Cara W.
Yelp
Update: LK did eventually make good on their promise to host my husband and I again - It seems the delay in getting back to me was due to some personnel changes. Our return trip was very nice though I still think the experience is a little pricey. I guess that's to be expected at a new, themed hotel like Lodge Kohler. Room service was delicious! The only hang up was that my card was charged $70 for some kind of admin fee but it was quickly reversed when I brought it up to staff.
-------------------------------------------------------
Original review:
Met but fell far short of my expectations - 3.5/5 stars.
My husband and I stayed in a Lambeau King Suite this weekend as a treat for my 33rd birthday. We arrived at 5:15pm ready to head up to the room, refresh and relax before our 7:15 dinner reservations at Tavern In The Sky. Upon check-in the hostess informed us there was a mix up and our room wasn't ready yet, nor could she give us a time frame of when it might be ready. (A phone call ahead of time would have been really great customer service!) She told us that if we didn't want to wait they would comp us a room for a future stay but would not refund our $275 deposit. (It's worth noting here that the typical room rate for a Lambeau King is $170/night. The reason for the increase in price for the night we stayed is unknown but may be due to the Donald Driver HOF Induction banquet going on across the street that day. By "comping" a room at a later date we'd be paying $105 more for a room that other people were enjoying for less.)
We decided to wait for the room, and walked across the street to Lambeau for a few and then returned to the hotel and grabbed a drink at Leaps & Bounds cafe. The cafe hostesses were friendly albeit a bit awkward, new I suppose. No one seemed to know how to make an Italian soda ($4.25), but it was very good once they figured it out.
We got a phone call around 6:00pm that our room was ready and headed up to the 4th floor. The room was a little bit smaller than we expected but very nice. The fridge was stocked with soda ($2/can), beer, and water ($3/bottle) as well as an assortment of nuts, brandy, and Kohler chocolates ($4-$10). The Keurig was a nice touch but only one coffee mug (?) for a double occupancy room was amusing. We appreciated the Kohler Golf and Packer history books on the shelf, and that all the drinking glasses in the room were actual glass. The view of Lambeau was spectacular!
The bathroom was very clean, but our room seemed to be missing a picture or sign on the wall because there were 2 hooks where something must have been hanging at one point but it was gone. This was not a big deal by any stretch and didn't affect our stay, but it's something I would expect to see in a hotel at a $100/night or less price point, not in brand new, $275/night room. The shower was fantastic, soft plush Lodge Kohler robes were a nice touch as well.
We went up to Tavern In The Sky for dinner and discovered they had lost our reservations. Thank goodness it wasn't busy. We were seated in a side dining room near the kitchen, not in the main, nice dining room with all the pretty people. The seating was slightly uncomfortable - hard wooden benches with no padding. We were informed after looking at the menu for a bit that the Chef was not happy with the Fondue so it was not available which was a bummer because we had been considering ordering it. It was interesting to listen to the kitchen manager bark orders at the kitchen staff - a little taste of Hell's Kitchen (minus the language) in real life. From sit down to receiving our drinks was about 15 minutes. Drinks were priced a bit on the high side but delicious, I ordered a Summer Smash ($13) and my husband had the Pack Mule ($12) - also delicious! Dinner was very good - quarter white rotisserie chicken ($18) and half rack of ribs ($18), the Caesar salad before dinner was a real treat ($9 each). All in all the food was great - seating was not fantastic - service was good. Total less tip for 2 adults came to $84.33.
We retired to our room after dinner to watch a movie. The feed kept cutting in an out which made watching TV a bit frustrating so we gave up and tried watching a movie on our tablet - 5 mbps wifi made that somewhat impossible. We abandoned the movie idea and just lounged around for the rest of the evening. The gorgeous storm that blew through that night was definitely the highlight - lightning over Lambeau was sooo pretty!
Final thoughts - Would I stay here again? Sure, when the newness wears off and the prices come down. The service overall was not exceptional which I understand is something that Kohler hospitality prides it'self on, but the accommodations made up for it - the bed was comfy, the room was clean, and the hotel is beautiful.
TL;DR - Room and view were great, service was not. Smaller than expected rooms - you're definitely paying for the Kohler name and location.