Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport by IHG

The staff was courteous and very helpful.

It was a bit tired and clearly needs a refresh.

On June 16, I experienced what is, without question, the worst hotel experience I have ever had. I arrived at the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport at approximately 5:10 PM to check into my confirmed reservation. The front desk agent, Kiki, informed me that there were no clean rooms available and that it would be about 30 minutes before one was ready. I accepted that explanation, left to have dinner, and returned around 8:30 PM—more than three hours later—expecting my room to be ready. Instead, I was told that they had no rooms available at all and that I would not be staying there. No phone call. No text message. No apology before I arrived back at the hotel. Just, “We don’t have a room for you.” When I asked where they were relocating me, as walking displaced guests to another hotel at the property’s expense is standard practice when a hotel oversells, I was told, “We were busy today and the city is sold out.” Their solution? They could cancel my reservation “without penalty.” Without penalty? The penalty was entirely mine. I was stranded in a city where hotel inventory had essentially disappeared because Crowne Plaza sold me a room they ultimately could not provide. I immediately contacted IHG Customer Care, only to be told there was nothing they could do because the hotel was sold out. Their attempt at making things right was an insulting 15,000 IHG One Rewards points—a gesture that doesn’t begin to compensate for what followed. I searched everywhere for a room. The closest available hotel I could find was a Hyatt charging $882 per night—well outside my company’s travel policy. With virtually no options remaining, I had to drive an hour south to Chicago just to find a hotel with availability. To make matters worse, I had an early morning flight departing from Milwaukee. That meant driving an hour to Chicago late at night, sleeping fewer than four hours, and then driving another hour back to Milwaukee before dawn to catch my flight. Because Crowne Plaza oversold its hotel. Because Crowne Plaza failed to relocate a displaced guest. Because Crowne Plaza offered no meaningful assistance whatsoever. This wasn’t an inconvenience—it was a complete failure of hospitality and customer service. At no point did anyone take ownership of the situation, attempt to find a solution, or demonstrate even a basic level of empathy. I’ve stayed at countless IHG properties over the years, and this experience was by far the most disappointing. A confirmed reservation should mean exactly that: confirmed. If your hotel oversells, the burden should never fall entirely on the guest to solve the problem. The Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport failed at the most fundamental responsibility of a hotel: providing the room that was reserved. Its complete lack of accountability and customer care is an embarrassment to the Crowne Plaza and IHG brands. Avoid this property if you value reliability. A reservation here is apparently nothing more than a suggestion.

It was good

Everything

VERY racist black guests making fun of the Indian people in the lobby Everytime I was going through. Makes me not return when the staff did nothing to stop it.

Not clean it all

I highly suggest to stay away from this place and seek different accommodation near MKE airport! The fact that the hotel is located in a rather disserted area wasn't even the worst. Upon arrival, the front desk staff was not present and instead I found a card stating that they will be right back. After about a 10 minute wait I was able to check-in and head up to my room. Unfortunately, the key card didn't work. After speaking with the front desk staff, I was assigned a new room. During all my travels I have never run into the situation that follows: the 2nd room was not made!! Towels and bed sheets were all over the floor and the room smelled so bad, it literally took my breath away! If there is one thing a hotel cannot afford itself to do, then it's to send a guest into an unmade room! Trully unacceptable! Let's not even get into the fact about the smell. Despite all that, I gave it a 3rd chance and was assigned a new room. This time the door would not open (despite the key card working), it seemed it was locked from the inside. A that point I had enough, cancelled my one night stay, and rebooked at a different hotel. I don't usually write hotel reviews, but I'm writting this in favour of other guests who consider staying here. Do not!

I recommend staying at another hotel because of the area, was not clean, lack of amenities, and customer service issues. Hotel is in a dying area. The hotel and gas station next to and the restaurant across the street from the hotel have closed. The only outside food within walking distance is McDonald’s and the Speedway Gas Station. They actually have the gaul to impose a daily parking fee for guests. There were about a dozen cars in the parking lot at 10 p.m. both nights of my stay. There were more spaces than at Wal-Mart. While waiting in the lobby twice (once because my passkey stopped working and the other waiting for the shuttle ride to the airport/Amtrak station,) only a couple of other guests were noticed. Did witness the shift changeover. There were two hotel maids to service a hotel with four floors with a total of a 100 rooms. The same front desk clerk was there at 10 p.m. the night I checked in and at 10 a.m. when I came downstairs. Reception person was very cold. When I arrived, there was a sign at the reception desk that said “Be Right Back.” There were water marks on the desks and the bathroom sink. The carpet has not been steam cleaned anytime recently. I would hate to inspect the room with a UV light. The bed was so bad that it hurt my back. The shuttle is a minivan. When I arrived at the airport Amtrak station, I called a shuttle ride. The hotel did not tell me that Amtrak passengers requiring shuttle rides (and Uber/Lyft, taxis, etc.) had to take the airport shuttle as the train station was not accessible for those types of services. The hotel shuttle arrived at the airport while I was on the airport shuttle and would arrive at the pickup point in five minutes. The shuttle refused to wait for me and said it would be 30 to 45 minutes before the shuttle would make another round. On my return trip to the airport/Amtrak, I sat in the shuttle for ten minutes so that the couple to go to their car in the parking lot. I sat in the third-row and accessing the third-row seat is easy for a ten-year old, but not for a senior with neuropathy. I have traveled extensively for many years and have stayed at everything from ultra-low cost to five-star hotels. I had considered Crowne Plaza hotels to be at least nearly a four-star hotel chain.