<p>So I am starting to think about making reservations somewhere in Madison near the campus for when we take my freshman son to campus this August. We are from California so not familiar with the Madison area. My son and I visited the campus in November and stayed at Super 8. May do that again but besides the Super 8, anyone have any other recommendations? I want something not terribly expensive, close to campus, has free parking, and maybe rooms that would be big enough to hold boxes of stuff in them! Also free wifi would be great too. A pool would be a nice perk as well. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>There are not too many motels near campus. The Doubletree on Johnson Street is probably the closest. I don’t know if it has the amenities you want but the location is very good (especially if your son will be living in southeast). The Hyatt on West Washington is a little further away and pricier, but still pretty well located in relation to campus.</p>
<p>Be aware that prices will probably be higher everywhere during that week because of all the parents in town. Best thing to do is to Google map the city, plug in “motels” and start calling places. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hello Rousse, </p>
<p>We’ve stayed at the Doubletree on Johnson St on the eastern edge of the campus each time we’ve stayed in Madison. It has free wifi, free parking and a pool. It has the “Badger Grill” in it. And there are plenty of places to eat with in easy walking distance.</p>
<p>During move in days, the parking lot was full of others poised to move their kids into the dorms the next day. So that made it kind of fun. </p>
<p>Are you going to SOAR this summer?</p>
<p>Has your son received a room assignment and a move in date yet? (I’m thinking “no”, but I don’t remember the time frame for these things.) That might affect your reservation dates, I would think. </p>
<p>I can’t say if it was a good value, we didn’t price shop to any extent. But we weren’t stunned our outraged by the price, or we wouldn’t have returned.</p>
<p>We have stayed at a couple places when visiting UW, but I like Quality Inn and Suites in Fitchburg best. It’s a couple miles from the campus, but it’s in a quiet & safe neighborhood and it’s right off of Fish Hatchery Rd, which leads directly to campus. Free wifi and parking. Continental breakfast, comfortable beds, clean rooms, and we’ve usually been able to stay there for around $80-100 per night.</p>
<p>If you want to get the real taste of Madison you have to stay at the University Inn. It’s located right in the middle of State Street. Definitely has some character.</p>
<p>Speaking of character (and I’m not sure if they still do this), but when D2 was doing SOAR in 2009 we stayed in the Union itself. They do rent out some of these old, funky rooms upstairs, which are actually suites, with plenty of space & is right in the middle of things. Old but clean, and I think it was right around a hundred bucks a night.</p>
<p>Search on the web- Expedia is our favorite site. I presume you will have a car for those boxes (if flying - go to Chicago O’Hare and rent a car for flight convenience and cost). When you come for SOAR (I recommend that for parents, even those who are familiar with Madison/UW) you can ask about this. For SOAR staying in the dorms is a good option- very convenient with good food, air conditioning and a taste of the life for your student (they separate the parents from the students so you aren’t in their way). When we go to Madison we often end up on the west side,near the West Towne mall, but near the East Towne mall area is an easy area to get to campus. Madison is hard/confusing to get around because of the lakes, but it doesn’t take long to get anywhere. The campus will be very well marked for dorm arrivals.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all of these suggestions. My son will be attending SOAR in July but we will not be going with him as he is a Posse Scholar and will be going with his Posse. So we will only be going with him in August when he moves in. I will look into those campus options as well as the other choices you suggested. Last time we flew into Milwaukee and drove the rest of the way and that was pretty easy, probably will avoid flying into Chicago. We may also fly directly into Madison if the difference in cost isn’t too bad. I think he will be moving in either August 29th or 30th ,but have not received an exact date from UW. He already has chosen his room in Bradley Learning Community though.</p>
<p>We LOVE the Hyatt place, in my hands on line it was cheaper than Doubletree, has small indoor pool but FREE breakfast with fruit you can grab for the road. It was also much nicer. Also has a pseudo split set up with a fridge of decent size, desk and a sofa bed in the " sitting area". Parking is a fee but not bad. We found it cheaper to fly to Milwaukee and rent the car total cost, the car was a lot less even though the flight was a little more than Chicago.</p>
<p>Many choices- you have to decide how much for which amenities you are willing to splurge. Go with the least expensive option of Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago. For school breaks your son may choose to take a bus from the Memorial Union to the Chicago O’Hare airport. You will learn a lot through SOAR. You don’t find out move in dates until midsummer- August? They try to have 1/2 of each dorm move in one day, the other the next for less congestion (room assignments are out before the first SOAR date- you could call Res Halls and ask which date will be his move in one just in case it has already been decided then). There is likely to be a house meeting around supper time so don’t count on that last evening together. When you do get to town be sure to pick up a free copy of the annual Isthmus manual from the bookstore or many other places with its comprehensive Madison guide- something to take home with you.</p>
<p>My daughter and I were just in Wisconsin at the end of March and stayed at the Dahlmann-Campus Inn–smallish, European style hotel just a block off of State Street shops and restaurants and 2-3 blocks from Memorial Union. I highly recommend it. Complimentary breakfast (including eggs, sausage, potatoes), dessert and coffee in the evening, New York Times, parking and wi-fi. Fitness center but no pool. Great place!</p>
<p>The best hotel in Madison is the Madison Concourse. You can stay on the executive level and receive free breakfast. There is a happy hour with free cocktails as well. The hotel is very clean, and the rooms have all been refurbished. This is right down the street from the capital, and within walking distance everything on campus.</p>
<p>I like the Madison Hilton better than the Concourse. Too bad they killed the Edgewater expansion and rehab deal. Badly needed and great location on the water.</p>
<p>Hotwire has some decent rates in late August–under $100 downtown 3.5 star hotel.</p>
<p>[About</a> - Wisconsin Union](<a href=“http://www.union.wisc.edu/wuhotel.htm]About”>http://www.union.wisc.edu/wuhotel.htm)</p>
<p>Consider staying at the new Union South - not sure what the cost or requirements are.</p>
<p>Three more places are the brand new Hotel Red ([World-class</a> luxury. Wisconsin style. | HotelRed](<a href=“http://hotelred.com/]World-class”>http://hotelred.com/), right across from Camp Randall at Monroe and Regent Streets), the InnTowner ([Hotels</a> in Madison Wisconsin | Best Western InnTowner Hotel](<a href=“http://www.inntowner.com/]Hotels”>http://www.inntowner.com/), 2424 University Avenue, near U.W. Hospital), and Arbor House ([Arbor</a> House, An Environmental Inn - Madison - USA](<a href=“http://www.arbor-house.com/]Arbor”>http://www.arbor-house.com/), 3402 Monroe Street, across from the Arboretum).</p>
<p>Good for your son for choosing Bradley!</p>
<p>bedford: Thanks for all of those suggestions. Do you have any personal information or experience about Bradley? Anything you can tell us about would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>I know someone on the faculty who’s been involved with Bradley. Here’s what he says:</p>
<p>“In the residential learning communities, the staff and peer mentors work really hard to create connections amongst the students, so that the students feel like they’re part of a small, close-knit community within the much larger (sometimes overwhelmingly so) University community. And the Bradley roundtables allow students to get to know a faculty member outside of the classroom in a more intimate environment. Most of a first-year student’s classes will be huge lectures; in stark contrast, the Bradley roundtables are groups of 12-14 students. The groups do both academic and social (i.e., fun) activities, all of which enrich the first-year student’s experience.”</p>