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4.5
#5 of 15 hotels in Lake Geneva
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Come see how something Old Can Be Oh, So New! The Maxwell Mansion, est 1856, in Lake Geneva, WI is a secluded haven for travelers surprisingly in the heart of downtown. Idyllically set on three manicured acres of gardens less than 2 blocks to the lake it is a true escape for couples & friends looking to relax in comfort and be surrounded in history. Built originally as the personal home to one of Chicago & Lake Geneva's founding fathers, Dr. Phillip Maxwell, the Inn, Stables & Carriage House offer guests a picture perfect glimpse into the past while still enjoying the desired luxuries of a modern day bon vivant. Guests can enjoy a leisure day at the compound at the pool, playing bocce ball, sipping elixers in the Apothecary Bar or relaxing around the open firepit.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
My girlfriend and I needed an escape from our quarantine work from home life, and the mansion was perfect. We stayed in the carriage house with a comfortable king sized bed and a hot tub that was perfect for both of us. The first day/night on the grounds was amazing. This is an instagram dream with so many excellent photo ops. The pool is the perfect size for a smaller place with limited guests. The apothecary bar produced amazing drinks, and the bartender Renee was fun to interact with. The hotel provides rides in a neat looking buggy that is designed off an old fashioned car. I was able to surprise my love by having a bottle of champagne waiting for us multiple times during our stay. I would highly recommend skipping a Monday booking, not just for the hotel, but for the greater LG area. The grounds are essentially closed with no bar availability and limited staff. There is an honor bar that was disappointing at best. Even the fire pits seemed closed. Most restaurants in the downtown area are also closed on mondays. To get the best experience, I'd avoid the start of the week! This is a fantastic estate. I could not have asked for a better scenic escape, and at a great value (but I needed a cocktail on Monday!).
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Date of stay: June 2020
Rooms
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Room Tip:Â The second floor of the carriage house provides a great view of the estate grounds. There is a...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed here on a whim and I'm so glad we did! Our room was in the stables, the Garden Suite, which is not actually in line with the rest of the stable rooms but at the end of the building on a lower level. You exit the driveway and make a quick left on Cass, so the unit faces away from the parking lot and feels secluded.
We were a bit disappointed to find that the Garden suite actually has an upstairs neighbor (should have realized they were using "Garden" in that way), as part of the reason we chose a stables room was because they all looked one story. However there was only walking above us for a few minutes around 10 pm, and it wasn't very loud (a sign on the door to the space above says "Private" so it is not a guest room, which was a relief). Also the ceiling in the room is fairly low, but my 6' tall partner got used to it pretty quickly.
The room was super well-appointed. We chose it for the kitchenette, and were pleasantly surprised by the heated floors, the bidet-style toilet, and the amazing steam shower.
We also didn't realize that the Apothecary bar would be available, as the Speakeasy was closed, which was another pleasant surprise. We had the full run of the bottom floor of the mansion to explore (upstairs is limited to guests in the main mansion I believe), which was cozy and gorgeous, and also allowed us to socially distance from the other patrons.
You can reach out to the staff via text, which was super convenient - they sent a link to a registration form via text the day before our stay, which was the same number for customer service while we were there.
The Mansion is a quick walk downtown, maybe ten minutes at most. Even in below freezing, icy weather, it was nice to be able to walk downtown and pick up some dinner.
I can't wait to go back!
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Date of stay: December 2021
Location
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Room Tip:Â The Garden Suite was amazing, but if you don't want anyone above you, stay in one of the...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Britt Mueller, Marketing at Maxwell Mansion
Responded Jan 3, 2022
Thank you for the wonderful review! The shower in the Garden Suite is pretty wonderful if we do say so ourselves. We are so very happy to hear you had a great time and enjoyed the charm of Maxwell Mansion! It was a pleasure to host your stay; we hope you will come visit us again soon!
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We stayed in the Carriage House for two nights in April.
Pros: The Mansion was perfectly located within walking distance of downtown, the Lake Geneva Path, and getting out of town. The rooms were very clean and the style was updated and trendy. The Apothecary Bar and the Speakeasy were really cool spots to grab a drink before or after dinner. There was plenty of space for secluded seating and a lot of outdoor spots for relaxing. It was very easy to check-in and check out.
Cons: Lighting in the room seemed lacking. The walls are pretty thin so it is easy to hear when neighbors are around or things are going on outside. The memory foam pillows and mattresses aren't necessarily my favorite, they can be hard at times. The smart devices connected to the TV need to be set up for use. The WiFi is really hit or miss. Ways to get snacks and beverages were limited for your room, the Tack room appeared to be locked.
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Date of stay: April 2021
Rooms
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Although this hotel is steeped in history & is in a great location, management needs to spend some money to bring the quality up to the level of their price point. We stayed in the Stables rooms, which at least have modern TV's & coffee makers, unlike the rooms in the main house. The rooms are dark & sparsely decorated. Everything is just dingy. The manager was boasting to us about their cleanliness and adherence to COVID standards, yet on the first morning, I discovered the maid had been in my room! I've done a fair amount of travel in the past year and no hotel is offering maid service. I was horrified that someone had been in my room! No one on the premises wore masks. This property is significantly over-priced. I cannot recommend it.
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Date of stay: October 2021
Value
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Room Tip:Â If you stay here, be sure to stay in the Stables rooms.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Maxwell Mansion, Marketing at Maxwell Mansion
Responded Oct 28, 2021
Thank you for your feedback, Marcia. We're sorry to hear parts of your stay did not meet expectations for you. Maxwell Mansion takes pride in offering rooms at different price points, which all include modern flat screen TVs, in-room Keurig coffee makers and other amenities. COVID protocols across our historic property follow local guidelines. To best maintain a high level of cleanliness for all guests, daily housekeeping services are provided. However, guests may choose to opt out of services by placing their no service hanging sign on the door. We apologize again for your experience and hope you will give Maxwell Mansion another try down the road. If you would like to discuss further, we invite you to give us a call at (262) 248-9711. Thank you!
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We visited Lake Geneva to view the National Snow Sculpting Competition. We had a nice time and enjoyed our stay. The Maxwell Mansion was nice, but overpriced and very weak on amenities. For $175 per night, breakfast should have been provided. Something, anything. A voucher for a local restaurant would be a nice gesture. A bottle of wine, or snacks, or a free drink at their Apothecary Bar would be nice. A Keurig was provided in room. My wife is a tea drinker and asked for a tea K-cup.... we were charged $0.58
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Date of stay: January 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maxwell Mansion is a fun, and unique, place to stay. But I wish we had booked a room in one of the other areas of the hotel. We had a room in the main house. The piano music and the conversations from the Speakeasy were heard, loud and clear, in our room until the Speakeasy closed at midnight. We talked with one of the other couples in a different room in the main house and they had the same problem. So, unless you are out past midnight, you won't have any quiet until the Speakeasy closes and the guests leave. We visited the Speakeasy and enjoyed it, but preferred the apothecary bar. Much wider selection of drinks and you could take them outside to the igloo. Overall, loved the concept of this throwback hotel, but wish we had received the same welcome and historical information that some other reviewers had mentioned.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I stayed in the Ulysses S Grant Suite. I was impressed by the quality service from walking in the door and throughout our whole stay from the front desk staff, the bartenders, etc. Our suite was spacious, excellent historical charm, with some modern updates. Has a working fireplace, comfortable bed, neat claw foot tub and has access to walk out to a balcony in nicer weather. I was impressed by their utilization of igloos in the colder weather and with COVID. It was 40-50s the weekend we stayed with rain and wind and we were very comfortable in the igloo. Only thing I would recommend is considering small blankets to be offered to guests to use outside. If it wasn’t for the igloo and outdoor space, I do feel that the seating may have been cramped indoors this busy weekend with the outside guests coming in, but didn’t notice it at all with the ample outdoor seating available. I think this place would be perfection if they had some food offerings, since the rooms and mansion are so nice you don’t want to leave! But heard this may be in the works.
The speakeasy and the apothecary were quite cool. Our drinks were excellent, bartenders were skilled.
Already working on planning a trip back!
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Date of stay: March 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Room except for one thing was pristine. Very nicely decorated and it all fit. Room was easy to find and well marked. Definitely a very unique place. The second check in person was awesome
The bad.
Lauren at the front desk was confused and flustered overmatched. Signs for check in are very small and NOT well marked. Very confusing. The lampshade in room was disgusting ( will share a picture ). Room was not ready at check in and was given 2 different times. If they would have just said sorry, can you give us an hour would have been fine. Instead it was come back in 20 minutes. When we walked into the room you knew the floor was freshly mopped. There were 2 rather large puddles left.
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Maxwell Mansion, Other at Maxwell Mansion
Responded Aug 10, 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review! We are happy to hear you enjoyed the charm of Maxwell Mansion, and appreciate your feedback on how we can improve. Our team worked diligently to get your room ready for your arrival, and we sincerely apologize that you got into your room late and that the floors were wet. Thank you for staying with us, and we hope you will come back soon!
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We stayed in the carriage house which is a 2-story building with room access from the outside. One reviewer commented that this was a rehabbed 60's motel. It's more of an inn. There was plenty of room. King size bed was firm and very comfortable. Slept so well (memory foam). So nice to be able to see beforehand the exact room we were getting. The jacuzzi was a perfect size for two. Loved the shower and ambience of the bathroom. Mansion is close to downtown Lake Geneva. We walked everywhere and didn't need to pay for parking in town or deal with traffic. We wanted an outside fire and Claudia came out to assist. Inside of the mansion is vintage and charming. A perfect visit! Highly recommend!
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Date of stay: October 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A unique hybrid of all three, quirky, not at all cookie cutter. On the positive side it is well located, a short walk to lake and town. Our room and bathroom were spacious, comfortable and clean with thanks to the impressive housekeeping team. Externally and internally the main house is a picturesque mansion with pleasant outside seating areas and small pool. We enjoyed a free welcome cocktail served by a helpful bartender, there was plentiful ice, good wifi and effective but not quiet air con. Shortcomings were that apart from the main house, the carriage room area and stables are an expensive motel with horse themed character. We had few electric points which were not well positioned and no room safe box. Our bedroom (11) suffered from some traffic noise and lights and the absence of breakfast reduced the value for money feel.
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Date of stay: July 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jenne Walters, Guest Services / Front Office at Maxwell Mansion
Responded Jul 2, 2024
Tony, thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate your feedback. It sounds like you were relay able to enjoy the property itself as well as the Lake Geneva area. I am sorry to hear that the traffic noise and light interrupted your relaxing evening and that the room did not have a few of the amenities that you were looking for. We are currently looking at breakfast options and hope to have this available for our guests in the near future. We hope that if you are in the area again, that you will choose to stay with us again.
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There are more places to choose from in the Lake Geneva area.
PRICE RANGE
₱14,055 - ₱14,111 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
golden oaks mansion hotel lake geneva
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Golden Oaks Mansion
LOCATION
United StatesWisconsinLake Geneva
NUMBER OF ROOMS
28
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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