Saint Kate The Arts Hotel

You know when a hotel is trying so hard to be cool that they don't actually make a good hotel? Yeah, that's Saint Kate of the Arts. Oh, isn't it quaint that there is an untuned ukulele and really bad sound quality record player in the room? Too bad there is no full length mirror or a functional TV. (The TV interface has some apps, but didn't work, even after engineering came to look at it). I half expected to open a mini bar full of PBR for $10 a bottle. My group hosted a conference here. Good for dinner was not really great (filet was dry and overcooked, and saw several tablemates with well done steaks served to them) and inedible dessert. Poor table service that lead to only 75% of tables getting coffee. Speaking of coffee, this was a conference of doctors (well know for caffeine demands) and ran out of coffee at 730am with about 20 minutes to get more during our only morning coffee time. I had stayed here for this conference many times when it was intercontinental and had no issues. Now, the space is fine but the service and pretentious mindset make me suggest you stay at the Hyatt Regency a block away.

Saint Kate exceeded my expectations. The art is exquisite and it flows not only through the lobby, but the entire hotel as well. The vibe of the hotel is unlike any other and is invititing and inspiting. The rooms are unique and well furnished. The restaurants are great, and there was free champagne, need I say more!?

In the heart of downtown Milwaukee, where Kilbourn meets Water, lies a place pulsing with the kind of energy that springs from the intersection of art and hospitality. That place is Saint Kate — The Arts Hotel. I had the pleasure of staying at Saint Kate this week. I only stayed for one night, but it was enough to guarantee that I’ll stay there again the next time I’m in Milwaukee. Here’s a quickie recap of my experience: I arrived via Uber and was genuinely greeted at the car door by the bellman and doorman on duty. As soon as I walked into the lobby, I knew that I was at a different kind of hotel. To my left was a lobby bar and spacious lounge, both full of people enjoying libations and live music. Straight ahead was a group of friends with Playbills in hand, standing next to a sculpture of equine inspiration, enthusiastically talking about a play they just watched at The ARC Theatre, which is an in-house black box venue located next to the hotel’s art gallery. To my right was the reception area, where I was offered champagne to celebrate my arrival. Check-in was fast, flawless, and fun. No scripted lines or questions. Just an authentic conversation with the agents at the desk. At one point I was encouraged to look through a nearby collection of vinyl records so that I could pick a few to bring with me to my room. A bit puzzled, I inquired about why I would bring records to my room. The response? “There’s a record player in your room. If you feel like music, you can spin some vinyl or play the ukulele. And yes, there’s a ukulele in your room, too.” Yes. All kinds of yes. When I stepped onto the elevator landing on my floor, I was pleased to see complimentary coffee and water on a table to my left. I grabbed a cup and filled it with H2O before heading to my room. My room was AWESOME. Artwork everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Affixed to the wall. Placed on shelves. Built into the sink. And more. Sure enough, there was a record a player as well as a ukulele. The desk had colored pencils and other materials, to include a roll of paper intended for people to draw on if they feel inspired to do so. The room had plenty of power outlets and USB ports for charging purposes. And the WiFi was consistent and strong. My fave tech perk, though, was the wireless charging station on the nightstand. Shortly after arriving, I went to Aria, a restaurant on the second floor. Nicole was my server, and she was great. Attentive, pleasant to talk to, and she the knew the menu inside and out. I had the short rib dish. It was cooked beautifully and was quite delicious. I spent a little bit of time at the bar in the lobby, conversing with Maggie and Jarred (or Jarrett, I think), two of the bartenders who were behind the stick. Very knowledgeable and very friendly, they worked the bar with aplomb and skill. Sadly, I didn’t get to explore the rest of the hotel. But I suppose there’s always next time. And there will be a next time.

My husband and I visited the Saint Kate for my birthday celebration. It was wonderful. From the Champagne at check-in to the record player in the room and the beautiful art that we experienced . We did the free art tour though out the hotel and it was so interesting and fun . We also visited Giggles which is their Champagne bar and had a delicious bottle of Rose Champagne. The bartender was very knowledgeable and gave us a great recommendation. Last but not least the staff was friendly and professional. Great addition to Milwaukee. A must stay!

We stay in Milwaukee from time to time on long weekends away from our city. We’ve stayed at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino (which was nice) and at the Pfister (which is very nice) and most recently at the Saint Kate Arts Hotel The rooms in all three hotels are very good to excellent (4+ out of 5). The difference is the staff. Potawatomi, as you might expect, is friendly but they don’t really go out of their way to make sure everything is okay. The Pfister is definitely more of a specialty hotel and has the feeling of history. Their rooms are updated and very nice but they too leave you to your own devices - which is perfectly fine. The Saint Kate’s rooms are 4+ out of 5. They’re clean and nicely laid out. They’re not as nice as the Intercontinental Montreal (5.0) but not as terrible as the rooms they stick you with at the Hilton Niagara Falls (0.5) especially when you buy through an online app. The main difference is the customer service. It happened to be my wife’s birthday and from the moment we walked in, they make us feel special. They had a violinist come over from the lounge and play happy birthday to her. They gave us champagne at the front desk, along with vouchers for drinks as well as a $40 voucher for breakfast (which we never used because we never wake up early enough for breakfast). When we got up to the room, they sent my wife a bottle of champagne. They texted us to make sure everything was good and met our needs. They made sure we knew we were appreciated. We also happened to be there on Milwaukee’s jazz weekend, so the bar service was good but a little slow. The bartenders were friendly but rushed. I’m in no way picking on them. I totally get being jammed. They just need to take a deep breath and smile once in a while! The music in the attached lounge was the best I’ve ever heard in a hotel. The hotel is pet friendly (for an added fee). As a pet owner, I’m willing to pay the extra $100 to make sure the room I stay in isn’t “that room” where they stick all pet owners. You know, the one that’s so dank and heavy with air freshener that you just know some lousy pet owner was in there before you were – and by the time you get home, your buddies now have a case of fleas. As a hotel patron who doesn’t have pets, you need to be assured that you’re not stuck with that room either. Therefore, there’s a spray that’s both non-toxic and no VOC (no smell) that housekeeping can spray around the perimeter of the room to make sure no foreign creatures are waiting. Simple and effective for those people who just don’t get it. Like the American family we saw in a Mexican airport who we’re letting their kids eat food that fell on the floor. We all need to be protected from stupid. The Saint Kate is clean and friendly with excellent, rooms, facilities and staff. Highly recommended.

Beautiful hotel, great artwork all over the hotel. Rooms are very nice with good shower, good quality beds and fun details like record player, drawing paper and so on. Great location close to Fiserv Forum. The restaurant needs work, though. Food was ok but definitely not worth the price.

We stayed at this very nice hotel with 40 Dback season ticket holders road trip. Our rooms were pre -arranged . We were given enveloped with room keys. We were here for 3 baseball games and 2 nights. All things new as it has been opened for about 2-3 months. Art on all walls, including in the room. The bed was great. Soft but not too hard to sleep on. Record player in each room with records. All the things one would want in a really nice and good hotel. Nice bar area with live music. Friendly staff. Don’t forget to stop by the pizza area around the corner from the bar.. we liked this place very much.

We were a group of 40 people and we were so disappointed that our rooms were freezing, our room was 65 degrees, I tried everything to get the thermostat to give us some heat, it was only 60 degrees outside. I called the front desk and she was snippy and said she would have the engineer come up. He arrived and explained that the system is in the summer mode and I would not be able to get heat. He apologized for it being so cold and said he would shut off the cold water to the air conditioning, then it should warm up. The room warmed up to 69. The other guests in our group froze too and slept with coats and socks snd extra blankets. This is inexcusable, i would never stay there again. On top of this this people at the front desk are not very friendly they need to be more accommodating to there guest.

The have record players in every room and a good collection of LP´s, fantastic! Stylish hotel, comfortable beds and close by to many other places to visit. The have an art gallery with a pretty impresive collection.