We stayed here over Christmas and found the rooms to be comfortable and more importantly the bed was one of the best I've slept in at a hotel, which is a big concern of mine given back issues. With the packer game that weekend, this hotel was reasonably priced and very quiet which is probably the only reason I'd ever stay here again. Typically I'd get just as good of service and much better pricing at the Country Inn & Suites or the Radisson.
My biggest disappointment was the food. Others complained about breakfast on here and I didn't understand until I got there. The food at a Country Inn and Suites taste better and is higher quality...the only positive was their pastries. For this type of hotel, one does not expect to get packaged oatmeal that you have to make yourself, you don't expect the fruit to be all spoiled and badly bruised (all 3 days we were there) and you certainly don't expect when they say they have french toast, that means french toast that was made some time earlier, which is now cold and they expect you to pop it into the microwave or toasters to warm up. The eggs were so bad I wouldn't eat them. Breakfast here is just short of being at home and having to make it yourself with the lower quality ingredients than I would actually buy myself.
The attached restaurant was also sub-par for their price range, the salads were extra though it wasn't clear from the server at the time and the caesar salad came as ridiculous whole leafs which were impossible to cut up and made you look ridiculous at a fine dining experience. Room service from that restaurant comes at way too high a premium...better to go down the street to Stone Cellar brewery which also buys local and organic.
My spouse went to the spa and he said he had the best facial ever, so that is a plus to staying here.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
28 February 2012
I appreciate hearing from our guests and thank you for the feedback from your stay. I was pleased to see the bed met your expectations and that you perceived the room rates to be a value especially considering it was a Green Bay Packer Home game weekend where rates are historically higher. Beds are a very personal item as guests enjoy different levels of firmness. It is great to know the bed was very satisfactory to you.
I am sorry the complimentary breakfast buffet did not meet your expectations. I understand and respect your thoughts of an upper-end breakfast buffet. Like beds, breakfast (and dining in general) is a very personal experience with different people having very different expectations and opinions of what they received.
When encountering guests one-on-one in the hotel, I quite honestly receive compliments about the breakfast buffet. All of our bakery products (Kringles, mini cream puffs, Danish, muffins, fruit breads) are freshly made by this area’s most popular local bakery, Manderfields. The coffee is upscale and locally made from Victor Allen Coffee. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage patties, breakfast burritos, egg squares (for breakfast sandwiches) are prepared in our limited service pantry/kitchen. Admittedly, we do use some commercial items such as the French toast and packaged oatmeal like you identified. This is simply due to the fact that there is not a full production kitchen near the breakfast area and there are limitations on counter space for additional chaffing dishes to keep hot food (oatmeal, for example) hot. I apologize the fruit did not meet your expectations. After contacting me by email, I learned you were referring to the whole fruit; apples and bananas. You indicated the bananas had black spots on them and the apples did not appear fresh. In fact, we will occasionally have bananas with black spots simply due to the different levels of ripeness and availability. We’ve learned that most guests would prefer a banana that is marginally over ripe rather than under ripe (green). Being that this was over the Christmas holiday, this may have affected availability of bananas completely free of black spots, as well. There should have been no issues relative to the apples but assure you we will continue to monitor them for freshness. As an added benefit, the entire breakfast buffet is served with china, glassware and flatware unlike most other complimentary breakfast buffets that use disposable plastics.
We have given consideration to doing a “pay for” ala carte breakfast service in our Bella Vita dining room where everything would be freshly prepared at the time of the order. However, we would not be able to offer this on a complimentary basis. We believe the “complimentary” breakfast buffet is still a great value to our guests and have decided to continue to offer this “free” as opposed to doing a “pay for” breakfast. For those guests who desire an ala carte breakfast service, our guest service representatives have a list of nearby restaurants that offer full service breakfast dining.
Regarding the Bella Vita dining experience, I am sorry you did not appreciate the presentation of the Caesar salad. Every chef uses their own level of creativity in food presentation. If we get additional negative reviews on the presentation of this salad, we will certainly incorporate a change to its presentation. Bella Vita has earned raves from our hotel and local guests and we have created a menu where a guest can spend as little or as much as they desire and leave satisfied knowing they received a full dinner that does not have them leaving hungry. I encourage anyone reading this review to view the menu selection and pricing at our Bella Vita Ristorante website.
Thank you again for your insightful feedback. I do hope you give us the opportunity to serve you again.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
