My wife and I and her family stayed in two rooms here over Thanksgiving weekend. On Friday night, we got back late and planned on sleeping in. However, we were woken up at 9:30 on Saturday morning by extended loud knocking on our door. It was the housekeeping staff, and they had woken me and my seven months-pregnant wife up to ask us if we wanted our room cleaned. We said no, and told them to go away. My wife hadn't been sleeping well lately, and had just fallen back asleep after having been awake for a few hours. We were infuriated by this disturbance. (We found out later that they had also knocked on my wife’s family’s door around the same time.)

When we complained to the front desk, the general manager, Atif Khan, was a complete jerk. He was rude and belligerent when we told him about the incident, and made no apologies or any attempt to make the situation right. These qualities are completely unacceptable in the hospitality industry, and I recommend that you stay elsewhere. For reference, he also runs the Candlewood Suites next door to this Holiday Inn Express.

Our experience with the cleaning crew left us with the impression that this Holiday Inn Express is a second rate operation that cuts corners out of laziness and a primary interest in serving their own convenience. In over 25 years of staying at many different hotels and motels, I have never had the cleaning staff knock on the door at my room until after check out time (11am or noon in most hotels). The manager’s response was completely out of line, and shows that he has no interest in making sure that his guests’ stays are comfortable and relaxed.

If you want a good night's sleep and want to feel relaxed, stay somewhere else.

We needed a hotel reasonably close to the University of Wisconsin and this property seemed to fit the bill. The hotel was clean, front desk staff was friendly and the location (near food options) all made this a good choice. Only negative, a room that sleeps 5 should have more than 2 bath towels. I know you can call down and get more towels, but sure would have been nice if they had been there. We will stay here again.

I stayed for 2 nights. Quiet room - right across from the elevator - but no noise. Nice clean room, comfortable bed, usable desk. The desk clerk called after I got settled to make sure everything was okay - nice touch. Breakfast area has warm entrees. Lobby and breakfast area had plenty of seating to accommodate a chat with friends one evening. Wi-fi worked well.

We stayed at this hotel for 4 nights. I reserved a "corner suite", which was a bit more expensive than a standard room. We were surprised to find that the room was no larger than a standard room. It had a king bed and sleeper sofa. I looked into the standard rooms while their door was open when being cleaned. There did not appear to be a difference in size.

The room and hotel were clean. We found the bed to be too soft, but that said, we prefer a firmer bed. Breakfast was sufficient, with several choices, including scrambled eggs and sausages. The staff was friendly.

My recommendation: If you stay here and want to upgrade to a suite, call the hotel and find out what you are getting for your money. In my opinion, I would not upgrade to a suite.