My Chicago Ragnar team (50 Ways to Lose a Runner aka @50Ways2Ragnar & @50Ways2Ragnarv2) stayed at Fairfield Inn & Suites Madison East for the 2013 Ragnar Relay Series. It was incredibly convenient as it is right off I-30/90/94, a slightly easier drive and definitely better located destination than Madison West (which isn't even in Madison).
It's situated in a heavily trafficked and traveled area but I slept like a baby, so you won't have to worry about too much noise. It's also just across the freeway from a large shopping center and many nearby restaurants and stores. You'll have no problem picking up any essential items you may have forgotten and grabbing a bite to eat even if it's late at night.
It's about a 20-30 minute drive from Downtown Madison, which is where we went for dinner and had to pass through to get to the Ragnar starting line. We really appreciated how close it was to the starting point because it allowed Van #1 to sleep in a little bit more than when we stayed at Madison East's sister hotel. It was also perfect for Van #2 because it let them sleep in a bit later because it was much closer to checkpoint #6. Everyone was a winner!
That they would have a pool and hot tub didn't even cross my mind, so I'll be sure to pack my swim suit if I ever return here.
Points taken away for the shower that wouldn't drain properly. However, bonus points for giving us free toiletries when we realized we had forgotten some.