I arrived to find my reservation had been canceled, but they could not provide a cancellation number or tell me who had canceled same.

I am physically disabled which causes a bit of a hardship for me. The 2 women on the desk could have cared less. They did nothing to help me find another place to stay. AVOID.

We booked 2 rooms for this place. They were the last 2 rooms left in the entire Madison area, as there was a UW football game that weekend. We were in town for the same event. When we got there, we were told that we would have to "switch properties," as they were overbooked. It was going to be a switch to another "America's Best Value Inn" about 10 miles away. I kindly told the receptionist at the "front desk" that we paid over $100 for each of these rooms, and that we were only going to stay at this location (since it is so close to UW). She was then able to accomodate us, even though we had to take 1 smoking room and 1 non-smoking room. We had reserved 2 non-smoking rooms. The rooms leave something to be desired. The smoking room was unbelievably disgusting. It honestly smelled like a cross between thick cigarette smoke and cat urine. The non-smoking room wasn't nearly as bad, but it still had a weird odor. Put it this way...the next time we need to go to Madison, we will be booking rooms many months in advance, just so we can avoid this place.

This place is pretty much awful... but it makes a good story.
As my taxi rounded the corner and pulled in to the hotel parking lot I asked the driver what this part of town was like because I am a young woman and would be by myself. He laughed and said "Well, the cops are on patrol all the time so things are getting a little safer. But I wouldn't go outside alone" This was not what I wanted to hear. I grabbed my bags and circled the hotel a couple times looking for the front desk. Eventually a polite, but very drunk, man approached me and directed me inside. I found the front desk tucked neatly between two pool tables, decorated with neon beer signs with thick smoke hanging in the air. Or was this the bar? Yes and Yes. The front desk IS the bar! Who'd a thunk? Fast forward to a few minutes later. I got my key and went to my room. The light didn't work. It kinda smelled funny. There was no thermostat or controls on the heater (keep in mind you're in Wisconsin). The bathroom light didn't work either but I did get a kick out of seeing one tiny shampoo bottle set in the middle of a long metal shelf above the toilet (with no tank). I think the one thing that was most perplexing was the chair in my room. Not because there was no desk to go with it, but because it was so badly stained and I could actually differentiate between food stains and bodily fluid stains. I threw a sheet over it and proped it against the door under the handle. I spent most of the night awake because the drunks from the bar/front desk were gathering in the parking lot having a grand time, hooting and hollering. I checked out the next morning.

The Mayflower is cheap. Really cheap, like $39/night on Saturday night. And you get pretty much what you'd expect in a 2-star place. Loud highway noise (W. Beltline is 100 feet away), screaming baby in the next room, register for your room in a smoky bar. But you do get a decent bed, TV, and fridge in the room. My cousin stayed at the Super 8 just down the road, and it was much nicer if you can spend the extra money.