A Weekend Review on The Edgewater Hotel in Madison, WI

***Thank you to The Edgewater Hotel for hosting us for the weekend, in turn allowing The Frizz & Frillzz Blog to make this review possible for you, my readers. As always, anything written here will always be 100% my own opinion.***

How many of us actually take the time to do a little staycation on our home city? I know for us, it's pretty much never, which is why my girl, Kelsie of The Kelsie Kristine Blog and I decided it would be a fantastic opportunity to take this year's Kentucky Derby Event to experience one of Madison, WI's most beautiful boutique hotels! If you've never been out to The Edgewater Hotel's venue to experience any portion of their offerings, then you're missing out! I'd only been out there once since living in a Madison the past 4 years and I now feel like I've been wasting time that could have been spent enjoying the most beautiful lake views around!!!

My goal in writing this for you is to give you the best overview of the multitude of offerings The Edgewater has whether you're just looking for a spot to enjoy a cocktail with a view or go all out for a weekend of pampering.

Before diving into our various activities, go ahead and click subscribe, so you will always have the latest on all of my adventures, reviews, and advice!

The Derby Party

Let's start off with the event. It was Derby weekend and The Edgewater hosts an annual Derby Party for the community, which is actually completely free to the community to attend! There is a VIP area you can purchase a ticket to for $55 to have access to a private bar, apps, a free cocktail, and seating with a view from the next level terrace area. I think the private area was fantastic for someone who wants to make sure they have somewhere to sit and enjoy the view of the party and the lake. For us, we ended up spending the majority of our day down on the lower patio where the REAL party was happening! Overall, I'd highly recommend heading over to this party next year if you're looking for a beautiful patio to wear your best fascinator hat and Derby dress while having a classic mint julep with no cover, this is your place to do it!

The Hotel Itself

We stayed in one of the Terrace Queens Rooms where we had a beautiful small private terrace where we had a little breakfast table and chairs perfect for enjoying a little breakfast and coffee in your room. It was also a very nice option to allow some fresh spring air and natural light into the room, so you don't feel like you're stuck in a typical enclosed double queen room. All of the finishing were also very nice in the bathroom and room. The only thing we had an issue with was the lighting in the bathroom for doing our makeup. It just wasn't quite bright enough and there wasn't a magnifying mirror on the wall or counter to get a closer view. Other than that, the hotel room was perfection!

I also can't go without saying, that the hospitality we experienced during our entire stay was second to none. We had an incredibly warm greeting when we checked in, a lovely note waiting for us in our room, and Chef Juan (who you'll hear more about in the next section) was extremely personable while having created a delectable menu to please anybody's palate.

The Statehouse Restaurant (Dinner)

We had the pleasure of having a beautiful sunset dinner at The Statehouse and no joke, I think I'm still full a week later from how much insanely amazing food graced our mouths...just sayin'. Saturday night after our Derby festivities, we had 7:30 reservations set, not knowing we'd be sitting down at the perfect time for sunset. So, not only was the view overlooking Lake Mendota breathtaking, but we also were introduced to The Statehouse's Head Chef, Chef Juan. He couldn't have been more welcoming and explained how much they've really focused on making their restaurant more approachable for anybody's dinner out. They now have a menu to fit everyone instead of just a surf and turf type high end restaurant meant for celebrating special occasions.

You guys, I can attest to this. When I visited the Statehouse a few years ago, the vibe was definitely a higher class venue meant for celebratory events and a high budget to go along with it. Now, don't get me wrong, you can still easily spend a pretty penny here today, but you definitely don't have to. The menu has anything from your Friday night Fish Fry, a mouth watering burger up to a gorgeous 60-Day Aged Steak. There's truly something for everybody! Below, you'll find pictures of the newer menu items we tasted (they made smaller versions of most of these, so keep in mind yours WILL be bigger) and every single one of them was scrumptious! Except the pea ravioli, I'm personally just not an overall "pea" fan. Kelsie, on the other hand, LOVED them!

The Edgewater Spa

The spa is located in a separate building directly next to the Hotel separated by the large patio we'd be partying on the previous day. We immediately were sat in their serene waiting room, where they had fantastic coconut water and filled out our paperwork (as any reputable spa has you do). We were then taken back to our individual spa rooms, where I met Roxy, my facialist, and she explained what we'd be doing and asked if I had any specific areas I'd like to focus on. I really felt like she did a great job of listening to my needs and ensuring the facial was tailored around my specific skin set.

I explained that I overall have sensitive skin, issues with occasional redness, and have noticed some unevenness in tone throughout my decolletage (fancy way of saying chest). I opted the the illuminating facial which is meant to focus on stimulating new cell growth and promoting overall a more glowy complection. To say I was glowy is an understatement, I felt like I had a new face for a solid 3 days after my facial, so Roxy, you killed it! Thanks for making me feel like I'm not on the edge of hitting 30...at least for a little bit!

The spa also offers multiple types of massages, manicure/pedicure services and body treatments, so the sky is the limit! I couldn't speak more highly to the spa and I just found out they have a monthly spa plan! Sooooo...just may have to check that out, because your girl could get used to this level of pampering!

The Most Epic Brunch

After our relaxing time at the spa we got ready and headed straight for brunch at The Statehouse. While we had just been there the previous night, we got to witness a completely different atmosphere. It was now light and bright with a clear sunny view of Lake Mendota and we were ready for our mimosas (and yes, they have bottomless for only $15!!!) Not only was I obsessed with all of the mimosa options (my fav was the glazed pineapple), but the food was just as amazing as it had been at dinner. I think my absolute favorite eggs Benedict of my life...why? Because it was made with LOBSTER!!! The way to my heart is wine, seafood, and steak...hubs is already very aware of this, because sadly for him I am NOT a cheap date. Ha Anyways, if you have not ventured over to The Edgewater for your go-to downtown brunch destination, you need to change that ASAP this summer. Their patio has one of the best views on the lake while serving mouth watering food with a delicious mimosa. Also, they're only a few blocks from the capitol and they have their own parking garage right on site! Honestly, you'll be seeing me frequenting here significantly more often from here on out, so make sure to watch my Instagram stories to always stay up to date on all my fun outings, events, and travels!

I truly couldn't have asked for a more incredible experience at The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Madison. As you read above, from the hospitality, the party, the view, to every last delectable bite I could fit in my now definitely expanded stomach (oh wait, it's swimsuit season? Whoops!), this hotel has 1000% percent hit it out of the park. If you're in the area, I'd highly recommend stopping in for a cocktail, some food, or even experience everything The Edgewater has to offer, hotel and spa included!

I'd also like to give one last big shout out to Rebecca, Amy, and Claire who helped to coordinate the weekend's activities along with the rest of The Edgewater's amazing staff who went above and beyond to ensure we had an incredible experience. It really means the world when you see a team come together so seamlessly to make an experience one of a kind.

I truly hope you found this review helpful to make an informed decision about your next visit to downtown Madison, WI. If you decide to stop into The Edgewater, please drop a comment on this post with your review! I'd love to hear all about your experience!

All the Love,
Chloe