The Iron Horse Hotel

Positive: Liked the proximity to downtown Milwaukee and the Harley-Davidson Museum. The covered patio and outdoor bar were a highlight of our stay. The area felt safe and walkable. Negative: Damp/musty room, carpet wrinkled up from being damp. A/C vent @ entry to room was leaking, dripping on floor. Breakfast service was good but food was way below par for the price. Informed front desk staff of room issues just after check-in and check-out.

Arrived at the hotel on valentine's day 6pm. Third car in line. Waited 15min, no valet. Had to walk in to the hotel, valet was inside the entrance on his phone, totally oblivious to what was going on outside. Have never had this problem at the iron horse hotel before. Everyone in line wondering what was going on. Once I got inside the hotel everything was amazing. Rooms are amazing. Decor of hotel is straight up gangster. Staff really goes out of the way to take care of anything you need. Valet needs to step up there game. Hotel manager was amazing, forgot her name, had red glasses on. She said she would address the situation so it wouldn't happen again, and was nice enough to offer us a drink for the inconvenience.

We came to Milwaukee for a wedding and this was the wedding hotel. The reservation system was hard to navigate and contacted reservation phone agents were useless. Once I got ahold of someone at the hotel, they were fantastic. Nikki helped me arrange for a room with a bathtub for my wife. The room was clean though there were several lights out when we arrived. Maintenance staff was only able to repair about half of them. We sleep cold so I set the thermostat to 66 but by the time I returned to room our second day, it was 78 and staff was unable to resolve the issue It was a south facing room in the winter. The hotel bills itself as an upscale, 4 star hotel but it doesn't offer daily housekeeping like others in the area at this price point. The hotel also changed the check-in time from 3 to 4 which seriously impacted wedding guests arriving the day of. However, for a fee, the hotel would allow guests to check in at the original check-in time. The hotel does not provide itemized bills so if you're on an expense account, stay elsewhere. The staff was excellent but limited by facility issues and management decisions. The inability to provide an itemized bill is inexcusable. I stayed in the winter so the summer may offer a different experience.

My husband and I were married at Iron Horse about 10 years ago and we try to visit a couple times a year just to get a night away from the kiddos. Normally we are blown away by the immaculate rooms, incredible food, and overall impeccable service. Sadly this visit was discouraging. Perhaps we stayed in a different type of room in the past, but the fridge has always been stocked and there were always little extras in the room for us. This time, there was nothing - not even glasses or cups. No robes like usual. The bathroom floor was dirty and the door to the shower was broken. There was a loud clicking noise coming from the venting that kept me awake nearly all night. The TV remote did not work. We visited Branded for dinner. The bartender was great and very friendly. The food was not great I'm afraid. The fries were cold. The steak strips were seasoned well, but more than half of it was completely fat. I promise I am not exaggerating. There was one non fatty bite on each strip. We could not eat most of it. We still love the Iron Horse, but I definitely hope things are better for our next visit.

The room was decent, a bit dark, but decent. However, the customer service is an issue. When I got to the Milwaukee airport, I realized that my ID must still be at the front desk and they confirmed that they had it. Instead of dropping it in the mail, they want to charge me $54 to return it or $121 if I want it overnighted. Next time, I'll say elsewhere where they are concerned about their customers.

In town for a wedding. They changed the check in time from 3 to 4 for the entire hotel a week before the wedding and tried to collect $75 from people for early check in. This devalues the property for everyone. Wedding was at 4 so you could imagine how this may be an issue. I’ve stayed here before and overall the rooms just seem dated now. The furniture and carpet seem to be old and not clean. There is also a freight train that runs 10 feet away from the property on the north side of the building. Reservations were messed up. The front desk did not have it together. I asked for my bill to be emailed. It was not. Called back to have it sent again because there was a billing inconsistency from what my credit card was charged. No bellman ever asked to carry bags. There seems to be a failure to fix problems and when they are brought to the attention of staff, they seem annoyed or defensive. Parking is non existent and valet only at $40 a day. That paired with the change in check in time devalues the property. Fun concept but poorly executed across the board.

Cool vibe with great decor. Beds were comfortable and the room was good sized. We had little contact with any employees in our 2 day stay but what we did have was friendly. While this is not a cheap hotel, it is seemingly fairly priced. Milwaukee is not that big of a town so the location, though not in the thick of things, was a short drive to most everything. The big bonus is street parking was generally available which added more value to the stay. The only negatives would be no workout room and no pool/whirlpool.