who don't care about work. And I would know...I just graduated from Pitt with a 4yr business degree. Here for meetings over 4 days my company put on. If I was forced to pay that much for these small rooms...well, I wouldn't have! The staff DOESN'T greet you at check in or when you pass by them, they have other things on their mind. Yet this property is all hyped up on how they want to do their best to score a perfect "10". Maybe a negative one but thats the only "10" they'll ever get. The issues? Day 1: needed copies made for a client to complete real estate transaction. Went to front desk to get copies. She told me I could do it myself in business center. Otherwise, they'd charge me. Went to cheap little copy/fax/printer and finally figured out how to use the stupid thing. She couldv'e copied a novel in the time it took me. Later that evening left the parking on lvl 2 to get groceries. When we came back with all the groceries and our hands full, the parking lvl door reader didn't read our cards. AT ALL. No lights whatsoever. So we had to hike all the way down the ramp and around to the front door. Coming through the lobby the bellmen/concierge just looks at us. No offer for assistance at all. I guess he doesn't notice $20 tippers when they're right in front of him with their arms full. The front desk said nothing either. Just that someone will look at it and re-keyed our room keys. Then the dummy asks if we had our keys by a cell phone. We said no. And what's the chances of both people having 2 different keys NOT work? I THINK IT'S YOUR PROBLEM DOOR we both said. Day 2: more copies needed. Copy machine in business center broke. Went to front desk. Another girl made the copies for me. Took her sweet time. When she cam back she tells me in a rude tone, we only make copies for people staying here...just so you know. WOW. I said well, I have two sleeping rooms..SUITES to be exact. AND we are holding meetings here from Thursday until Sunday. Then I grabbed my copies from her. She said nothing. Just a stare was all she gave me. How freakin rude! Then later that evening I went back down to send a fax. When I asked for a cover sheet it was like I was asking them for their first born child. They finally gave me one and told me I could fax it MYSELF in the business center. Figuring out how to fax from that stupid machine should be on Unsolved Mysteries (the TV show). Day 3 actually went ok. The hotel was pretty busy due to a hockey game going on in town. So we pretty much did our own thing and met with clients. I met with one client while a meeting was going on and took them to the lobby. It was just to complete paperwork really fast and get them on their merry way. The lobby isn't arranged with any tables or anything for that. So in the corner was an un-occupied concierge desk. We sat there. When I went to the front desk after MAYBE 3 minutes of paper shuffling with clients and asked for one copy, the rude short girl said I HAD to move because that desk is for our concierge not for working on! (SHOCKED I am.) So I got my copy and moved my clients to the restaurant around the corner of the lobby. Nice Badger restaurant inside the hotel. Of course the server gave us a rude look because we just wanted to use a table and weren't having anything. So I finished up with them really fast and apologized for the HOTEL'S lack of respect towards guests and RUDENESS! I DID! I APOLOGIZED! I don't work for this crap-hole. If so, I'd fire the whole front desk in a second. Anyhow, upon going back out there, the bellmen was playing on the internet at the "concierge" golden friggin desk. That was so important for him to be there that you rudely kick someone off of it thats doing a quick paperwork only transaction and is paying your meeting room fees? WOW. Day 4: So today they decide to not let ANY of our clients that came to their property to meet with us for business access into their parking structure. Even though we are Paying out the WAZOO for these meeting spaces, people attending are to fend for themselves. The front desk staff told us they had to keep them open for check-ins. ON A SUNDAY NONE-THE-LESS! What kind of BS is that?! And since there was the hockey stuff going on outside, our clients had to park on the street or wherever they could find. Some were 4-5 blocks away. The meeting staff is great to work with. Carrie is awesome. She's the banquet person. Koon is another banquet guy that is so overly happy to work with you and help that he almost makes up for one or two of the bad attitude people out front at the desk. The housekeeping staff was also pretty good. But they hog the elevators (only 2 for 7 floors) and aren't curteous enough to wait for the next one if your in there with luggage and what-not. Nice exercise facility on the 3rd floor. But the pool is an adventure in itself. You have to access it via the 3rd floor and take the stairs down to it. If you have a broken knee and are still trying to rehab it and using a hot tub really helps...this isn't the property for you at all! Overall: Horrible. Property was fine. Rooms very clean. Beds nice but pillows are kind of flat. Nice tv in room with good selection of channels. Walls ARE thin and windows are poor. So there are alot of noises. The staff for a hotel of this calliber charging this much is the worst part. The HILTON FAMILY chain should TAKE THIS ONE OFF THE LIST! I WILL NEVER STAY HERE AGAIN.zsaz