Like so many, my wife and I were ready for a respite from our COVID-19 exile. Two nights at the…read moreelegant Hamilton House was just what the doctor ordered! Built in the 1860s and a stop on the Underground Railroad, the spacious, high-ceilinged HH exudes history and charm. Innkeeper and owner Gloria Buley greeted us warmly; I like to think I could see her smile through the surgical mask she was wearing. Our well-appointed room had a comfy king bed and a recently remodeled en suite. The wardrobe contained two plush bathrobes; a small table held bottles of Perrier, chocolates, fresh flowers, and two surgical masks. Like our room, the inn's common areas are immaculate and tastefully furnished with period antiques and Oriental rugs. Our two breakfasts were highlights! Gloria's a CIA culinary school grad and it shows. Fresh-squeezed OJ, omelettes, French toast, baked apples, sausages, Canadian bacon--whew, I don't eat nearly this well at home. Breakfast was also a chance to get to know Gloria. A recent transplant from Woodstock, NY, she purchased the Hamilton House weeks before the coronavirus shut down the world. I'd be down in the dumps, but Gloria seems indefatigable and is using the time to, among other things, install a garden walk that will pay homage to the nearby Birge Fountain, circa 1903. We're already looking forward to our next visit! A tip: One of Wisconsin's best supper clubs, the Duck Inn in Delavan, is a 15-minute drive from the HH.

My brother and his wife treated me to a weekend at the Hamilton Inn. (They had stayed there a year…read moreago and raved about it - for good reason!) This gorgeous 1861 mansion is exquisite, perfect down to the last detail. The multi-course breakfasts, created by innkeeper (and Culinary Institute-trained chef) Gloria, were off-the-charts delicious and kept my belly full til dinnertime, even after a day spent hiking the gorgeous Kettle Moraine. I slept deeply on the luxurious comfy bed, but I'd eat saltine crackers and sleep on a cot to hear Gloria's stories! Gloria has a talent for being present but never intrusive. She'll give you a house tour with fascinating tidbits (from John Belushi to the Underground Railroad!) but ask about her journey from Woodstock NY to Whitewater WI for a rollicking story with a happy ending!

When I pulled down the covers, I noticed something that looked like a scab or booger. looking…read morecloser, I noticed hairs and pulled the covers down more. I counted 11 hairs, some long and some pubic. I told the front desk, and they apologized and changed the sheets. We left a pair of sandals and called the hotel. They said they would mail them to us for $35. When they arrived, I saw the actual shipping cost was $18. I called the hotel and spoke to the manager. I said I didn't think we should have to pay the additional added shipping cost since they hadn't changed our sheets. The manager said it was their policy to charge more to cover their extra time to put them in a box and go to the post office. I said I didn't think we should have to pay an additional cost because they had given us a room with dirty sheets and wanted to talk to them before I wrote a review. The manager said the extra shipping fees was their policy and they took care of the sheets and to go ahead and write my review. Basic hotel, Breakfast was OK, had Styrofoam cups and plates. I have never been to a hotel that hadn't changed the sheets. The hotel price is low but I would never stay there again.

I was legit scared at this hotel. If we hadn't prepaid and it wasn't late at night, we would have…read moreleft. From the moment we walked in until we left it was an uncomfortable situation. Our room was old and worn. There were sunflower seeds on the chair. And an open soap in the shower. Our bed was made, I just hope the sheets were changed. Our friends stayed in another room. They reported stains on the sheets. This experience makes me cringe.

Couldn't have asked for a better experience!! Our stay at Tricounty Motel was fantastic, newly…read morerenovated rooms, extremely clean, professional staff, and all the amenities you need including HDTV, mini fridge, microwave, air conditioning, as well as being conveniently located in the tri county area for easy and quick trips to neighboring towns and cities.

From the owner: Motel accommodationsread more

Lovely updated brand new quiet room Friendly front desk…read morestaff Close to lots of food and shopping Easy trip to Whitewater for fun healthy eats

Nice hotel, rooms and the entire facility are very clean. Staff is pleasant and accommodating. The…read morecontinental breakfast was very nice and clean too.

Wow, what a great find!!! Very affordable and nice! Beautiful hotel and fun colorful decor. Comfy…read morebeds, spacious rooms, lots of storage space. Pristine rooms and hotel. I like that my room had a lot of hooks to hang things too. I really enjoyed the soap, lotion, and shampoo. Squeeze the sides to make it work. Complimentary coffee available all day in the lobby. Lots of seating options in lobby. Everything is very clean. Free breakfast from 6-9am but I didn't wake up in time. They also have quite a nice variety of snacks and beverages for purchase at the front desk. I was provided complimentary water upon check in. Matt at the front desk provided fantastic service for my check in and check out. Nice pool and work out faculty too. I love the decor here! I would definitely stay here again.

We had booked a double room but there was none available. The hotel staff put us into (2) king…read morerooms across the hall from each other. The rooms were great, and having two bathrooms was a real bonus. The rooms were clean and the beds were quite comfortable. The pool looked nice but since there was a peewee hockey tournament in town it was nuts! The breakfast was good and the automatic pancake machine was cool.

This hotel was near perfect and I could see why it's Michelin rated…read more I don't usually stay in boutique hotels but when looking at the nearby major chains, they didn't look appealing. The room was clean and had a rustic modern feel. When the carpet is beige, you know they have to take care of it consistently. Everything had a plush feel. The shower had a rainfall showerhead and a handheld. There's a scent that emanates throughout the hotel and into your room. It's light and adds to the ambiance. It's also in the sheets and linen too. I guess that adds to one of the negatives I list later in that the HVAC seems to be centrally controlled. There was some very minor debris in the sink that may have been left from wiping of a dirty rag, but that was mostly it. Gym was nice and parking was plentiful and free. What I didn't like: - Mini fridge in the room had a lot of snacks and other drinks that I assume were for sale. I usually pack my own food, so those items took up some space in the fridge - I get cold easily, so I try to adjust the thermostat, but it's centrally controlled, which I've never seen... I'm assuming all of the rooms are regulated in this way... - Breakfast bar- had bare minimal which I really don't mind. I really wouldn't expect a place like this to serve you breakfast unless it was full service. Would definitely come back

Great hotel in downtown Beloit. It's been redone in a "speak easy" motif. Rooms are spacious and…read moreinclude a phonograph with a selection of vinyl LPs (that's 33 rpm records, for you youngsters). Room has a huge shower with a rainforest head. Also has a mini bar in the room. Only negative point is there was no refrigerator or microwave. Great restaurant located just off the lobby for a fine dining experience. Does not have full breakfast but does have grab and go muffins, fruit, coffee, etc. They also have a rooftop bar where one can sit inside or outside. Full bar with good bartenders. Menu is limited but still plenty to choose from. We had an order of mussels and a charcuterie tray. Both were very good. Our bartender was Colton and he took good care of us.

Camp Wandawega is a flawlessly re-created 1950′s summer camp. At $250 a night (plus a $60 airbnb…read moreservice fee), you can step back in time. Located in Elkhorn, WI about 90 minutes from where I currently live, on the way there, I drove by the place I used to camp as a kid and by towns I have met my parents in to go antiquing. Where many of the sites on the way were well-known to me, pulling into the camp site was familiar because it was like driving to the set of Moonrise Kingdom. Really, it was like plopping into any Wes Anderson movie. I could very clearly imagine children with their names emblazoned on sleeping bags and wooden tennis rackets being used as swords by campers. When I first arrived, I was early (although the reservation said there was a flexible check-in time). The cleaning lady was arriving in two hours, so I read outside for a while of (what would be) my cabin. The breeze was nice and my book was distracting, but then I started paying attention to a couple who were dipping their feet into the lake at the end of the dock while eating oranges AND drinking orange juice (?!?). That is commitment to Vitamin C, if I ever saw one. Once I moved past my internal giggle at the scurvy-free couple, I glanced at my phone and saw that time had slowed to a crawl. How can a morning at home go so fast and an hour at camp go so slowly? It is like that scene in The Jerk where he says the first day seemed like a week. Camp Wandawega is quite quiet, except for the crazy chipmunks. Sometimes, you can hear the muted, but distinctive click of the flagpole outside. Often, I caught myself looking to see if the crinkle of leaves or branch breaking was a person, but it was almost always a chipmunk (or, not to be out done, squirrels). If the chipmunks weren't there or if flags didn't move, I would have thought I was frozen by some witch's autumn spell. Overall, it seemed like it shouldn't all be there- the details. It felt like it all should have been swept away in a flood or be permanently planted in someone's dream, not surviving as well-preserved as it all is. There is no internet that I could connect to. I didn't need air conditioning or heat, but they are a window cooling unit and a floor heater respectively; nothing major to protect you from the elements. You are here to be (at least, a little) outside. There is a rope swing and open-air showers. There are old bikes and bird houses. The traditional camp colors of burnt red, forest green, and stark white are everywhere. Uneven stairs and rocky hills force your attention even while you walk casually around. The camp was at one point a brothel. Well, it was a speak easy, a distribution center for organized crime, a brothel, a lake resort and a church camp before the current owners bought it and renovated it to its current state. While at Camp Wandawega, what I felt was a constant pang of that very specific camp feeling. The anxiety before arriving your first time. The waiting of ONE MORE YEAR before your next camp experience always seeming like forever. The addiction in the autonomy and the freedom of no parents or siblings. You just being who you are. Someone good at archery. Someone who loves sitting on a dock. Someone who swings in a hammock. Someone who naps. Someone who hikes. While there, I got invited to a fire on the beach by one couple. At another point, a couple taking engagement photos came by to use the canoes. Untroubled people came and went. Some times a fish would come up to ripple the water in their hunger. The lily pads provided a little buffer from the reflection of the sun. There was the constant smell of a fire burning somewhere. What I recommend doing while at Camp Wandawega: -Eat PB&J. You can go into town for food, but why bother? -Sneak iced coffee or coffee grounds and a French press into the communal kitchen. -You don't really have to sneak, but sneaking around seems very camp-y. -Take a nap. Or several. -Read the books at the end of the bed (A Very Modest Cottage and Found, Free & Flea) by Tereasa Surratt. They will provide more information on the renovation of the property and the care of one of the cottages specifically. -Go on a walk around the whole site. You will find tipis (or teepees) and other fun finds. Just bring your hiking boots. -Canoe. (Language side note: canoe is a noun and a verb. English is so quirky.) -Sit with the liquor of your choice by a fire or just sit by the lake for a while. -Go on a bike ride. -Take pictures. You can't really take a bad one. During my time here, the bees were about. Flies and ants, too. Twice, a spider dropped down (seemingly from the sky) onto the book I was reading. Also, I am 99.9% sure there was a raccoon outside of my cabin door one night. Camp Wandawega is a natural and authentic place which makes it an ultimate place to reflect and assess. Yes, you have to constantly check your wine for bugs, but that is part of the magic of being fully present, isn't it?

AMAZING. This is an awesome place with rich history dating back nearly 100 years ago. The tree…read morehouse is soooo cool, there are many options as far as areas you can stay in. Teepees, old Army tents, the old "dormitories," and small cabins. We were here for a wedding over the weekend (which is rare from what I hear), and the place was recently renovated (in the last 5-7 years or so). This is a very rustic place with a historical feel. In the 1920's during the prohibition years, it was a speakeasy (my favorite part of their history), but there is much more. To learn more about the history check out, www.wandawega.com. This place is also a very well kept secret. I grew up less than 10 miles away from Wandawega, but had only heard of the lake not the "Camp" or "Resort." This place is meticulously decorated, clean, historical, rustic and all-around awesome.

My husband and I came here to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary and they were having a deal…read more(buy 1 night, get 1 night FREE), who can pass that up? Lol. We stayed in the Oxford cabin and ended up paying $271 for 2 nights. Still an awesome bed and breakfast, friendly staff, delicious complimentary cheese and wine of your choice. Small issue, it was lots of ants this visit. Maybe because it was warmer this visit, but they were everywhere. Besides that, great trip. Of course, we'll be back, we LOVE it here.

Love this place. Mu husband and I came here to celebrate our anniversary. It was our second visit,…read morebut the first one was nearly 10 years ago. Place has been maintained beautifully. Fantastic location and definitely walkable to downtown Lake Geneva, although if you have mobility issues, maybe not. Friendly staff, special little touches, and cozy cabins! We promised ourselves that we will not wait this long next time.

They are renovating, so the first floor is under construction. The rooms are nice and clean, but…read morethe place overall needs some more updates. The tub drains slow. The elevator is a little concerning and loud. The doors to the rooms close really loud so you can here your neighbors coming. Overall a nice place it just needs a few more updates.

Rooms are nice, staff is friendly but not trained the best…read more We had quite a few incidents regarding charging us for our wedding room blocks that what was originally agreed on. There was also an incident the day before the wedding where they did not want to give us our wedding night suite that was included with our room blocks (the rule is 15 rooms to be booked and a free suite the night of the wedding, and we had all 15 booked). Just general miscommunication that could've easily been solved, we always ended up speaking no with the manager to have things fixed which can be annoying.