We were put up at the Knickerbocker for a wedding back in September. I was a little apprehensive after reading the reviews but our weekend turned out just fine. There are, however, many quirks that come with a stay at the Knickerbocker and the differences between rooms can make or break your stay.
We had a one bedroom suite with a kitchenette that really came in useful since we had a six-month old baby with us. We were able to use it to make and store his food, etc. It was also nice to have glasses, silverware, a corkscrew and bottle opener that I didn't have to go searching for. The living room was a decent size and we thought that there would be a pullout couch but we had to call for a rollaway. The bedroom was a little tight but our queen bed was very comfortable.
Like many others, we had a 19" tube tv in our suite. That would have been fine with me but there was no remote control and we only got about 10 channels. There was also a dvd player sitting there but it was not hooked up to the tv and there was no way to hook it up as they didn't have the right cables. At least the wi-fi worked once we called down to the front desk to get the password. The bathroom was clean and we had good water pressure - no complaints there.
There was plenty of parking the weekend we were there (and there were two weddings staying at the hotel) to the point that we were able to get an extra spot for my sister-in-law who was watching the baby. Parking is $10 a night. We also didn't hear much of anything while we were there. Given that other reviews mentioned noise I was expecting much worse.
The Knick restaurant has a good brunch and we at there both mornings. The Irish place around the corner is great too.
Overall, this would not the be the first place I would pick if I was returning to Milwaukee. But if you have to stay here it's really not that bad. A lot depends on which room you get though as I had friends stay in a room that was much different than mine.
- Knickerbocker On The Lake Milwaukee
