CITY LIFE
Feedback
Found a problem? Have a suggestion?
Please, let us know!
77 Square is the definitive arts, culture and entertainment guide for Madison, Wis., and the surrounding area.
A new wave of hip, tech-savvy hotels is coming to Madison
view 7 images :: enlarge
Rooms outfitted with flowery bedspreads, cheesy pastel art and clunky TVs that haven't been state-of-the-art since the Reagan administration. Too often, that's what visitors to Madison encounter when they check into hotel rooms all over the city.
That's likely to change in the next year or so, with a handful of hotels now in development here aimed at meeting the demands of a new generation of design-conscious, tech-savvy travelers.
Construction is either underway or imminent for three of the projects, and a fourth could be under construction next spring.
Downtown, the Alexander Company's Capitol West will include a Hyatt Place hotel, a smaller, more hip version of the larger chain. Hilldale will welcome Hotel Indigo, a complement to the upscale renovation of the mall.
A new lakefront Aloft Hotel -- part of the Starwood chain -- is being proposed as part of a restaurant/hotel development on John Nolen Drive, and local architect Bob Sieger's long-delayed hotel on the corner of Monroe and Regent streets has been given a green light by the city.
For some Madison-area business travelers, the changes can't come soon enough. For a metropolitan area with 8,000 hotel rooms, many say there aren't enough that are fully Internet-accessible, and the pickings are slim for travelers who are looking for a young, urban vibe.
All of the planned hotels are boutique-style establishments that follow trends first spotted in big cities like San Francisco and Seattle, and are now making their way to smaller markets like Madison, Green Bay and Milwaukee. Each of the new hotels will offer rooms in a mid-price range, at about $100 through $250 a night.
Each hotel will feature wireless Internet access, and will focus on upscale amenities like large flat-screen TVs in every room, spa-like bathrooms with walk-in showers, common spaces suited to meeting, mingling and working on a laptop, and 24-hour fitness centers. Design-wise, the hotels are striving for a decidedly modern, urban feel that will include lots of natural light, vibrant colors and European-inspired furniture.
That means there won't be a faux cherry entertainment center or spindly flowered armchair in sight. And don't expect a large, full-service restaurant as an integral part of the hotel, either. The new hotels provide 24-hour healthy snacks to go, but encourage their guests to get out and experience the city -- by sampling local restaurants.
Bill Winchester, creative director at Lindsay Stone and Briggs, a local advertising agency, believes Madison's current hotel scene reflects poorly on the city's ambitions as a hotbed of innovative thinking.
"As downtown business hotels go, Madison doesn't have much to recommend," Winchester said bluntly.
He called the Hilton, Madison's newest downtown hotel, which opened in 2000, "OK." But he was critical of Madison's other large downtown hotels, saying they appear dated or worn. He particularly cited the Concourse, the Inn on the Park and the Edgewater as downtown hotels that have been around for decades, and look it.
Of those downtown hotels, only the Concourse offers free wireless Internet access throughout the hotel. The Hilton has wireless access, but charges its guests $9.95 for every 24 hours of use. The Inn on the Park and Edgewater offer free wireless only in their lobbies; if they want to hook up to the Internet from their rooms, guests have to use network cables (which the hotels do provide).
"Sophisticated travelers these days have pretty high expectations," he said.
As a regular traveler to both coasts, and other large cities from Atlanta to Minneapolis, Winchester said there is a whole new genre of boutique-style hotels that have a different look and feel than lodging currently available in Madison. It presents an image problem when his agency is trying to recruit creative new employees, or put up clients for an overnight stay.
"I've always thought a truly swank small hotel that's also a hip meeting place would do very well in Madison," he said. He said he wasn't sure if any of the new projects, which are aimed at a more mid-range price point, would fill the gap he is describing in the local market, "but they are likely to help."
Location, location, location
While Winchester was generally dismissive of current hotel options, Rob Sax, president of advertising and design firm Planet Propaganda, said his company's out-of-town clients were looking primarily for a convenient, comfortable place to stay, and easy access to the agency, located just a few blocks off the Square on Williamson Street.
Sax said he'd like to see more rooms downtown, but had heard few complaints from clients about their accommodations. He added that several of Planet's clients particularly liked staying at the the Ruby Marie, a small Wilson Street hotel that is cozy, filled with antiques, offers free wireless access, and, most importantly, just across the street from Planet offices.
"For the most part, it's just about location," Sax said. "When our clients come in, they have a really packed schedule and they are looking for something comfortable. But they do want to be able to get online to do business."
The new hotels are aimed at younger generation of business travelers, much like those employed by Epic Systems, Dane County's medical software giant. As they travel around the country, convenience and online access are critical elements for hotel lodgings, according to Brandon Cruse, a 26-year-old spokesman for Epic. The company schedules about 28,000 employee trips every year.
"Depending on when you get in (when you're traveling), you may want to relax in bed and still get some work done, so wireless access in the hotel rooms is important," he said.
He also noted that Epic travelers like having the option of food available 24 hours a day, and, if they're traveling in a group, want to be able to relax or work in hotel public spaces with their laptops.
As for business travelers coming to Epic from other parts of the country, Cruse said many of them look for hotels that have easy access to Madison's downtown culture and nightlife, or to the growing developments in the Hilldale area.
A downtown destination
Although people like Winchester and Cruse describe the need for a new kind of hotel experience, Deb Archer of the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau said she believes Madison's biggest problem with hotel rooms is the lack of a large, 500-room convention hotel with meeting space downtown, and in close proximity to Monona Terrace convention facilities.
According to figures from her group, there are about 8,000 hotel rooms in Dane County, but the lack of another large downtown hotel serving Monona Terrace has cost the area many bookings from national organizations looking for meeting space. The GMCVB estimates losses of over $50 million dollars in potential direct spending revenue from January 2001 to June of 2008.
"Our biggest concern is in getting an appropriately-sized new hotel downtown," she said.
Dan Peterson, communications director for the Alexander Company, the developer for the mixed-use Capitol West project on West Washington Avenue near the Square, said including a hotel like the Hyatt Place will be valuable to downtown condo dwellers and local businesses -- both for what it provides, and what it doesn't provide.
The 148 rooms at Hyatt Place, part of the Capitol West project and across the street from Metropolitan Place condominiums, will be a convenient place for out-of-town guests for condo owners, as well as for travelers who do business with the state or downtown Madison firms, Peterson said.
With no hotel ballroom, or full-service restaurant, the Hyatt Place encourages its guests to get out and interact with the city.
"This isn't like a resort hotel where guests just hole up inside. That makes it helpful to downtown retail businesses, including restaurants," he said.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said it was the current economy's softening market for condominiums that prompted the inclusion of the new Hyatt Place at Capitol West and the Hotel Indigo at Hilldale, but noted it was a serendipitous change in plan for both developments, and for the city.
"These hotels provide space for condo owners' families when they come to visit. We've found many of (the condo owners) are empty nesters who are downsizing from their homes, and this gives them overflow space. It's actually an improvement in the design at both projects," he said.
Not everyone is thrilled with all aspects of the Hyatt Place development, however, especially concessions the city made to the hotel regarding the broad, public setbacks along West Washington Avenue. The hotel was adamant that it required some of that space for a dropoff area in front of the hotel.
"We lost that round, and now we'll have to wait and see how it works out," said Peter Ostlind, president of the Bassett Neighborhood Association.
"Overall, I think many neighborhood residents welcomed the idea of a hotel on the site, but the loss of the setback is a blow," he added.
A hotel for a hipper Hilldale
When the Hotel Indigo, with 125 rooms, is complete in the summer of 2009, guests will be able to park their cars and find plenty of walkable stuff to do in the redeveloped mall and its surrounding area, according to Adam Fink, local spokesman for Joseph Freed and Associates, which is in charge of the near west side project.
Fink said the mix of shopping, entertainment at Sundance theater and dining options should appeal to hotel guests who don't want to drive. The hotel should attract those who do business with the nearby University Research Park, area hospitals or the UW.
"This is not a hotel chain where every location is the same. The design allows us to respond to local interests and concerns," Fink said.
For example, construction in Madison is placing a premium on using recycled materials, so making the Hotel Indigo energy-efficient, and using plenty of recycled materials in its construction, is a priority.
According to Fink, the Hotel Indigo chain, part of the InterContinental lodging empire that includes the Holiday Inn, InterContinental Hotels and Crowne Plaza chains, emphasizes a sense of constant change and renewal, with things like bedding, art on the walls and area rugs changing on a seasonal basis. There are currently about 15 Hotel Indigos open both in bigger markets like Chicago and Boston and in smaller cities like Columbus, Ohio. In addition, there are another 60 projects in the pipeline.
Although each hotel develops its own character, Fink said, common amenities include healthy options for grab-and-go food, spa-style showers, fitness centers, flat-screen TVs and wireless Internet access.
"It's luxurious, but fun," he said. The prices are likely to average from about $105 to $150 per night. The hotel, he added, is pet-friendly.
A lofty plan for lakeside lodging
Jay Supple, a hotel and restaurant developer from the Oshkosh area, is hoping to break ground on an Aloft Hotel next spring. It's part of a development on a four-acre site on the shores of Lake Monona that would include a separate restaurant, Fratellos on the Waterfront, part of a chain of restaurants the Supple group created to take advantage of water sites.
Like the Indigo, the Aloft is part of a large corporation. Starwood brands include the high-end W Hotels, Sheratons and Westins, among others. Like the Indigo and Hyatt Place, it targets young travelers who embrace technology and like modern design, and who shop at places like Target, West Elm and IKEA.
"I think people will come in and feel this kind of young, vibrant energy," Supple said. He even said there would be "an aroma" that is part of the Aloft experience. Other amenities, he said, include check-in kiosks in the lobby, a hip bar area and guest rooms with nine-foot loft-style ceilings and plush, platform beds.
"There will be plug-and-play for PDAs, MP3s, and laptops, all linked up with flat-screen TVs in the rooms," he said.
Putting Badger fans in the action
Architect Bob Sieger is the local player in the scramble to bring the new generation of hotels to the Madison area, and has spent several years trying to shepherd his 48-room project at the corner of Monroe and Regent Streets through the Madison planning process.
Concerns about noise and traffic from neighbors have delayed the project for years, but Sieger now has approvals in hand and anticipates demolition of the current building on the site to begin later this month.
Sieger said he envisions the hotel as a place to stay for Badger sports fans, and visitors to the university.
"There will be lots of glass, and architectural concrete, with huge balconies, for a hotel. It won't look like other hotels in the area. I'm betting on Madison being ready for something new," he said.
And if Madison isn't ready to fully embrace the new revolution in hip hotels, the city may risk getting upstaged by other small cities in the region that are quicker on the draw. Green Bay, for example, may not be the first city that comes to mind when one thinks of a "creative class" destination.
But Titletown USA has its own Aloft Hotel already under construction.