My fiancee and I just returned from a weekend in Madison, where we spent one night at the Mansion Hill Inn.
True, the staff is friendly and the inn in itself is beautiful, but beyond that, this place simply is not worth the money.
We arrived and were able to check-in early and park on the side of the building without any valet, which was very convenient. That's when things started to go downhill. We went outside to enjoy our balcony, when we noticed that we could see the couple next door through their window, and everything they were doing -- rather uncomfortable, this forced us to go back to our room and abandon the nice weather. However, some drunk people were having a barbeque behind the inn, and this disrupted the peace and quiet in our room.
The wine reception consisted of two half-filled carafes and some mini-pretzels and mustard, and when we walked in, the pretentious other guest acted as if we were bothering her crossword puzzle and awkwardly left the room.
The shower was excellent, but we agreed that the bed was probably the least comfortable we've slept on in a while. As for breakfast, they managed to mess up a bowl of granola and a Belgian waffle. It was served on a silver platter, as advertised, but the platter itself was the only positive thing about it.
All in all, it was fine for a night, but had we planned more than that, I would have moved to the Hilton on the other side of the Capitol, which I have stayed at before and is both nicer and a better value than the Mansion Hill Inn.

My wife and I stayed at the Mansion Hill Inn this past week. We have only positive comments we can make. The inn is a beautiful Victorian style B&B. We were greeted by a competent and friendly coed. She explained the inn and options available, valet parking, breakfast, newspaper - the ususals. We were then escorted to our room where she pointed out all of the ammenities.

The room was beautiful, warm clean and had a large wonderful bathroom. In addition there was a balcony that over looked the city. We were told about the breakfast options and were advised to place the order by 9:00 PM the night before on our door with the time to be served. We elected 8:00 AM and the breakfast arrived right at 8:00 and it was hot and delicious.

There is a beautiful parlor for reading, conversation and a glass of complimentary wine. My wife and I would definitely recommend this inn for its friendliness (we met the manager and she was wondeful as well), cleanliness, charm and romantic atmosphere.

Mansion Hill Inn would definitely be our first choice of stay in Madison.

My husband & I spent our wedding anniversary at this treasure of a bed & breakfast, which we discovered in Madison Magazine. What an enjoyable time we had; the service was incredible and everyone made us feel so welcomed! We just loved our suite, which we took full advantage of the whirlpool tub to soak our stress away. With our suite being at the very top of the spiral staircase, we were left with an incredible view of the Capitol. They even took my husband's and my picture together with the sprial staircase behind us. We were invited to walk through the mansion and take in the fabulous decor' of the many beautiful rooms; we also had the opportunity to take many photographs to cherish our special memories. We will definately be back for another stay! ~very pleased

My husband and I just returned from spending our first anniversary at the Inn over the weekend.

Bottom line: While the staff tried hard, the location was far from quaint or romantic, too much of the stay was "self service", and the website is misleading. For over $300/night plus, I expected quite a bit more. If you're staying in the Madison area and want something in town but romantic, stay at one of the lake-front chain hotels. You'll save money and have better amenities.

The Good: The staff was attentive and kind when they were there and could be located. They were also very flexible and provided the full "romance" package (including rose petals and non-alc champagne) on one days' notice. The rooms (that we saw and the one we stayed in) were beautifully appointed, clean and comfortable.

The Bad: Perhaps due to my lack of research into the actual location of the B&B (I'd never been to Madison before) we were disapointed when we arrived. The website states the B&B "at 424 N. Pinckney St., is one of the four historic mansions still standing at the North Pinckney-East Gilman intersection, on the ridge along Lake Mendota." What they don't mention is that 1) you cannot see the lake from the hotel, and 2) that the hotel is located smack downtown in campustown with student housing all around it and packed-solid street parking in all directions. In fact, the popular college bar district is only about 3 blocks away. The photos on the website are also misleading as they show the sides of the building and the courtyard, thereby excluding any "big city" views. The lot is quite small and the quote on the website which states "Once, the Mansion was surrounded by a grove of butternut trees, gardens and a stable of Arabian horses. Now the grounds are landscaped into a Victorian garden with a beautiful fountain" still has me scratching my head as to just where they were referring to. The Inn looked to be like any brownstone or townhouse on a city lot that you would find in say NY or Chicago. Finally, the website stated our room (the Conover Suite) had a "private balcony". While we did have a balcony that we did not have to share with another room, it was far from private - it was the top of the overhang for the front door of the Inn. When we tried to sit out and have breakfast there the first morning, we were a constant focus for curious college students walking by. It just made us feel a little uncomfortable.

Apart from location, there were other things that were disapointing about the hotel. First, the price per night that is shown initially online is for one guest. When you select the standard "two" guests, the price jumps significantly (in our case from $280/night to $310/night). I dont know many folks who stay at a B&B alone. Second, the staff of mostly college students were kind when we could find them, but finding them proved difficult sometimes. For instance when we arrived and were shown to our room, we discovered the bottle of champagne we were told would be waiting wasn't there. My husband went back to the front desk to inquire and couldn't find anyone anywhere on the main floor. After a few minutes he gave up and came back. Also, since parking is a mess, they state they offer valet parking. When we arrived, the valet spot in front of the hotel had a student's vehicle parked there and so we had to double park with me staying in the car while my husband went and rang the bell. Once we did get the car taken care of, and went to retrieve it the next day, once again no one was at the front desk nor anywhere around. After waiting a bit, we finally saw our car key in a cubby behind the desk, retrieved it ourselves and left a note that we had taken our car. Finally, I agree with the past reviews that breakfast left a lot to be desired. There were basically three choices for breakfast: 1) toasted granola cereal; 2) bread (ie. a bagel, sweet bread or toast); or 3) "belgian waffles". We selected the waffles the first day and asked for butter and fruit compote topping (both offered as options). Apparently you only get ONE topping option and no butter was included on the tray - its a small thing but just seemed a little chintzy. The waffles were mass produced and dry. I'm assuming the B&B doesn't have any kitchen services since no cooked items (like bacon, etc) were offered. If you wanted extra or additional items, you had to pay an upcharge. We skipped breakfast our second day and went to have brunch at a local cafe.

One small caveat: if you are elderly, handicapped or have any mobility issues this is not the B&B for you. The only way to the rooms (other than those on the main floor) is up a VERY steep and narrow winding staircase. When we started up, the attendant told us she recommended we stay to the wall-side of the staircase and use the rail. Being a little top heavy (8 mos pregnant) it was a bit of a trick getting up and down the stairs each day. Luckily we were only on the 2nd floor.