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Maxwell Mansion: Traveler Reviews

421 Baker Street, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 (Formerly Golden Oaks Mansion)
Hotel amenities
Maxwell Mansion
Ranked #4 of 16 Lake Geneva B&B and Inns
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68 reviews from our community

    Trip type
Traveler rating
    49
    12
    3
    3
    1
Date Rating
Richfield, Wisconsin, United States
2 reviews
5 helpful votes 5 helpful votes
“DO NOT STAY HERE!!”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed August 28, 2012

My wife and I used to love the former inn-Golden Oaks and we stayed there several times. It was closed for about a year and now has new owners. It is not even really open now, they will take your $, but will not return phone calls or e-mails and badly messed up the reservation for anniversary weekend in Lk Geneva Aug 24-26th. We had to last minute find somewhere else to stay (Roses B&B was wonderful BTW)!! The new lady that owns Maxwell Mansion (i.e. Golden Oaks) is completely rude and inept. I gaurantee this place will not remain open-horrible service and in fact last weekend every time we went past there was not a car in the lot nor a light on in the place. They no longer have ANY staff onsite, no bar, no breakfast, no cupcake place like before..nothing at all. Repeat-find somewhere else to stay. They still have not even refunded my $ for a room that I could not even rent-what a scam and what a shame!!

Room Tip: Stay at another B&B. Roses is just a block away and is very nice!
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  • Stayed August 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 4
Ask Tim P about Maxwell Mansion
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Chicago, Illinois
Senior Contributor
26 reviews 26 reviews
8 hotel reviews
Reviews in 13 cities Reviews in 13 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
“Unique stay...very close to 5 stars!”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed August 19, 2012

We stayed here with a group of 5 people. The mansion is the oldest in Lake Geneva and you can feel the history as soon as you walk through the doors! We had a suite that included 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The one bedroom had a queen size bed and a twin, the other room had a King size bed. This was a perfect layout for a family traveling together. The place was very clean, furniture was beautiful and the location was perfect to walk to the lake, restaurants and shopping. This property was recently purchased by the same owners as the Baker House (wonderful place to eat), they are making some changes and I believe this place will be fabulous when they are finished. What kept it from being a 5 star were some little things that were missing, There was no water or coffee available. Also, we had to wait to check in as no one was there. However, we are looking forward to seeing what improvements are made to this property by hopefully returning next year!

Room Tip: Check out the suites if you need 2 bedrooms and 2 baths together
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  • Stayed August 2012, traveled with family
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask tbpc4 about Maxwell Mansion
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Arlington Heights, Illinois
2 reviews
“Magical”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed November 8, 2011

What a wonderful place to stay!
From the moment we arrived & received a nice tour & history of the property...
until we left with a treat to go, as well as the recipe...
Everything was great!
After arrival we enjoyed a very relaxing evening at the Juicy Olive Lounge. We loved meeting some of the locals & couldn't stop eating the “Soon to be World Famous Gourmet Pretzels". We made a meal out of a variety of eclectic & delicious appetizers.
We stayed in the Golden Rainbow Room. It was was extremely relaxing, complete with the free standing electric fireplace. The piano music CD was a very nice touch.
Breakfast was outstanding! Barb is a marvelous cook and also very friendly and engaging.
Thanks for helping to make our evening away very magical.

  • Stayed November 2011, traveled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Jim B about Maxwell Mansion
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Round Lake Park, Illinois
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
3 hotel reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“Great stay!”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed September 12, 2011

A really neat historic mansion. Walking distance to town. Loved the fact that there was a martini lounge on the first floor.

Our stay included breakfast, and there was a very small window of opportunity to get it in the morning (between 8:30-9am). But let me tell you, it was way worth it!

Overall, great service, friendly staff, great experience!

Room Tip: We stayed in the Rainbow Room, which was nice, but the bathroom was comically small. It looked like...
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  • Stayed August 2011, traveled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Dan H about Maxwell Mansion
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Illinois
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
6 hotel reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“Locked out in Lake Geneva”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed August 29, 2011

Nice B&B in a good location close to the lake and downtown Lake Geneva. Large room and decent size bathroom. The worst part of our stay and the reason that we will never stay again at this B&B, and why we give it such a low overall rating, is that we got locked out of the main entrance one evening and were unable to contact anyone to let us in for almost two hours. The manager lives off-site and the owner, who is not active in the business and lives on the property, was out- of- town. It wasn't because we had forgotten our key or the key itself didn't work but the lock on the front door was defective and if the guests didn't perfectly follow all the instructions for handling the lock, it might end up not working with the key. When we got home from dinner, we discovered that the lock wouldn't open. So, we called the "emergency" contact number for the B&B, which we had been told would be answered by the manager. However, no one answered and we had to leave a message because it went into a voice mail box. In the 2 hours that we stood outside the front door, the manager never showed up to let us in. We even called the police department to see if they had another "emergency" contact number but, they had the same number that we had. Then the other couple who was staying there came back from dinner, and now all of the guests were stranded on the front steps. Finally, my wife realized that there was a brochure for a woman who sold pastry at the B&B. So, we called that number hoping she could contact someone for us. Fortunately she answered and as it turned out, she had a key to a back entrance. She came over to let us in. The next morning at breakfast the manager apologized for the "inconvenience" but did not offer any kind of compensation, present or future, for the inconvenience and emotional stress we went through not knowing if we would get into our room that evening. The property is currently "For Sale", so I get the impression that they're putting off necessary repairs and when we left, there still was no sign of the lock getting repaired.

  • Stayed August 2011, traveled as a couple
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 2
Ask Jesnebas about Maxwell Mansion
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
naggom, Owner at Maxwell Mansion, responded to this review
September 4, 2011
I can't tell you how disappointing it is to read that you would go on trip advisor and give an overall low rating to us when you even admitted what a...
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Additional Information about Maxwell Mansion

Also Known As:
Golden Oaks Mansion Hotel
Golden Oaks Mansion Hotel Lake Geneva
Address: 421 Baker Street, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 (Formerly Golden Oaks Mansion)
Region: United States > Wisconsin > Lake Geneva
Amenities:
Bar/Lounge Beach Free High-Speed Internet Free Parking Suites
Hotel Style:
Ranked #4 of 16 B&Bs / Inns in Lake Geneva
Price Range: $$
Official Description (provided by the hotel):
Maxwell Mansion, est 1856, in Lake Geneva, Wi is a charming escape for couples, friends and families to rest and relax in comfort and history. Built originally as the personal home to one of Chicago & Lake Geneva's founding fathers, Dr. Phillip Maxwell, the Inn offers guests picture perfect glimpse into the past. Updated with modern amenities but full of original character and charm the Maxwell Mansion located only 1 block from beautiful Lake Geneva is an ideal place to stay. Mansion grounds and ballroom are also available for Private Parties.NEW! WE ARE UNDERGOING VAST IMPROVEMENTS FOR SUMMER 2013 & WILL BE TRULY ONLINE IN MAY 2013 ... more   less 

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