The Clarke Hotel

We loved our stay at the charming Clarke hotel! The bed was incredibly comfortable and the pillows were perfect. The room is large and clean and the amenities included a mini fridge and a Keurig coffeemaker. The street outside our room was adorable with cute bars and shops. My only complaint that the nightlife was hopping on Friday night (who would’ve thought Waukesha has nightlife?) and I was briefly woken up by shouting bar patrons on their way home. The hotel did provide earplugs that were left on the nightstand so they are probably aware of the noise issues. Overall the experience was great, though, and we plan to stay here the next time we are in the area.

Proceed with caution.
I have lived in many major downtown cities, there is nothing LOUDER than downtown Waukesha. Who knew?
I was awoken at 3:30 am by city dump trucks slamming dumpsters and trash cans to the ground which sounded like bombs exploding. Oh and hearing the back up horn for at least an hour’s time. 3:30am-4:30am. Who manages this town? Clearly no one who gives 1 ioda to the guest experience at the Clarke hotel. It’s too bad… rooms are nice and hotel is very cute. But, that noise is absolutely deplorable.

Came here for a full-​day work meeting. I’d never in my life stay here. It’s dark, damp, and musty, feels like there’s mold growing behind the walls or something.
The employees I interacted with were friendly but every time I saw them they were standing around the dining area not doing anything.
The room we used for our meeting had spider webs everywhere and the wifi code they gave us did not work. Also, let me overstate how dark it was. We arrived at 9 a.m. but you could’ve sworn it was 9 p.m. with how dark the room was when it was fully lit and there were no windows to let natural light in.
The women’s restroom in the downstairs area, where the meeting rooms are located, was out of service so I had to walk all the way to the opposite side of the hotel to use the bathroom.
It just doesn’t seem like making this place presentable and a comfortable place to visit is a priority here.

I have been here many times and always have great service and pleasant atmosphere. Definitely a must see in Waukesha, plus it’s always the Perfect Pint of Guinness :) cheers!

For Waukesha, this is a lovely space with great drinks and live music on certain nights. The bar is a little too well-​lit, honestly, but otherwise everything about the service, space and food here is good. Definitely a favorite stop when I visit friends in Waukesha.

I have only been a customer here as a performer (music on Thursday nights!), but I have loved everything I have tried! Shepard’s pie is excellent as well as the Guiness BBQ. Great bar with classic Irish and other fun drinks.
There is a dining area as well as a bar. I think the kitchen usually closes at 9, but I would come later for the drinks anyway!
Very friendly and attentive bartenders!

Food, beer, and staff are great! Recommend the shepard’s pie excellent as well as the chicken Shannon. Their Friday fish fry is one of the best in town. You will always feel at home there.

Staff were very friendly, the rooms were amazing. Steam shower and Jacuzzi tub with crisp white robes. The bed was very comfortable but the pillows were all huge, only 1 small pillow. The breakfast on Saturday and Sunday was delicious. I really loved the whisky maple syrup.

This is a review of their Irish themed bar. I love it! Great beers on tap (mainly Irish — not just Guinness & Harp). Paul was our bartender and was great. Fire place! $ 16 for two beers, but it’s a hotel bar. I’ll be back.

What ever you do do NOT stay here. The hotel is overpriced and they provide a subpar level of service that leaves a lot to be desired.
We stayed here on a whim and I am regretting it! We ate at the restaurant and the food was average at best despite the high prices. I would recommend Peoples Park or it would even be worth going a little further to somewhere on blue mound rd. as far as food goes.
As for the room I was charged a smoking fee although neither me nor anyone in my room smoked inside the premises. We did however smoke outside of the building which the owner claimed was enough to make the room smell like smoke (which it did not) however he charged me anyways. I tried to reason with him, asking him to talk to the night supervisor who could have confirmed we were in and out of the building smoking out front many times. I explained that there was myself and 5 other people who could verify there had not been any smoking in the room, however he apparently had better things to do and proceeded to hang up on me. This is not how you should treat patrons, obviously this hotel is just trying to squeeze every last penny out of people.
I will not be returning!

Great place. Whiskey selection is off the charts. Great taps selection. Only fireplace in town.

Had a very nice relaxing night at the Clarke Hotel. The room and bathroom were beautiful. Walking distance to shops, eateries, and pubs. Was a little disappointed that one window was missing a shade. The noise was a little loud but have heard worse at other hotels. Windows were drafty but heat stayed on all night. Was what we needed in getting away.

Clean, friendly, efficient, freakishly roomy, and probably quiet when not Halloween. Bathroom alone parks 2 – 3 cars. Paper thin windows are drafty. Postage stamp TV contrasts comically with cavernous room and NBA-​sized chairs. Advertised library is 2 posters depicting book bindings and 2 books about Ireland. Only art in room is on wall busy with windows and may be the work of fifth graders.

Horrible inconsistent service and food! Went back to enjoy a great chicken curry, this time, very bland. We waited over 25 minutes to have someone pick up our check to pay our bill, and when we said how long and drawn out the service was all they had to say was a member of our party was 45 minutes late (really like 10) and we were having drinks and appetizers. So, be warned… you can call to make reservations like we did and have them get that wrong as 8well… but because a member of our party of 7 was 10 minutes late, expect an over 2 hour long dinner. So disapointed! Happy Birthday to me… NOT!

Stopped in for a point and a bite to eat with some friends. The staff was very friendly, the bar is beautiful, and the food is delicious. I had the Shepard’s Pie $ 12.95. The meat was shredded beef, the gravy was not out of a can and the potatoes were creamy.
It is a hotel bar and was almost too clean. There wasn’t quite enough character to list this at 4 stars but the food and drinks are 5 stars.

The room was lovely. But I thought it was odd that there was no soap or washcloth in the bathroom. The air conditioning was noisy. There were only artificial sweeteners for the coffee. But it is a great location if you are coming to Waukesha for a Freeman Friday Night!

Overall, I enjoyed my stay at The Clarke Hotel. I found the hotel on Orbitz (they just discontinued their account) so the website said «no rooms available». I decided to call and double check, and I’m glad I did. Dave at the desk was very helpful. The hotel certianly comes with its quirks. but hey, its all part of the experience!
Parking can be a bit of a struggle. Luckily we were staying Saturday to Sunday. We were able to park out front (normally 2hr parking exluding Sun & Holidays). There is a municiple lot somewhere close. but we never found it.
The beds are SO COMFORTABLE! We even took the sheets off to find out what brand/​make so we can buy one. The bedding was comfy too. the pillows however. were not. They were very dense and thick. I could not use them.
The shower and tub were delightful. Tub is slightly small. You can fit two people, very snug. Better suited for one person occupancy.
Upon arrival, you have to «buzz in» with the intercom to the front desk located on the second floor. There is an elevator to the second floor, but not to the third floor. After navigating some pretty but slightly confusing halways we found a staircase to the third floor.
The temperature was set at 75 degrees… to hot for my liking, especially in August. We adjusted the thermostat to overide, but no success. Woke up to 76 degrees.
Room was a bit expensive for the experience. but overal it was an enjoyable stay.

My husband and I saw a living social deal for the Clarke so we decided to get away for the weekend. $ 84 per night for a weekend was a great deal.
We loved the big room, king bed, and super comfy pillows and blankets. The bathroom was huge. The shower had 5 heads and a bench. There were heated lights in the bathroom as well.
The few downsides were the continental breakfast. Packaged pastries from a grocery store and coffee? No thank you. I’d much rather go to the restaurants that were walking distance or the farmer’s market on Saturdays. The website also says «All bathrooms have granite-​topped vanities, Kohler spa showers with invigorating body sprays and bubble-​massage tubs.» Our room did not have a tub which I was looking forward to. But the spa shower made up for it.
Overall nice hotel at a decent price.

If you like the historical type hotel then you might like The Clarke. Upon arriving there is no dedicated hotel parking. You either find your own parking on the street or you can valet for $ 7.00 a night. The front entrance looks more like a back entrance or side door. I pulled into the loading zone/​valet spot but there is no valet person waiting. The doors are locked and you have to buzz the front desk to get let in. Once you enter it’s just an empty hallway with a sign that says to take the elevator to the second floor. I was hesitant to leave my car in the loading zone but took the elevator up to the second floor. The front desk is on the second floor. I told them I needed my car valet’d and she said she would take care of it. She put me in a room on the second floor, but before handing me the keys she said she’s going to make sure the room is ready and I heard her walk down the hallway and disappeared into the room for about 30 seconds. I found this strange. I’ve never had a clerk enter my room first like that. I thought perhaps this is the way they do things here. She gave me the rooms keys and before I left I asked her about my car. She said they will take care of it. It just so happened my room had a view of the loading zone where I could see my car was still in the same spot I left it. It was not moved for about two hours. I called the clerk to remind them in case they had forgotten to valet my car. I didn’t want it to get towed. She said she would be the one that would valet the car once the rest of the scheduled guests checked in. I found it weird that a boutique hotel would have only one clerk on shift at a time that looks after the front desk and also the valet? When I first entered the room, I felt that the room was not freshly cleaned. I was immediatly curious at why the clerk was in here for so long. The first give-​away was that the toilet paper did not have the folded triangle that I’m used to seeing when you first check-​into a hotel room. I didn’t think too much of it and just decided that the hotel does not do triangles. lol. But then I found a used dirty tea cup with a chewed up stir stick at the coffee station. At this point I was afraid that the room is not fresh and that someone was here and the linens have not been changed. I called the front desk and she didn’t seem surprised but assured me that the linens were clean and that the housekeeping probably forgot to take the cup away. She never offered to remove the dirty cup and straw. My guess is that someone was chilling out in here. Whatever, at this point I’ve already decided to check-​out in the morning and move to another hotel. At one point I had ordered delivery from a restaurant but they had forgotten to provide any cutlery so I went to front desk to see if they had any available. There was a sign that said she had left to valet a car. So there was no body at the front desk. I would think a hotel of this calibre would have more staff than this. They basically have one person on staff to do everything. The next morning I called the morning clerk and asked her to check me out. A few minutes later she called back and asked which card I wanted the room charged to. I said «I only provided you with one Amex card. What other card are you referring to?» She said «The other card is your ID card». I said «um…you can’t charge my room to my ID card». She said «ok I’ll charge it to your Amex card». HUH?!?
As for the room, it is a large room. There is a large bathroom with a large standup shower with 5 shower heads. But the tiles in the shower stall floors looked icky. The hotel room door was old and had the old chain locks. The desk in the room is ridiculous. You have this huge room but this tiny little old-​style desk that you can’t even put anything on (see uploaded picture). Even if you were to use it you’d end up hitting your head on it because it was more like a cupboard than a desk. I ended up using the coffee station as a desk instead. The wifi was very weak and slow and dropped more than once. There was no TV channel lineup anywhere I can find in the room. The welcome book was dirty and sticky as were the pages inside. The bed was the best part. Very comfy and lots of nice large pillows. They also offered snacks and beverages in the rooms for a reasonable price so that was nice. I would stay here again if I had to, but it would not be my first choice.

I have stayed in boutique hotels and B&Bs around the world, so I was very excited that my first couple of nights would be here. I was also excited about the location as it was central to the apartments I wanted to look at, the company I work for, and shops and restaurants were just in walking distance. So I promptly booked online. Finding it was pretty easy, but for some reason, the outside was not as I was expecting. The restaurant downstairs was under renovation, so that was a little disappointing. There are spots on the street that are reserved for the hotel, but just if you choose valet, otherwise you have to find your own parking.
In the middle of the day, you have to buzz in, but instead of trusting you that you have a booking, they make you give your name and details right there. I did not particularly like that as I had a suitcase and it was raining quite heavily. When you go in, go to the elevator and go to the second floor to check in. The lobby is quite nice, the lady behind the desk was not as nice. While she wasn’t rude, she was quite short and didn’t mention any of the amenities of the hotel, no instructions, nothing. The valet parking is extra and they will ask you when you need it, which is a little difficult if your plans are not really set, but on one occasion the man that was behind the desk in the mornings was more accommodating and friendly and he said I could just leave it there until I was ready.
I was in 209… right across from the lobby in the handicap accessible room. The room was huge, but felt very empty. The bathroom was also very big, shower with 4 heads or a handheld. The room was on Main Street with large windows to let light in. There was a small desk in the room, a couch, a chair, ottoman, huge pillowtop bed, flat screen t.v. on the wall, mini-​fridge, and Keurig coffee machine. Fortunately there was a binder of information in the room to tell me the things that she didn’t. They have wireless internet, but a number of the webpages I tried to visit would not load… other pages were just fine, so I don’t know what it was… Facebook was one, Unilocal was another… just to name a few that had trouble loading.
While the bed was so very comfortable, the temperature of the room could not be changed even though I thought I had changed the temperature and the noise was a lot louder than I expected. So from the lobby I would get the ringing of the bell when someone returned to the hotel because no one was at the desk and people talking in the lobby. Then there was someone on the other side of the wall that the bed was against and it sounded like someone was hammering on the wall. Then from the street there was the noise of people standing outside the Nice Ash Cigar Bar… on one night they were playing loud music. So overall, I didn’t really get to sleep in that nice big, comfy bed as much as I just got to lay there, listening to everyone around me. Although, it did help me decide not to live downtown, it was not quite the comfortable stay I was hoping for. I certainly don’t think that it was worth the money paid. If they had charged less, I may not have been so disappointed in the stay, but there seems to be a lot of hype and not a lot of delivery on that hype.