Kinn Inn Downtown

This is a nice choice if you're after something different from the usual hotel chains. I booked downtown at the last minute and arrived around 7:15 at night. I got in with my code, and staff let me inside fairly quickly. They texted the instructions for entering the building and room. The staff were friendly, and both the room and common area looked modern and nice. It felt like a bed and breakfast set up as a hotel, with complimentary coffee and tea in a kitchen and a large fridge for guests' food. My room had two queen beds and was very large, with high ceilings and a nicely decorated bathroom. The beds were too firm for me, and the lighting in the room wasn't very bright, so I didn't sleep that comfortably. Since it was a new hotel to me, I checked the itemized bill and was glad I did, because there was a charge for something I hadn't had.

We were drawn to the more unusual touches, like breakfast pastries, better coffee, and the design, but the stay disappointed us. The room itself was fun, nicely styled, and much more interesting than a chain hotel. It was also clean and had a selection of snacks. But there were no signs or staff to explain that the snacks cost extra. We only found out when a text later asked us to call and give card details to cover the high incidental charges. If we'd seen the charges explained, we wouldn't have taken them. The hotel uses entry codes sent by text instead of the usual keycards, but ours didn't work. Since the building isn't staffed, there wasn't much help available. We eventually found one staff member, who was also dealing with problems at their sister hotel. She said she'd been there a month, and after two failed codes she gave us a special third code that worked. On the way out, we discovered that the advertised pastries hadn't been provided and the coffee machine on our floor was broken. The hands off approach, casual texting, unexpected charges, and missing advertised amenities all put a damper on our trip. We're usually easygoing and don't often leave reviews, but this was off. Edit: From the hotel's reply, it seems they misunderstood parts of our stay, including saying my card was declined and that I hadn't completed the pre-stay profile. I can't blame the owner, as I'm sure there are a lot of moving pieces. Still, it's a shame they chose to shift fault onto an average guest instead of acknowledging things that went wrong, especially with such an experimental system. No hard feelings.

Pete, the manager on duty, was incredible. This is one of the coolest hotels I've stayed at, and I've stayed at plenty. The rooms feel amazing and made us feel like VIPs, without the typical hotel atmosphere. Each floor opens into a shared living and dining area with a full kitchen and top of the line amenities. I'm 100% staying here whenever I'm in Milwaukee.

My wife and I live in Denver and have been to Milwaukee around ten times. This was our favorite visit, in large part because of where we stayed. It was our first time at a Kinn property, and we'll be back. The staff were top notch, friendly, informative, and incredibly attentive. We loved the Common Area, which had everything we needed and gave us a chance to meet and socialize with other guests. We ended up spending more time there getting to know people than I expected. We're already looking forward to our next trip to the Cream City, and we know where we'll stay. Thanks again, Kinn Guesthouse Downtown Milwaukee.