Hilton Garden Inn Madison Sun Prairie

I've been a Hilton Honors member since the program began, but I won't stay at this property again. I booked one night, then tried to upgrade and add a second. That was a huge mistake: the front desk was the rudest I've ever encountered, and they got me out of there so fast my head is still spinning. After I left, they called again to complain about my credit card and tried to make it my fault. I love the location, which makes this sting even more. I'm thinking of dropping Hilton altogether.

We had a good-sized group that wanted to keep enjoying the night, but the evening got cut short when the restaurant bar closed. There were four weddings and a full hotel that weekend, and I thought it should have stayed open until midnight. Nothing else within walking distance in the area was open past 11pm, which was disappointing. The bartender was very nice, though, and let us order a bunch of drinks to go when we got there ten minutes before closing. The room was nice and clean, and the hotel was better than I expected. Our window faced a wall, but that wasn't a big deal. No major complaints otherwise, and I'd stay again.

Brides, be careful about the adjoining suite. We booked the one Master Suite with the adjoining Junior Suite specifically for our wedding. There's only one like that, and the setup mattered so the bridal party and grooms people could get ready in separate rooms with easy access between them. We planned photos around those adjoining doors too. Salesperson David assured us it was reserved, and our reservation mentioned it. But the day before check-in, we were told someone else had rented it. Manager Michelle said the system treats that suite like the six non-adjoining Junior Suites, and David shouldn't have guaranteed the adjoining one. They offered us a different suite two floors down, right off the elevator, as if that solved it. On our wedding day we'd have to prop doors open, wait for elevators, and walk between floors. The photos we'd planned became impossible, and even passing something between rooms would take minutes. Avoiding exactly this hassle was why we chose this hotel. We were Honors members with the Hilton AmEx card, spent thousands for the two suites over five days, and got our guests to book through our block. Still, we couldn't get the setup we'd reserved. It was an incredibly inconvenient nightmare. To be fair, Michelle tried to make it right with Honors points, a free night in the Junior Suite, and something like an apology. But she blamed David for the bad sale and said, “at least you still got a suite right? It’s just one floor down ok?” No, Michelle, it wasn't okay. I'd have preferred giving up the $600 discount and points for a convenient wedding day. It may sound petty from outside, but after explaining why we needed that layout and spending that much, I expected better. They called my wife the day before, when it was too late to cancel and find a hotel that could actually accommodate us. I think they took advantage of that after letting us down. Their business practices were poor. David needs to stop pushing the sale and be honest about whether the adjoining suite is available. They should make it a distinct suite people can actually reserve as adjoining. And during recovery, Michele needs to stop minimizing the situation and making us doubt how bad it was, especially when the guest is a bride, an Honors member, and has booked a block while spending thousands. They were lucky they called my wife and not me. I'd have canceled if it hadn't been too late. Even if everything else had gone well, this wedding day failure would still leave me at one star.

The staff were fantastic and hospitable, and my room was clean and really quiet. The hotel is very nice. I'd suggest adding bananas at breakfast and offering dairy-free milk or yogurt for vegans and people who can't have dairy.