Arbor House An Environmental Inn

My girlfriend and I stayed a couple nights in the John Nolen room for Valentine’s Day. This was a really great B&B with incredible breakfast, wine and desserts. There’s also a sauna. I plan on coming again in the spring. You would be crazy to not want to stay here. As good as it gets.

Very nice B&B experience. Friendly and accommodating service. Feels like staying in a nice home. Room was quite and tastefully furnished. Good quality breakfast. Desserts provided. Enjoyed the complimentary bikes to ride around the UW Arboretum.

Last weekend I took over the Arbor House with my boyfriend’s whole family (not in the Spanish conquistador way; we literally took every single room in the place). From the moment we arrived to the moment we left it was magical. The space is gorgeous and you have to keep pinching yourself to remember you’re not in a Lord of the Rings novel with all that foliage!
Each morning we were served breakfast (baklava french toast, asparagus quiche, hash browns, granola and yogurt, strawberry smoothies, to name a few), and they were happy to whip up something vegan for me. They serve Just Coffee, which was just enough to fuel us through a long graduation weekend. The rooms are comfortable (can I take that bed home with me?) and suuuuper quiet. The owner explained that the walls are concrete, so someone next door could be having a rave and you’d sleep like a babe.
The place is located on Monroe street, directly next to a restaurant (Gates & Brovi) and just down the road from a number of other restaurants and shops. It’s about 5 minutes from downtown, but doesn’t feel like it. A lovely place to stay if you’re planning a visit to Madison!

We just got back from our stay at Arbor House, in the Aldo Leopold room, and loved it! The room was lovely with a comfy bed, whirlpool bathtub, and lots of nice windows. The staff were very accommodating for our diets (vegan and vegetarian) and the food was excellent (breakfasts, wine/​snacks, dessert and tea in the evening). Overall, a very comfortable, homey, and relaxing experience. We’ll be back for sure.

We stayed 5 days at the Arbor House in November 2013 and absolutely loved it! Cathie, the innkeeper, was friendly and accommodating. We informed Cathie that my husband had to leave by 8am for 3 mornings to get to meetings and she had our breakfast ready by 7:40am in front of a roaring fire. I was expecting a type of continental breakfast during the week, but it was a healthy cooked breakfast along with fruit, oatmeal, coffee, tea & orange juice. We were also in the historic building where we would find a fresh pot of coffee and a newspaper in the kitchen every morning before we headed over for breakfast.
I stayed around the inn during the day and would walk down Monroe Street to shop or pick up some lunch while my husband was working. Even though we had a TV in our room, it was rarely on. There was a comfy living room in our building with lots of books and an interesting scrap book about the inn. I made myself tea and enjoyed the quiet relaxing atmosphere of the inn. At 5:30, we would walk over to the main building for wine and cheese before going out for dinner. We never ordered dessert because we knew there was dessert and coffee waiting for us when we got back to the inn.
Our room was warm and comfortable. I love that there were Bert’s Bees products as well as candles and bubble bath next to the bath tub! The only thing that could have made this trip better, was if we had gone in the spring or summer when everything was blooming! I bet it’s gorgeous and it would have been warm enough for us Southerners to ride bikes!

My wife and I had a wonderful stay over the holidays while in Madison to visit old friends. We chose the Arbor House as we’d heard good things about it word-​of-​mouth, and it was in a great location for our visit. During our stay we had wonderful peace and quiet, enjoyed wine hour in the late afternoon, great coffee and breakfast in the mornings, and even tried out the sauna one evening. Our room was very comfortable and quiet, with a plush bed, gas fireplace, large claw foot tub. Made for a very relaxing 3 days!

Very quaint and cozy… on line reservations were screwed up (which seems to be a theme in many reviews) but the owner called and moved us to a more expensive room at a discount. We loved running and walking across the street and walking to the Badger game. Owner and staff were very friendly and welcoming. My only complaint would be the heat would not turn down… everything else was great.

Ambiance. Comfort. Refreshment.
Cozy and charming while still being light and modern. Delicious breakfast!

My wife and I stayed for three nights that we paid for in advance. A friend raved about the place. We really didn’t care for it and would have moved to a hotel if not for the advance payment.
The main problem is the place is unattended much of the time. Unlike most B&bs, the owners don’t live there.
We arrived late and couldn’t get an answer on the phone or a call back. We found the place ok, but it was all locked up. A note told us where to find the key. So we managed, but it was off putting to have no one there.
The room was small and lacked utility – no dresser or shelves and only a tiny wardrobe for coats.
Breakfast isn’t served until 8:30 a.m. Come on. That’s ridiculous. And it was pretty mediocre too.
The room and the inn we’re clean and the location is good.
We won’t be back.

I have stayed at this B&B in the past and had a fairly positive experience. Comments about breakfast being bad in other posts seem odd to me, as the breakfast was one of the most memorable parts of our stay. I agree with some of the high rated reviews IF you actually get to book the room properly and get to stay. Their booking system is inaccurate and broken, so I don’t recommend booking through them online. Turns out even their verbal confirmations are dubious.
Recently, I tried booking online but also called to confirm the reservation. I was both given a verbal confirmation and an email confirmation that my room for 2 nights was booked. The next day I received a voice mail telling me that the online system messed up and that I did not have a room.
Not one thing was done for me as a returning customer except tell me we could stay on two different nights… one of which was an impossibility as we would be on a plane home. I thought at the very least they’d accommodate us for one night for the mistake they made. Nope — nada for the customer. I will never stay here again. They really should be doing more for the customers when they are the ones who make the mistake. Their online reservation system is the software they invested in, so they have the responsibility to make sure it works properly.

A seriously overpriced and way too pretentious B&B. Decent clean room but the breakfast, which should be a point of pride at any B&B was genuinely awful. The staff was distant and not at all friendly. We stayed there once and never, ever again.

My wife and I just spent three days at the Arbor House. We really like this place. The owner was friendly and gracious. The staff was polite and helpful. We stayed in the John Muir room. It was very nice and cozy. The whirlpool tub had plenty of hot water and worked well. The bed was comfortable. Each evening there was a happy hour with wine and cheese. The main room was beautiful with nice views. It was a lot of fun to get to know the other guests. The breakfasts each morning were very good. The meals were imaginative and varied. Again we enjoyed sitting down with our fellow guests. I highly recommend this place.

We arrived at Arbor House toward the end of happy hour, so didn’t catch the wine and cheese, but the ice cream treats later in the evening were great! Possibly the cleanest B&B I have ever seen. Very comfortable room! Breakfast was excellent, especially the crustless asparagus quiche, oatmeal and fruit salad (with melon, pineapple, apple and radishes!) We can’t wait until our next visit!

I stayed in the Studio Suite during a visit to Madison. The room was comfortable, definitely not as fancy as some of the places I have stayed in other places, but very homey. They had classical music welcoming us into the room and fresh cut flowers playing. The juccuzi tub in the room is definitely for one person.
The highlight of the Inn for me is the THREE delicious snacks/​meals included in your stay. They have a cocktail hour with snacks, a dessert later in the evening, and an incredible breakfast in the morning. Items from our one night visited included margaritas, a lemon soufflé, baked pear with brie and potato pancakes.

I travel at least once a month for both business and pleasure, and this was hands-​down my worst hotel experience ever. I made a reservation for 4 nights via email (with a confirmatory telephone call). At around noon the day after the 3^rd night, I received an email message from the hotel telling me that check out was at 11:00 and they have packed my bags for me and left them at the front desk. I immediately called the hotel to let them know that I was staying for 4 nights and not 3. The woman on staff claimed that they only had me in their books for 3. I then send them a copy of the confirmatory email, but they still deny that they intended to give me the room for 4 nights! She actually yelled at me and said that they do not overbook, and did not make a mistake – as if I was trying to pull a fast one on them by now wanting to stay another night.
She suggested that I use their phone to call other nearby hotels to try to find a place for the night. I told them that if they would not honor their contract, they should at least find a place for me – and pay for it. After about half an hour, the owner (Cathie) told me that she’d had a change of heart and would let me stay that night (not that I really wanted to any more). No apology. No champagne to the room, no discount on my stay. Nothing.
To top it all off, the next day, I get another email from the hotel, saying that they’d charged my credit card for the last night (which meant they charged my card for $ 579 even though the email confirmation quoted a price of $ 469). I’ve asked that they refund the charges, although I have no real expectation that they will – which means I’ll now have to take this up with my credit card company.
And to top it all off, the room smelled funny and had centipedes.

My boyfriend and I live in Chicago, a dirty, stressful, expensive city that we’re looking forward to getting out of. For a weekend getaway, we decided to visit Madison, a well-​reputed place down here in the Windy City.
Being graduate students, you wouldn’t expect us to choose a place like the Arbor House for our 2-​night, 3-​day visit to Madison. It’s an environmentally conscious B&B that would typically be out of the reach of low-​income students like us (and, in fact, the other folks staying there were all at least 20 years older than us and way more well-​to-​do). But recessions can really benefit people like us: in an attempt to lure visitors, the Arbor House has some great deals going on right now, which is why D. and I were able to afford a stay in the fancy John Nolen room, replete with a two-​person hot tub.
The Arbor House serves a homemade breakfast every morning, which is stunning in flavor, variety, and creativity; an evening cocktail (margaritas and wine while we were there); and an after-​8-​pm «sweet treat» for all the guests to find in the fridge (oh god, delicious). Hospitality was good, though the staff are kind of scarce: we had trouble getting our ice-​cold room to a decent temperature, but could never find anyone to ask for help because no one ever responded when the «Ring for innkeeper» button was pushed!
Still, freezing to death at night aside, a really lovely and worthwhile experience. Would return!

I stayed at the Arbor House for a short vacation. I stayed in the John Muir suite in the Annex. The building is beautiful, and you definitely feel that the eco-​friendly emphasis is sincere here — this is no trendy «green» joint. The facilities are clean, tastefully designed, quiet, and the guests respected each others’ privacy.
This place even turned me on to truly natural shower toiletries (Burts Bees!), which I didn’t think I could use due to very sensitive skin. Turns out the commercial stuff I was using before was actually worse because of the harsh chemicals in it.
Breakfast served every morning was nice and plentiful. The air about the place is very laid back — you can eat as much as you want at breakfast, and take as much coffee to your room as you like (though you do have to show up at breakfast within a one hour timeframe, I think it was 8−9am).
The only reason I don’t give it 5 stars is they didn’t have a good supply of filtered water (the water filter is in a staff-​only kitchen), and I had to keep asking the staff for water… when they were around. When they weren’t, I would look in the communal kitchen for a carafe. Sometimes, the carafe was already empty, meaning I had to buy disposable bottles of water. Not so eco-​friendly. All they’d have to do is put a couple more carafes in the communal fridge, I’m not sure why they don’t. Or install a filtering water dispenser in the communal kitchen. A Brita one that attaches to the faucet is maybe $ 50.
This complaint may sound petty to some, but I drink a good 8+ glasses of water a day. So it was a little unsettling to find out I would have to prepare ahead and ration water.
Other than that, I would have no hesitation to recommend the Arbor House and I definitely enjoyed my stay there!

My wife and I just returned from a weekend in Madison, and two nights @ the Arbor House. AH is unquestionably the best B+B I’ve had the pleasure to visit.
There are 8 guestrooms in two buildings @ Arbor House, varying in fanciness and price. We stayed in the EcoVista, about middle-​of-​the-​road. We loved the room — bright windows, fantastic tiled shower, comfortable platform bed, ample storage.
They also offer a fully stocked service kitchen for guest use. It was great to have that luxury — a large refrigerator/​freezer, microwave, dishes, silverware, etc. They even provide an endless supply of lemonade, iced tea and filtered water — take what you want, they refill it often.
Each night they have a «drink of the night» happy hour in the main dining area (one night was margaritas, the other was wine + cheese), and then later in the evening, they serve a homemade dessert in the sitting room. It’s self-​serve, which is great, and they leave it out (along with ample selection of teas), pretty much all evening.
They put out fresh coffee in the common areas at 7:00a, and serve breakfast from 8:30 — 9:30a. The coffee was great, and both breakfasts were excellent.
The AH is located directly across Monroe street from the UW Arboretum, which is an amazing nature area. You can go on short hikes on the west side of the arb + wingra, or you can hop on a bike and ride down to the main entrance of the arb, exploring the trails and gardens. We did both, actually, taking full advantage of the AH’s free bicycle selection. Two wheels are the best way to explore to Madison, so this is a great feature. We took advantage of the two-​person sauna, too, after our bike excursion.
The best thing about AH, however, was the Innkeeper Cathie. She was great, accomodating, friendly, funny, thoughtful, etc. Everything you could asked for in a host.
This was our first trip to Madison, but if and when we return, there is no question where we’ll be staying.

I’ve stayed here twice and in two different rooms (The EcoVista and Aldo Leopold), and both times I had a really fantastic time. I love that they have radiant heating (especially since I stayed there in the winter) and having vegan breakfasts is great. The proprietors are really nice and were super accommodating to my late arrival.
The reason why I chose to stay here was because of their environmental emphasis. You can tell that the proprietors were totally sincere about their green emphasis (as opposed to doing it because it’s apparently trendy now), not only because they’ve been around for so long but also because of the way they spoke about the property. I remember to this day that the spiral staircase in the Annex was made from salvaged wood from an old department store warehouse that had a fire. Nice!

3.5, really, but I’ll be generous and round up as B&B’s are a lifestyle thing and I recognize that I’m just not the B&B sort.
B&B’s are the opposite of everything I love in a place to stay. Give me a nice sound proofed smoking room at a hotel with 24 hour room service, individual heat/​ac controls, cable and a mini-​bar and I’m a happy girl. However, if you like staying at B&B’s, you will love this place.
Eco-​friendly is their thing, with everything being as sustainable and renewable as possible, right down to the organic mattresses. The property is lovely, making use of indigenous landscaping. If you are a smoker as I am, you will DEFINITELY have issues here — smoking is discouraged on the entire property. They’ll loan you bikes and are even located near a park which is a perk if you are the active sort, but I’m lazy so that wasn’t a huge draw for me.
Nice, but rather small rooms. As with all B&B’s, each room has different amenities & such, their website does a nice job describing them. We stayed in two different rooms due to a reservation screw up, the Cozy Rose and the Studio. I liked the fireplaces & the bathrooms, but B&B’s always seem to be noisy, overly frilly and somewhat cold to me and this one was not much of an exception. I was freezing the entire time, could hear our neighbors moving around, and felt beyond stifled by the oppressive «Great Great Aunt Agatha with 30 cats» theme of the Cozy Rose room. Beds and linens were nice, however, so when I couldn’t hear the neighbors, I slept comfortably.
Very nice staff, a small cocktail reception in the evenings, and good breakfast on the weekends. Sadly, we missed it one morning as it finishes rather early. Sorry, I’m on vacation, I don’t want to get up at 7 am to eat ~ they really ought to extend weekend breakfast until noon to accommodate the non-​octogenarian crowd who may actually have stayed up past 10pm.
If you are über-​active, socially responsible, and an early riser, this is a great place to stay. If you are a lazy, crotchety, late night, chain smoking codger who likes to be catered to like me, head over to the Edgewater, you’ll be much happier.