| rev:text
| - A much anticipated visit to what has been touted as one of Madison's Premier hotels, falls far short of expectation.
We had such high hopes for a special Birthday night celebration that included a stay at The Edgewater Hotel in Madison. When I think of world class hotels, a lot of things come to mind. Location, reputation, refined and stylish room accommodations, as well as the amenities the hotel provides. But above all of these other attributes, first and foremost, must be the level of hospitality that a location provides. How well are the guests treated, taken care of, and made to feel welcomed at the hotel... To me, this is the true measure of what makes or breaks a guests overall experience.
Our first encounter with staff was when we first arrived at the hotel, and were unsure of where to park. We drove into what we thought was the entrance of the hotel, and soon discovered that it was simply a turn around drive that served as a valet station or for dropping guests,off at the hotel lobby. As we drove to the end of the drive, a gentleman came out of the hotel entrance, and approached our car. We rolled down the window to ask him where we could find parking for the hotel? His response was, "what business do you have with us today?" while that may seem appropriate, the tone and manner in which it was delivered lacked any tone of welcome or true assistance. When we indicated that we were going to be guests in the hotel, he simply pointed us in the direction of where the ramp was and sent us on our way. (This gentleman had the demeanor & candor of "Thomas" from "Dowton Abey" )
Side Note: Parking and determining where to go, and how to maneuver this parking structure could be a review of it's own. There is a lot of room for improvement and safety concerns that should be addressed. One should be aware of their surroundings at all times, and at the very least should be able to clearly identify exits or a way out of the ramp with LARGE and CLEARLY marked signage. Not papers taped to the wall... nuff said. Or as my wife would say, "This is not suitable for anyone over 55" ;)
After blindly navigating our way from the parking structure, to the hotel... Our next interaction with a member or The Edgewater staff was at check in. While this gentleman was a tad bit friendlier, he was not overly welcoming, and seemed borderline suspicious as to why we were appearing at his desk... Or at least that was the impression that his attitude exuded. Upon hearing that we had a reservation, he quickly went into his role of front desk clerk, and checked us in. He proceeded to explain the multitude of added fee's and charges as well as the many spa services that were available to us (for an additional nominal fee) during our stay.
To The Edgwaters credit, the property itself has a lot going for it.
The location of the hotel is fantastic. Right on the shores of lake Mendota in the heart of beautiful downtown Madison Wisconsin. The new addition, aptly named the "Wisconsin Building", is remarkable. The interior decor is beautiful and well appointed.
Our room was bright, clean and well equipped. Our fist impression was again, very positive and from a visual perspective, everything looked very elegant.
If we were visiting a Museum, then I would have felt that this was a picture perfect experience...
However, we weren't visiting a museum... We were guests, staying in a very expensive hotel for a special occasion, but were not made to feel very special, or welcomed from our fist encounter with staff, and most interactions (or non-interaction) throughout our stay.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)