Reliability is a customer experience too. Our July 2026 stay in Middleton was clean, friendly, uncomplicated and almost aggressively uneventful.
My wife and I were in the Madison area for the Fourth of July weekend to spend time with our adult kids and see Them Coulee Boys. We needed a one-night home base. That's exactly what we got.
THE EXPERIENCE WAS EASY.
The room seemed clean. Wife Test: Pass. Staff were friendly and talkative. A front-desk employee asked what brought us to town, listened to our plans and encouraged us to have a great time and let the hotel know if we needed anything.
I enjoy a good customer service rep. This was one of those small interactions that costs a business almost nothing and makes the place feel more human.
THE GREAT VENDING-MACHINE REVOLT.
If we're searching for adversity, this is about as dramatic as it gets: I thought the vending-machine prices were a little high, so we went to a gas station for cold drinks instead.
That is not a hotel scandal. It's a purchasing decision. And the fact that this is one of the few negatives I remember tells you quite a bit about the stay.
Breakfast was hearty and included with the stay, consistent with IHG's current listing of complimentary Express Start breakfast at the property.
THE WIFE TEST: PASS.
No cleanliness concerns stood out during our stay. This is the boring result hotel operators should probably love.
FLASHFORCAST // BOTTOM LINE
IT MADE THE TRIP EASIER.
That's the question we keep coming back to with travel: did this business make the trip easier or harder?
This hotel made it easier. We arrived, slept, ate breakfast and got on with the reason we were actually in town. Sometimes that's the whole job.