My husband and I took our first "road trip" to Galena earlier this month. He booked a studio at the Longhollow through Expedia without knowing much about it. Overall, we enjoyed our stay but there are a couple of things to be aware of. First, it's not all that easy to find. It is south of Galena about seven miles and is not well marked. It is part of another resort so make sure you get explicit directions about where to turn onto the property or you will drive right by it. Second, the fact that it's seven miles from Galena means you have to be willing to drive into town for meals. Don't expect anything at all to be within walking distance.
The property itself is very clean and well kept. There was a basketball court, indoor swimming pool, sauna, hot tub, and workout room. The only internet connection appeared to be DSL in the lobby, so if you want to check your emails there is a computer available for your use. There was also a pretty decent selection of newer movies (DVDs) for rent (I believe all the rooms have a TV with DVD player in them). On the back side of the propery was a very nice patio area with two gas bar b que grills.
Our room was a "studio" suite, which was small but very serviceable. There was a couch, chair, and coffee table, along with a dining table and two chairs and a pull-down "murphy bed" that allowed you to have more room during the day. The kitchen included a nice size fridge, microwave, sink, dishes, silverware, and small appliances like toaster and coffee maker. There are two grocery stores in Galena (Piggly Wiggly and Wal-Mart), so we went to Piggly Wiggly on our first day and bought groceries (snacks, soda, breakfast items, and food for dinner one evening which we cooked out on the bar b que). I highly recommend going to the grocery store and picking up things like soda and breakfast items, as it is seven miles into town and not all that easy to make a snack run at 7 p.m. at night.
The bathroom had a HUGE jetted bathtub, with a see-through fireplace into the living room. There was also a shower, which was not as nice as the bathtub! Don't expect all the amenities like shampoo and lotion. There were two small bars of soap and ample towels, but nothing else. They did have a hairdryer, which was a nice touch. Bring your own bar of soap if you want a bar for the sink, a bar for the bathtub, a bar for the shower, and a bar for the kitchen sink. We did ask and got extra soap, no problem.
When we stayed, it was Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, leaving on a Sunday morning. I think because it was off-season and there were no festivals or special events in town, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Saturday evening there were a few more people checking in, but the place was dead quiet in the evenings and we never heard anyone else around. In fact, I think they have specific "quiet times", including adult-only swimming, which was very nice.
There are two different "views:" the back side of the property which looks out over the valley, and the front side which looks out onto the parking lot. We stayed in Room 1221, which had a fabulous view of the valley. We got up each morning and would sit on the back deck, listening to the birds chirp. Even though the property was right off Highway 20, there was very little, if any, road noise.
All in all, we would give high marks to the property, in spite of the fact that it is outside of town. There are a couple of antique malls/shops not too far from the property heading back into Galena, which were fun to visit.
The staff was very nice and helpful. However, they aren't on official desk duty at night or early morning, so we ended up checking out by leaving our key and rented DVD in the room. The staff recommended several nice places in town to eat, and several local attractions, which was helpful. One thing they didn't mention was how close you are to Taliesen, Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Wisconsin. If you are a FLW groopie like I am, it was a shock to see how close we were and never have it mentioned by the staff.
Overall, we would definitely recommend staying at Longhollow and will stay there again if we are in the area. Galena itself was a disappointment but the nice get-away at Longhollow more than made up for it.