Overall impression: The room was sufficiently clean and comfortable enough to warrant a return stay should it be necessary. The hotel is probably about 30 years old and is in need of (more) renovation.

Purpose of the stay: Traveling with family for a weekend in Madison.

The lobby/entrance: The hotel has a port cachere where smokers congregate. When I arrived, late on Saturday evening, I saw two smokers sitting on a bench outside the entrance. The next morning, when I loaded up the car to leave, I saw the same two smokers. This was not a particularly comforting welcome.

The lobby is a bit dated. The check-in/check-out desk is on your right. A seating area is on the left, which has a big-screen TV. The seating area is small, and limited by the stairs leading to the second floor. This foyer is dimly lit, painted white, and has dark wood trim. Vegas-style carpet that looks like it was installed during a previous renovation in the early 1990s covers the floors of the lobby and the hallways. A sign near the stairs said the hotel was in the midst of a renovation. Aside from that sign, I could not tell whether there really was a renovation.

Hallways: The Vegas-style carpet--abstract pattern, with lots of red, yellows, and blacks--drew my attention to the floor at all times. The walls were cream-colored. There was nothing novel in the design of the hallways. The elevator was exceedingly slow for a two-story building. Unless your bags are too cumbersome or your physical needs restrict you, I'd advise sticking with the stairs.

Room: Our room was non-smoking, with two double beds. The room had an LCD TV and cable. The kids wanted to watch Nick Jr., but it wasn't listed on the channels. The Disney Channel, at least, was available. But really? No Nickelodeon or Nick Jr. on Madison cable?

The drawback for me was the placement of the sink and vanity mirror within the hallway entrance to the room. The toilet and bathtub had a separate room. I know it's a matter of personal taste, though from a practical point-of-view, it's nice to have the sink in a separate space from the toilet and bathtub (someone who wants to use the sink while someone else uses the bath or toilet at the same time can), but I cannot give a room that is designed like this more than a 3-out-of-5.

The beds were sleep-number beds and appeared to be new. I looked over the instructions, which suggested a sleep number of 35 (the most popular sleep number according to this pamphlet). My wife and I like our bed to a be a bit firmer than most we encounter, so we ended up moving it to 45. We changed it back and forth a few more times (35, 50, 40, 60, etc.). I don't know which number we settled on, but it didn't matter. We didn't like it, and it only made sleeping more complicated and uncomfortable. Perhaps had we slept in a larger bed, which supposedly has zoned sleep numbers, we would have been more comfortable. I don't doubt that these beds can be comfortable, but I think you'd have to bring a sleep number consultant in to help you figure out how that's possible. On the plus side, the sheets appeared to be new.

The shower's water pressure was superb.

The room also had a desk and chairs, a little closet by the doorway, and a chest of drawers.

The artwork was typical hotel fare. Two sort of 1980s impressionistic-style prints with shades of blue-green and magenta.

Like the lobby, the lighting was a bit dim in the room, but there was a big window facing the parking lot. Open the curtains and you get plenty of light for the room.

The service was adequate, although I had little interaction with them. They do not place newspapers by your door in the morning, at least on Sunday mornings. I don't know whether they place newspapers by the door on other days of the week.

Safety was not a big concern. The hotel appeared to have one central entrance and exit. I did not explore it to find out otherwise. The neighborhood has a lot of retail, restaurants, and hotels. Apparently there's also a restaurant, but I did not try it either.

Noise and vibration: I include this category for this review because this was an issue. The walls/doors did little to isolate those of us in the room from the noise in the hallways. If someone let the door in a room across the hallway or on either side of our room slam shut, we could feel the vibration in our beds. Not cool.

Pool and Hottub: We used the indoor pool and whirlpool hottub facility. This was actually pretty decent. Chlorine did not overwhelm the smell in the room. The whirlpool was warm and quite soothing, even though my exposure was limited to about five minutes.

Location: The hotel is located off the belt line highway, near a major shopping mall and a number of strip centers. We were about a 10-15 minute drive from the University and the State Capitol. The neighborhood itself is a bit dated. It is not "upscale" but neither is it in a run-down part of the city.