5

It has a world-class hotel in the Edgewater.

“I’ll meet you at the Edgewater” has been a commonly heard phrase since the hotel opened in 1948. Beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Mendota, next to the University of Wisconsin campus and facing Capitol Square, the Edgewater is the kind of hotel that every city should have — equal parts history, charm and genuine hospitality. Madison’s only urban resort is actually two hotels linked by an open-air courtyard that in summer is the site of concerts and other social gatherings, and an inside passageway for colder winter months. The original structure is Art Moderne with its round windows and rectilinear curves reminiscent of a steamship. A 2014 multimillion dollar renovation re-opened with a second hotel tower featuring rooms, a spa and the Boathouse Restaurant. While the accommodations are spacious (most have at least a partial view of the lake); the food at its three restaurants (in addition to the Boathouse, there’s Augie’s Tavern, a casual pub, and the more formal Statehouse) delicious, and the staff uber friendly and helpful, it’s the hotel’s history that will delight you. Over the 71 years of its existence, famous guests from Carrie Underwood to the Dalai Lama have signed the hotel register, and many of them have become part of Edgewater lore. Sammy Davis Jr. reportedly fished from his hotel balcony; Elton John commandeered the piano in Augie’s for an impromptu concert, and Elvis Presley rented out two floors and departed with an Edgewater clothes hanger as a souvenir.