This is a must, at least, walk thru if not stay while visiting Galena. Historical pictures on the walls on level one, also some in basement. They also have a room on level 1 that continually plays a DVD about the history of Galena, and also the De Soto Hotel. I watch it each Galena trip and always learn something. 3 restaurants, one bar. A hotel since 1855. Long long ago, it used to be 5 stories. Two have been removed and it is now 3. They also have a parking garage for guests. read more

DeSoto House Hotel - Room on floor 1 where the DVD about Galena history is shown in the De Soto Hotel - Hotels Near Me - Galena, Illinois

Went with the intention to have dinner on New Year's Eve. The outside looks amazing and also the lobby. The restaurant not so much. Had more of a pub feel , with loud music and sticky tables. After looking at the menu, decided to go somewhere else. Very slim pickings and a bit on the pricy side. Had a drink and left. read more

See all

What a beautiful space for lunch! The food was great! I would totally come back again! read more

DeSoto House Hotel - Hotels Near Me - Galena, Illinois

Hands down one of the coolest old hotels I have ever been inside. We ate at the tavern attached to the hotel but you have to go into the hotel to use the restroom. It is absolutely gorgeous! There's history all around you, and I definitely will be coming back to actually stay overnight. Such a lovely spot. read more

See all

We have stayed here before as well as dined when visiting Galena and had great service, accommodations and food. We were excited to take our French exchange daughter here for her first Thanksgiving dinner. We arrived at our reservation time to find a sea of people in total chaos! The food was located in a major traffic pattern where everyone in the place passed by. It was so overbooked and out of control we left and went back to Eagle Ridge, where we were staying and enjoyed a beautiful, delicious dinner by the fireplace with a lovely, enjoyable group of guests rather than the over stressed crowd at the DeSoto House. Not returning here. Management did not handle this well at all. Could have been done better. read more

From the time we checked in, it was a wonderful experience. All the staff were helpful. We parked our car in their garage, dropped our luggage off and hit the shops. It is perfectly located in the heart of the shopping center, so when we ran out of steam, we headed back to the hotel for a rest. We like to experience historic hotels, and although our room was a little small, the hotel was updated and charming; it did not have that old building "funky" smell that we have experienced in other places. We highly recommend Generals Restaurant and our breakfast was wonderful as well. My only recommendation would be to add a mini fridge to the room. read more

Located on main street in the heart of Galena's shopping district is a historic hotel from the late 1800's and renovated to provide all the updated amenities, including comfortable beds and working thermostats. The bathroom did need some TLC as we observed either dirty or really worn bathroom floor tile. The shower was older but still worked OK. More attention to detail like providing refreshed toiletries would have increased our satisfaction, but they did provide fresh bottles of water every night and 2 chocolates on the first night. The hotel was beautifully decorated for Christmas, and the staff was friendly and helpful. read more

See all

Ate lunch downstairs today. The food was great but the server we had needs to work on being friendly and communicating with customers.

Stayed there once and that was enough for my husband and I. It may be historical but come on it needs so much redecorating and deep cleaning. We had a room which faced the court yard inside which was being used for a wedding. Never again... food is horrible too. read more

TL;DR: Clean, friendly staff, but dated feel We stayed here for a few nights when we went to Chestnut Mountain to ski. The hotel has rich history and the winter rates were very affordable. There is also onsite parking and elevators, which is nice. Staff was extremely friendly throughout our visit. For the most part, I liked the place, but do think it's looking a bit worn and dated in some areas. I realize that it's a historical hotel, but I think it can use some refreshed carpets, new wallpaper (or just paint), updated bathrooms and fixtures. Basically it needs a spruce up while maintaining its historical charm. I will say the heavy focus on the floral aesthetic felt a bit more grandma than historical. The layout of our room was a little strange and very fixable. The position of the TV didn't really allow from watching other than from the single arm chair. The handle on the shower wasn't original, which is important because it didn't like up with the backplate making it real easy to confuse hot and cold. While at the hotel, we dined at the Green Street Tavern and Courtyard Restaurant in the hotel. Both were fine, but the caliber of food at Green Street seemed a bit higher. They do a Sunday Brunch that sounded quite nice, but it didn't overlap with our stay. Overall, we found it an affordable, convenient option right in the middle of downtown Galena. If you want more modern amenities or are expecting a boutique feel, it might fall short. read more

They charge people a smoking fee whether you smoke in the rooms or not. I tried to dispute the mistake but they told me they have pictures but wouldn't send me them. read more

The food is great and it goes along with the history of the building. Andy is a great chef. read more

DeSoto House Hotel - Hotels Near Me - Galena, Illinois

See all

Great place! Cool history! Great location to downtown access. Great breakfast choices. Can't wait to go back!

If you are looking for a unique and historical experience when visiting Galena, you owe it to yourself to stay at the De Soto at least once. It is a vintage hotel right in the middle of old school Galena that feels quite comfortable, with free covered parking, comfortable rooms, and very friendly staff. It does fall a little short on accessibility, and I detail that below. We had an interior king room on the second floor and were very happy with it. The room was large with a desk, an upholstered bench, and an accent chair. The king bed was on the firm side but still very comfortable. The air conditioning worked perfectly and we had that rare Goldilocks experience - the temp was always just right! The bathrooms are no frills, with basic tubs and small, circular toilets. The hotel has two bars and a restaurant. We drank at both bars - the bourbon game is strong - at had breakfast at the restaurant. Breakfast was good and we would eat dinner there, too. Parking is free and is attached directly to the hotel. Its a great perk and makes exploring downtown Galena hassle free. I parked on the ground floor, but it looks like the ramp (only one) to the higher floors is one-way only, so be on the lookout for other cars. Ghosts! Apparently there are a lot of them here, especially if you stay on the third floor. Others have heard people partying on the non-existent floor above (it was razed due to disrepair many decades ago). Apparently apparitions appear in the basement, too, and the restaurant has busted out a wall to commemorate a popular location. Architecturally, the hallways to the rooms have a delightfully sinister curve, so that you never see all the way to the end. At any time you may turn a corner and see a ghost - Emily Dickenson, the Shining Twins - the green guy from Ghostbusters - who can say? We had no such encounters, but hoo-boy were our dreams wild those three nights! Make of it what you will. Accessibility: Being an old hotel, there are limitations. The good: There is elevator access to all floors, and you can enter the hotel without using stairs through the attached parking garage. There are two spaces reserved for people with disabilities on the first floor of the garage. The bad: If you use a wheelchair, you won't be able to get into the bathrooms in the rooms. The stalls in the public restrooms are also not big enough to accommodate a wheelchair (at least, that is the case for the men's rooms). read more

Lovely old hotel in downtown Galena. Due to its age, it's not the quietest hotel. You can hear the rooms on either side of you, people moving upstairs, and people talking. It's not a terrible noise level, but I did miss my white noise machine. The rooms are small. They're clean but again, it's an old building so things have an age appropriate patina. The bathrooms are decent. The wall paper scheme is something else. The flowers are so large on the walls it's almost suffocating given the pattern of the carpet. The beds are super hard, which we like, but others may be less inclined. I love that it's the many smaller pillow setup. I feel like I get more flexibility. There is an AC and after running it for an entire day the room was comfortable, but it took that long. It can be confusing to navigate the hotel. There are elevators but also many stair cases. There are three entrances, but only one takes you to the front desk. It also takes you to the Green Street Pub and their hostess stand. Nice parking garage. DO NOT PARK ON THE STREET OVERNIGHT! No matter what the sign says you will get a $15 ticket. Everyone was super nice. The pub was really great, I'll review it separate. One thing that was odd is that the landlines went down on Friday and remained down the entire day. The front desk said it's something that happens on busy weekends and that it wasn't localized to the DeSoto. Given the spotty wi-fi/data service in the area, I just thought I'd alert people to the fact that the phones may go down. read more

the room was very small. no fridge, no microwave. wallpaper falling off the wall. Paper thin walls, we heard pepole talking in next room. For what we paid we thought it would be a nice room but that was not the case. disappointing read more

Wow such bad customer service. Diane intentionally mislead us when it came for the "Murder and Mayhem" show. We booked 6 tickets and when we came there was no seating for all of us together. When we asked for a refund or any solutions, we received none. We spoke to Diane many times prior to the show event and she never provided any details on "General Admissions" or "first come first serve." There is no mention of this on their website either. Too bad so sad was Diane response. That is the customer's fault! Night of the show or the "busiest night of the year," Diane was nowhere to be found. She had taken the night off (surprise surprise), and left her staff there to handle this customer issue. The staff had no clue how to handle the situation. They were poorly prepared to handle a customer facing situation. Just threw their hands in the air because the incompetent Diane was not there. Make it make sense, please! This is how you run your business? Pathetic! Do yourself and your family a favor and do not support this business! read more

IFC you are a smoker...PLEASE heed the "NO SMOKING" warning! Got caught in a cement outside zstairwell by young Barney Fife desk attendant and got a $200 dollar fine...needless to say we will NEVER go back, and we were a repeat customer at both the Hotel and Green Street Tavern. read more

DeSoto House Hotel - We have had some good times at Green Street Tavern but NO more... - Hotels Near Me - Galena, Illinois

See all

My husband and I decided to visit Galena because I had heard so many good thing about the area. The town is so so cute with many unique stores. We decided to stay at the Desoto House since it was in walking distance to the numerous stores, restaurants, Grant Park, coffee shop and different tours. Both the town and the hotel did not disappoint! We have traveled many places and this is one of our new favorites! We will be back to Galena again and will definitely be staying at the Desoto House! We even had a possible ghostly encounter. read more

Awful customer service. We bought tickets for NYE, and we sat in a hallway for $100! in a hallway!!! They served meatballs on the dance floor, and the bar is on the other side of the hotel, while a man with his basement karaoke machine attempted to sing Frank Sinatra. We couldn't see the awful singer unless we walked down a hall! They put a table in the hall and charged me!!! Worst event I have ever been to, and worst customer service. I've tried calling and emailing to get a refund, but no one responds. DO NOT GO HERE. read more

Clean. Keeps the old ambiance. Walk around all the floors they are so unique. Front staff so friendly and attentive. Love you can park and walk downtown and not drive. No lady in black sightings yet, but still have one more night . read more

Great place to eat while in Galena. I was a little disappointed when I first saw the salmon burger. I was expecting a fillet not a burger style patty. I was surprisingly very delicious. It came with waffle styled sweet potato fries. The Raspberry Cosmopolitan was very delicious too. I would highly recommend this place. read more

DeSoto House Hotel - Raspberry Cosmopolitan - Hotels Near Me - Galena, Illinois

See all

We had the best time, even though it was only 1 night. The rooms the employees the restaurant were great. Definitely coming back read more

DeSoto House Hotel - Outside - Hotels Near Me - Galena, Illinois

See all

Had a wonderful time at this beautiful hotel. The staff was cordial and attentive. We were able to enjoy many activities within walking distance. Breakfast and dinners in the dining rooms were delicious. Our dinner waiter Jason was terrific. I encourage a Ghost tour (front desk will advise). I highly recommend this hotel. read more

See all

Hopefully when you are celebrating something it all goes well. With COVID we didn't celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. So now two years later we decided to get out to celebrate our anniversary and my wife's birthday. The DeSoto house and Galena did not disappoint us. Yes, it was a three hour drive after work on a Friday, but it was great. After the drive we had missed the Generals dinner, but we had a great dinner in the bar. It was late. Intimate, with a wonderful server. She gave us time, no rush, to order our dinner and drinks. When you stay at the hotel then you don't have to worry about anything else. First thing, the food was delicious and of course the drinks were too. The next morning our package provided brunch it was great too. We came back after a busy day of strolling the shops of Galena for dinner in the restaurant. We were worried about how busy they might be, so we made reservations. It wasn't crowded, just wonderful. We read more

See all

Old Historical Hotel Hotel was built in 1855 and had five floors later the top two floors were removed. Location is a big plus along with the free parking garage. Checkin was efficient and staff friendly. Although they did run the full room charge at this time. Our room was on the third floor overlooking the main downtown area and was very pleasant. The room was good size, clean, quiet and bed comfortable. Gave us regular keys for the door so had to be careful not to lose them. Bathroom wallpaper was peeling. Had to run the water for at least 10 minutes to get hot water. Had old style bed spread so wasn't cleaned regularly, we put it on the table. Only one electrical outlet for plugging things in. No safe, refrigerator, microwave or coffee maker. WiFi was free but not secure and very slow/spotty. We will stay here again, location and free parking garage a plus. Comfortable clean room, friendly staff. read more

See all

Location was perfect. Right on Main Street. Free parking, which is amazing here. Staff were great. From some of the reviews, I was expecting an old miserable room; however, we were very comfortable in large, lovely room, clean, clean, clean. True the bathroom had a bit of wallpaper behind sink that needed to be repaired, but we were very happy here. It was much more comfortable than the last "modern" hotel we stayed in, and cleaner. read more

The only real quality of this hotel is its location. Nearly perfect in that it sits directly on the Main Street with everything to the left or right. The front staff was acceptably good. The hotel is old. I don't mean the building, it is understandably old. That's good. The rooms, wallpaper, towels, carpets, art, tv, everything is old. Not charming old, just worn out and sad feeling old. One of the elevators was out of service and the other was incredibly slow. The breakfast venue offered wretchedly bad food. If 1980 was the last time you redecorated it might be worth the effort and expense. Price is high considering the quality, but I guess the location makes it worth it? It does, however, include free parking. Sadly I just wanted to leave. read more

As we entered the hotel I felt I was taking a step back in time in a modernized building. The building is well taken care of and has a multitude of shops and restaurants all around the complex. The staff at the front desk were extremely helpful. The building itself has a fantastic mixture of natural and artificial lighting. If you are visiting Galena you need to stop in one of the original hotels for sightseeing, a meal or for sleeping. read more

See all

Last night our AC wouldn't go below 75 degrees. I called downstairs- John the clerk said he could put us in another room but it would be hotter. So we opted to stay in our room and he brought us a fan. When checking out we told the clerk of our experience. She said they switched to a Solar AC system that only runs when you are in the room. This really should be disclosed to your guests upon booking,. While I am renting the room I - the paying customer should have control over the AC-but here the hotel controls it and that is not right at all!!In the hot Summer months we enjoy coming back into a room that is chilled with AC not a hot hotel room. We also enjoy sleeping in a chilled room. Sadly, we won't return. You have lost a longtime customer. I find it amazing that nobody from DeSoto House has reached out to us, or even apologized here on Yelp. For being a Historic Hotel, one would think it would like to preserve its customer base and loyalty, my review has gone unnoticed. What an embarrassment to what we thought of as an upscale hotel in Galena. Your business will slowly decline- people do read what others have to say- unlike you the inexperienced management read more

Was visiting Galena for the Easter weekend and this was my first time there. Reserved an early dinner for Saturday night at desoto in their Generals dining room which is the lower level. Couple of employees that helped us make the reservation suggested walleye for dinner We ordered pretzel covered walleye and a smashed red potatoes and veggies as sides. Also ordered flatbread as appetizer. They also served fresh bread and butter to the table. Me and my friend shared all the food and we still had plenty. Everything was so good and the fresh bread was sooo good and we requested another serving. Service was excellent and Jaiden was our server and he was very attentive and professional. Thanks Jaiden There was also a live piano and the piano player was playing all mellow and beautiful tunes and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommend this place !! read more

Great stop to take a moment to warm up and get a bite to eat. Andrew made the best drinks! read more

DeSoto House Hotel - Cocktails - Hotels Near Me - Galena, Illinois

See all

The history that these structure could tell. It's an interesting piece of history. However the restaurant is my least favorite of all in this pretty town. Food is bland and not worth the cause. read more

My Boyfriend and I stayed here for a night after skiing at Chestnut thinking it would be a nice quaint getaway. Instead we were robbed. Someone broke into our car in the DeSoto house parking garages stealing our ski gear (which we weren't going to haul through the hotel). The police stated this is a common problem and they have asked the Desoto house to put cameras in place. The front desk woman was so apologetic and stated she knew this was a problem over the summer, but thought it had stopped. We spoke to the manager and he was neither apologetic nor took any responsibility. He stated he had no idea this was a problem and blamed the front desk woman for telling us it was. DO NOT COME IF YOU DONT WANT TO BE ROBBED. read more

This was such a unique place to stay--and a perfect location right in downtown Galena! Our room was large and comfortable, and the hotel has so much character. We enjoyed dinner and drinks in the on-site tavern, and all of the employees were kind and helpful. My only small thought for next time is that I would request a room on the top level, as the floor was creaky above us. (It sounded like we may have been under a hallway, but we never actually checked). Overall, though, I would recommend this place and would certainly stay here again. read more

Wonderful experience in the courtyard for food. Great service, delicious food, I will most certainly be back! - Captain Tony Taylor Active Shooter Prevention Training Your safety and security needs Email: captaintonytaylor@gmail.com Call/Text: (331)444-4121 ww.activeshooterprevention.com read more

Big rooms, large and comfy beds, brand new tvs, and the feeling of being surrounded by history. Old and adorable hotel in the heart of downtown Galena, right on Main Street. The rooms with a view of Main Street are choice! It does have some of the 'charming' vagaries of old hotels (i.e. my parents' room had a slanted floor and the glasses were different sizes in different rooms) but you can't beat the easy access to the pasta and root beer shops, or the series of antique photos with informative captions in the lobby showing all the famous personalities who have visited the hotel. Cool, cozy, cute, rich in history... all of the above! read more

Fantastic stay for our 20th Wedding anniversary. We arrived to a bottle of wine and two keepsake glasses. It was so sweet!! Our room was very spacious (king courtyard) on the third floor. The only downside was that a wedding reception in the courtyard took place until 11 pm. Music was loud but entertaining. Being a night owl, it worked fine but if we had had our kids, it would have been difficult. The history of this hotel was fascinating. I suggest you pick up the walking tour at check in. We only saw it at checkout, but it gives us a reason to return. We also paid for the bed and breakfast package which included a phenomenal Sunday brunch. Service was awesome, servers and the buffet workers were extremely attentive and friendly. A few downers: the elevator broke our last day, but the hotel desk said we could call and they would send it up to pick us up. (Elevator would not allow trips down.) Also, the woman who checked us in was very emotionless. She was neither friendly or helpful. She seemed to see us as a nuisance, a disruption to her day. The woman at the desk when we checked out was far nicer. All in all the downers were not enough to keep us from returning. read more

Happy ending but: Sad experience in the restaurant that wiped out our visit- first time with our son and daughter in law, we took advantage of the special dinner offer for the Generals Restaurant but the waitress dropped the tray of food and it landed on my daughter in law's back and her leather bag- seafood juice and grease everywhere! The bag is ruined. Dinner was too - apology from the waitress was not really forthcoming. She put a piece of cake on the table with four forks - compliments of the restaurant. Then she left us the bill for all four dinners, even tho she took our coupons for two free dinners (we paid extra for them when we made the reservations. So. We got the bill straightened out and a week later, the damage to the bag is being taken care of- I have a quick temper and have to say that it pays to be patient. The manager got back to me after some communications and said the bag would be replaced. I really need to say that she was very humble and sweet about it. She wasn't really sure what to expect the general manager to say about it. But it's all working out well- i'm really happy because we love going to Galena. This was a strange experience but it worked out well- it's an old hotel but it works well with old-fashioned manners- read more

We went to the DeSoto House to check it out and have dinner. Food was excellent and the service efficient, fast and friendly. Walking around inside you feel like you have been transported back in time. Although we didn't stay overnight I'm sure we would have been pleased with their guest accommodations. Highly recommend visiting this place out whether to dine or overnight - you won't be disappointed. read more