A lakeside art deco hotel shines anew

Opened in the 1940s, the Edgewater has been the go-to hotel for visiting celebrities like Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Sting and the Dalai Lama. It has undergone a $100 million multiyear renovation, restoring the art deco facade of the first tower, overhauling the original rooms and adding a second, modern tower that nearly doubled the hotel’s capacity. The two buildings are connected by a plaza that features concerts in the summer and an ice-skating rink in the winter. In June 2015, the hotel added a pier and casual lakefront restaurant.

Location

The Edgewater (1001 Wisconsin Place; theedgewater.com) sits on the southern shore of Lake Mendota, next to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It's 10 minutes by foot from the Wisconsin State Capitol, the Overture Center for the Arts and a bustling strip of restaurants, bars and shops along State Street.

Rates

From $259 in high season. On football weekends and for graduation, rates start at $400.

The Room

My lakefront premium room in the new tower, one notch above the basic room, was decorated in neutral tones and featured a curved wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lake. Furnishings included a small desk, a flat-screen TV, a comfortable queen bed topped with white fluffy linens and two plum-colored armchairs.

The Bathroom

It was spacious, with a walk-in shower, long vanity with two sinks and a selection of Gilchrist & Soames products. However, a window over the deep tub looked out to a public patio, and the silhouettes of people walking by behind the shade were a bit unsettling.

Amenities

With the opening of the pier, guests can tie up their own boats on the lake or sail on the Cherokee, a yacht built in 1924 for the Heinz family. The hotel hosts historical tours of the lake, happy-hour sails and private trips on the yacht. The Edgewater features a two-story spa with a yoga studio, gym, pool, seven treatment rooms and a salon with a blow-dry bar. Outside the Statehouse restaurant, an interactive gallery wall with LCD screens acts like a curated exhibit of Madison’s history and features stories on local pioneers like the American Girl Dolls founder, Pleasant Rowland. In the summer, the hotel plaza hosts free yoga, concerts and a weekly fish fry. In the winter, the 4,000-square-foot ice skating rink on the plaza is popular with visitors and locals.

Room Service

I ordered coffee the night before, which arrived on time. My bagel breakfast arrived 18 minutes after I ordered it and came with artfully displayed smoked salmon, capers and cream cheese. The menu offered a choice of bagels from Gotham, a local shop that specializes in New York-style (boiled) bagels. Reasonably priced local specialties were prominent on the in-room menu, and included a grilled cheese made with three types of Wisconsin cheese.

Dining

The Statehouse, the hotel’s main restaurant, was revamped in May and serves modern Midwestern cuisine; a seafood specialty is the walleye. The Icehouse off the plaza offers grab-and-go food and the Boathouse, a casual tavern with a small deck next to the pier, specializes in local fare like cheese curds, bratwurst and a classic fish fry.

Bottom Line

This is an earnest, tastefully done hotel with muted rooms that don’t compete with stunning views of Lake Mendota — whether it’s frozen solid or filled with sailboats.