We've just returned from a two night stay at the Canfield. We chose this hotel for it's location, price and eccentric personality and will most likely be staying here any other time we come to Dubuque.
This hotel is within walking distance of most port of Dubuque attractions (which was what we wanted). Within a 1/2 to 3/4 mile radius you have the Spirit of Dubuque river rides, aquarium and river museum, America's River Festival concert area (held this weekend), casino, shopping, downtown restaurants and bars, If you are looking for something "fancy", "cookie-cutter" with room service, etc., this is not the hotel for you. If you want luxurious décor in the down town area and don't mind paying for it, I recommend the Julien Inn, which is just a few blocks away. There is also a Holiday Inn close to this location for those looking for a more standard-fare. If you want to be on the "main strip" coming into town on Highway 20 near all of the big box stores, chain restaurants, etc. there are a good number of chain hotels located along the strip. I would not recommend the Canfield to our more snooty friends (especially those with kids), but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to my friends I know to be more laid back and more into location and economy than luxury.
At the Canfield, we stayed in a 2-room suite (#517) for $85 + tax per night. The 5th floor is a non-smoking floor, but I did notice a faint smoke smell every once in awhile while in bed, which I assume was wafting up from the room below us. If you are very sensitive to the smell of smoke, I would not recommend this hotel. Our room overlooked the neon "Canfield Hotel" sign which we loved. As most noted, the hotel's décor is a conversation topic, but we found the room and hotel to be clean. Even all the knickknacks in the rooms were clean! Think of the decor in your grandparent's basement in the 1970's.......
Our two room suite had a small sitting area with a loveseat (new), chair (new), 2 end tables, phone, 15" wall-hung flatscreen TV, mirror, wet bar area with a small refrigerator/freezer, microwave, sink, bar rail and bar stool, garbage can, small hutch, 2 lamps, bottle opener, coffee pot with coffee, tea bags, sweetener, 2 old style coffee cups with the old plastic liners (classic!), plastic cups and a ceiling fan. I didn't see an ice bucket. We played a little Frank Sinatra and had a cocktail in this area before heading out on the town!
The bedroom was spacious with a double bed (comfortable enough; linens were fine), 2 pillows (flat - there was another one in the closet. You might want to request additional pillows), small table and 2 chairs; lounge chair with footrest (recently re-upholstered), mirror, 2 end tables with lamps, ceiling fan, bureau, phone, 22" (or maybe 26") wall mounted flatscreen TV, small sink and shelf, 1200 watt hairdryer clock. There was no alarm clock in the room, but you could request a wakeup call. Curtains looked new in the bedroom. Carpet was retro looking, but clean.There are windows in the sitting/wetbar area and bedroom that you can open, which was nice. The bathroom is small but functional with a tub/shower (note - there isn't a scald guard on the shower so be careful. Water was hot!), low-sitting toilet (think of the old toilets you had in grade school with the black toilet seat) mirror, 1200 watt dryer(yes, another one!) towel racks and a small wall cupboard. There was bar soap provided and I did find 2 small packets of shampoo in the wet bar area with the coffee packets?, so I'm not sure if shampoo is actually provided or if someone left it. There were standard bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths and bath matt provided. Interestingly, we slept in until noon on Saturday and housekeeping had already left so we were basically "out-of-luck", but that was fine with us. There really isn't any individual air conditioning in the rooms. There is a big "swampcooler" which cools the building and there are radiators in the rooms for heat. The temperatures were in the high 70's/low 80's while we were there and the room temperature was fine. There are ceiling fans as well.
As someone else noted, this hotel does seem to draw a varied crowd. There were a number of people in the front lobby throughout our stay that we decided were probably long-term residents. An interesting crowd, but everyone was friendly and we never felt unsafe.
Reservations and front desk personnel varied in friendliness levels, although no one was unfriendly. Carol, who was at the front desk when we checked in and the next day, was exceptionally helpful and friendly.
Some other observations:
* The Rainbow Lounge in the hotel has a 1930's meets the 1970's vibe décor and their karaoke nights are quite well known and attended even thought the place is small. :) It's good, cheesy fun with pleasant staff and reasonably priced drinks ($3 for a bottle of Bud Light. Lots of mirrored walls, a small dance area and black leather "C" shaped booths in addition to the bar area itself. Interesting bathrooms.
* There is a small "cantina" area by the front desk that carries some pop, dry goods, microwaveable food, etc. for sale, and has a microwave.
* Don't forget to have your picture taken with the two Native American "guests" in the front lobby.
* There is free parking across the street from the hotel (by the Sunshine Restaurant)
* The Sunshine Restaurant across the street serves diner-type food at a reasonable price. It seems to be a throw-back to the 1950's era. We ate lunch there and the food we had (open-faced hot-roast beef sandwich served with a cup of soup, mashed potatoes ; cheeseburger and fries) were good.
*There is a McDonald's ~1 block from the hotel.
*There are a number of great little restaurants and bars (i.e. Vinnie Vanucci's - Italian) not far from the Julien hotel, which is within walking distance (< 1/2 mile).
In short, if you want somewhere downtown that is reasonably priced, clean and a little "different", give this place a try.
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