Hotels (Labor Day Weekend) - Help! (Milwaukee, Madison: rental car, rental, registration)

[TheManWithoutQualities]

Hello,

I'm the dude who put up that rather contentious "Milwaukee vs. Minneapolis" posting a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, I've decided to visit Milwaukee on Labor Day weekend (arriving early morning on Thursday, August 28...departing, late afternoon, September 1)...

I booked my flights without checking relative hotel availability (I just figured I'd priceline a room for 100 bucks and be done): It appears that there must be some sort of event going on because I'm having a hard time finding anything.

The main purpose of my trip to check out Marquette Law School (and possibly UW-Madison). I'm planning to rent a car...and while I was looking for a room downtown....it looks like I'll be staying elsewhere.

Any suggestions? I see available rooms in Brookfield...I take it that's a suburb...is it safe? Will it be reality accessible to urban Milwaukee?

Thanks for your help!

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by TheManWithoutQualities

Hello,

I'm the dude who put up that rather contentious "Milwaukee vs. Minneapolis" posting a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, I've decided to visit Milwaukee on Labor Day weekend (arriving early morning on Thursday, August 28...departing, late afternoon, September 1)...

I booked my flights without checking relative hotel availability (I just figured I'd priceline a room for 100 bucks and be done): It appears that there must be some sort of event going on because I'm having a hard time finding anything.

The main purpose of my trip to check out Marquette Law School (and possibly UW-Madison). I'm planning to rent a car...and while I was looking for a room downtown....it looks like I'll be staying elsewhere.

Any suggestions? I see available rooms in Brookfield...I take it that's a suburb...is it safe? Will it be reality accessible to urban Milwaukee?

Thanks for your help!

LOL... I didn't think your post was contentious at all, but it was a good example of how different people interpret things differently (see the thread by the "great schools = great neighbors" lady..., or my totally innocuous question about car registration in the Phoenix forum).

Anyway, you really picked a weekend to come into Milwaukee. There is a massive Harley Davidson anniversary event that weekend. It will probably affect traffic everywhere at some point during that weekend, particularly in the area of the lakefront and downtown, although many other areas will be affected periodically. You might want to check into the events. And FYI, Milwaukee is not ALWAYS full of that many motorcycles, just in case you're wondering. One could get quite the wrong impression. But, as the home of Harley Davidson and the anniversary bash, that weekend it will be. And so will your hotel, probably. I'm surprised there are any rooms available but I'm not a motorcyclist so I have no idea... At any rate, I don't go to the parties themselves, but it is quite an experience to walk around some of the lakefront events, or at least it was quite an experience five years ago (100th anniversary). You can google these events and get endless amounts of info. I'm short on time or would link to some.

Brookfield is safe (and it Has Great Schools™), although if I read your intial post correctly (the "contentious" one), it's not where I'd be spending most of my time, unless you are just the kinda guy who really enjoys strip malls, big box stores, chain restaurants, and soccer moms. If you're looking to enjoy the area, it's a little sleepy, so don't be put off by that. It's a beautiful suburb, I lived there at one time, just not my definition of fun. Did I mention, it has great schools, so the quality of people is second to none.

You will definitely need a rental car if you're staying in Brookfield. If you were staying in the downtown area and didn't plan on staying in an area with great schools, I'd say that you wouldn't need a car.

[TheManWithoutQualities]

Yeah, I'm literally not finding any available rooms in downtown Milwaukee....

I'd much rather stay downtown than in 'burb - but if that's my only option, that's what I will do. Yikes!

And, yes, I'm definitely not going to get a car.

lol...as far are the great schools, sweet!

[radraja]

Visit in the winter, if you haven't already. Coming from CA, you might be in for a surprise (this past year, winter lasted until April).

[TheManWithoutQualities]

If I get accepted at Marquette Law and it's still a contender, I definitely will visit in winter.

I'm from Connecticut originally so I'm not exactly a virgin to the winter (though Milwaukee is obviously colder and snowier)...

[Nuclear_Art]

Minneapolis winters are much worse than Milwaukee. Lake Michigan helps to warm things up, relatively speaking.

There are a few other smaller hotels in the area that might have a room. Check Cesar's Inn or the Plaza Hotel or the Ambassador Inn or the Executive Inn. They are lesser known and might not show up on the major travel sites.

[TheManWithoutQualities]

I saw one site listing the Ambassador at 1k per night!

I ended up getting a room in Brookfield which I had to prepay for.

[Fishtacos]

Labor Day will be more costly because of it being a Holiday weekend and time of year, etc...

You seem to have already found your choice.

1) All of Milwaukee's suburbs are "safe."
2) Brookfield is an upper middle class suburb. It's 15-20 minutes from downtown.

The Ambassador Hotel at Marquette is a good choice. It has been redone in recent years, and it gets flooded with Marquette families as well as people coming to see and perfom at the Music venue across the street(The Rave), as well as for Milwaukee Brewer games. (The Brewers are in town and Marquette will be in school). I've seen priceline get rooms there at other times of the year for very affordable prices. Service is good there, they drive you on their shuttle to where you need to go, and rooms are very large.

If you are in Brookfield, it's fine. Quick hwy drive into town.(Beware of Brewers traffic as you will pass the stadium on your way in from Brookfield before heading MU. It isn't that bad though, and brief.

Imo, the hotels are better on the West Side for value.(though proximity is good on North side) The North Shore economy hotels are way overpriced(Glendale, Brown Deer, etc...) Try downtown, Wauwatosa, Brookfield first. Wauwatosa has a newer one by the Medical Center that has very good deals as well, ...Crowne Plaza.

[tone_bone25]

I work for the Hilton Milwaukee in the center of downtown. I can tell you (unfortunately) in all honesty that there is absolutely NO availability in the city over Labor Day Weekend. In addition, there is no availability stretching as far West as Wauwatosa and even Waukesha.
You may want to consider Kenosha or Racine (approximately 30-45 South of the city limits). There MIGHT be some availability in one of those areas!

[TheManWithoutQualities]

I found a hotel (albeit rather expensive) in Brookfield. I booked a room.