Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport by IHG

Nothing

The staff was courteous and very helpful.

On June 16, I experienced what is, without question, the worst hotel experience I have ever had.

I arrived at the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport at approximately 5:10 PM to check into my confirmed reservation. The front desk agent, Kiki, informed me that there were no clean rooms available and that it would be about 30 minutes before one was ready. I accepted that explanation, left to have dinner, and returned around 8:30 PM—more than three hours later—expecting my room to be ready.

Instead, I was told that they had no rooms available at all and that I would not be staying there.

No phone call. No text message. No apology before I arrived back at the hotel. Just, “We don’t have a room for you.”

When I asked where they were relocating me, as walking displaced guests to another hotel at the property’s expense is standard practice when a hotel oversells, I was told, “We were busy today and the city is sold out.” Their solution? They could cancel my reservation “without penalty.”

Without penalty?

The penalty was entirely mine.

I was stranded in a city where hotel inventory had essentially disappeared because Crowne Plaza sold me a room they ultimately could not provide. I immediately contacted IHG Customer Care, only to be told there was nothing they could do because the hotel was sold out. Their attempt at making things right was an insulting 15,000 IHG One Rewards points—a gesture that doesn’t begin to compensate for what followed.

I searched everywhere for a room. The closest available hotel I could find was a Hyatt charging $882 per night—well outside my company’s travel policy. With virtually no options remaining, I had to drive an hour south to Chicago just to find a hotel with availability.

To make matters worse, I had an early morning flight departing from Milwaukee. That meant driving an hour to Chicago late at night, sleeping fewer than four hours, and then driving another hour back to Milwaukee before dawn to catch my flight.

Because Crowne Plaza oversold its hotel.

Because Crowne Plaza failed to relocate a displaced guest.

Because Crowne Plaza offered no meaningful assistance whatsoever.

This wasn’t an inconvenience—it was a complete failure of hospitality and customer service. At no point did anyone take ownership of the situation, attempt to find a solution, or demonstrate even a basic level of empathy.

I’ve stayed at countless IHG properties over the years, and this experience was by far the most disappointing. A confirmed reservation should mean exactly that: confirmed. If your hotel oversells, the burden should never fall entirely on the guest to solve the problem.

The Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport failed at the most fundamental responsibility of a hotel: providing the room that was reserved. Its complete lack of accountability and customer care is an embarrassment to the Crowne Plaza and IHG brands.

Avoid this property if you value reliability. A reservation here is apparently nothing more than a suggestion.

It was good

I highly suggest to stay away from this place and seek different accommodation near MKE airport!

The fact that the hotel is located in a rather disserted area wasn't even the worst. Upon arrival, the front desk staff was not present and instead I found a card stating that they will be right back. After about a 10 minute wait I was able to check-in and head up to my room. Unfortunately, the key card didn't work. After speaking with the front desk staff, I was assigned a new room.

During all my travels I have never run into the situation that follows: the 2nd room was not made!! Towels and bed sheets were all over the floor and the room smelled so bad, it literally took my breath away!

If there is one thing a hotel cannot afford itself to do, then it's to send a guest into an unmade room! Trully unacceptable! Let's not even get into the fact about the smell.

Despite all that, I gave it a 3rd chance and was assigned a new room. This time the door would not open (despite the key card working), it seemed it was locked from the inside.

A that point I had enough, cancelled my one night stay, and rebooked at a different hotel.

I don't usually write hotel reviews, but I'm writting this in favour of other guests who consider staying here. Do not!

I recommend staying at another hotel because of the area, was not clean, lack of amenities, and customer service issues. Hotel is in a dying area. The hotel and gas station next to and the restaurant across the street from the hotel have closed. The only outside food within walking distance is McDonald’s and the Speedway Gas Station. They actually have the gaul to impose a daily parking fee for guests. There were about a dozen cars in the parking lot at 10 p.m. both nights of my stay. There were more spaces than at Wal-Mart. While waiting in the lobby twice (once because my passkey stopped working and the other waiting for the shuttle ride to the airport/Amtrak station,) only a couple of other guests were noticed. Did witness the shift changeover. There were two hotel maids to service a hotel with four floors with a total of a 100 rooms. The same front desk clerk was there at 10 p.m. the night I checked in and at 10 a.m. when I came downstairs. Reception person was very cold. When I arrived, there was a sign at the reception desk that said “Be Right Back.” There were water marks on the desks and the bathroom sink. The carpet has not been steam cleaned anytime recently. I would hate to inspect the room with a UV light. The bed was so bad that it hurt my back. The shuttle is a minivan. When I arrived at the airport Amtrak station, I called a shuttle ride. The hotel did not tell me that Amtrak passengers requiring shuttle rides (and Uber/Lyft, taxis, etc.) had to take the airport shuttle as the train station was not accessible for those types of services. The hotel shuttle arrived at the airport while I was on the airport shuttle and would arrive at the pickup point in five minutes. The shuttle refused to wait for me and said it would be 30 to 45 minutes before the shuttle would make another round. On my return trip to the airport/Amtrak, I sat in the shuttle for ten minutes so that the couple to go to their car in the parking lot. I sat in the third-row and accessing the third-row seat is easy for a ten-year old, but not for a senior with neuropathy. I have traveled extensively for many years and have stayed at everything from ultra-low cost to five-star hotels. I had considered Crowne Plaza hotels to be at least nearly a four-star hotel chain.

The two amenities I filtered by to find a room - free breakfast and a pool - we did not get. The pool was closed for maintenance, which I understand, it was just disappointing. I didn’t find any breakfast, free or otherwise. All descriptions said they at least have a breakfast buffet for a few, but there was not. Altitude Restaurant no longer exists, it seems. It also either smelled very musty in the main area where the elevators were or smelled strongly of air freshener, so I think they were continually trying to mask it. I have a child with medical needs and equipment and had to wheel him with me or carry him down to the front desk 3 times due to our room key not working, as I was unable to get into the room and call down there. The staff were nice enough, it just seemed like maybe they were stretched thin. I observed others having room key issues as well, so I’m not sure what was going on with that. The positives: parking is complimentary, location is very near to the airport, there is WiFi, a fridge in the room, and beds are pretty decently comfortable.

Room was filthy!! Bodily fluids on the curtains!! Told front desk and they replaced towels and didn’t clean. Will never stay again!

This Crown plaza used to be on my Favorite list. It has since been removed. The Bar/ Restaurant has been changed from American Cuisine to a blend of something else. Checkin was okay, the room was okay, the shuttle to the airport is a mix of mini vans and SUV types that just don’t cut it. The professional appearance of the staff is now replaced with jeans and what ever they feel comfortable. One elevator worked out of the two. Seems to be a shell of what it used to be. I’ll pass next time.

Crowne Plaza Milwaukee South (Airport)

14 January 2026

For several years, the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee South (Airport) was my go-to hotel when traveling for business and personal trips. I consistently felt at home—the property was clean, the staff was friendly, and the service was reliably top-notch.

Unfortunately, following a change in ownership, the experience deteriorated dramatically—almost as if a switch had been flipped. My charges were mismanaged, facilities were frequently out of service, the airport shuttle became a constant problem, and staff interactions were, at times, rude and unprofessional.

I am willing to overlook issues once but experiencing these problems again while traveling with my spouse was enough. We have since agreed to find alternative accommodations for both business travel and vacations.

I do not typically write negative reviews; however, the decline in service and overall management was so significant that I felt compelled to share this experience. What was once a dependable and welcoming hotel is no longer so.

My recommendation: drive by and choose another location

By far, the dirtiest and most run down Crown Plaza I've every stayed at. The furniture and decor is not only dirty but broken and stained. The TV had a distracting blue hue and needed to be replaced. The gym has decent cardio equipment but not towels, no cups, no tissue and no weight machines. The wifi in my room worked when I arrived but went out around midnight and despite spending some quality time going back and forth with the front desk, could not be fixed. They did move me to a room on the first floor where in worked and the woman at the front desk was nice but had no idea what she was doing. The Altitude restaurant was terrible (avocado toast). Best part was it was only $100 and the shuttle was on call and there within five minutes.

At check in the front desk attendant started with telling us the room reserved for us was unavailable because it was out of order. She would’ve sent us away if another staff member who was leaving for the night didn’t stay to help her figure out what room to put us in. The room was dirty, Stains running down the wall. No hand soap or shampoo, conditioner, or body wash was in our room. The pool area was horrible. The bathroom in the pool area was covered in rust. The hot tub smelled like mold and stuff was floating in it. I couldn’t wait to shower off. The breakfast in the morning was pretty bad. Not included with the stay and I’ve had better continental breakfast. They had a coffee lounge that was very good and the staff at the front desk did her best to handle concerns. They refunded half our stay. Would strongly recommend staying somewhere else. This year’s ago was a nice property that they let go. Housekeeping here is awful

Would not go back the lobby is deceiving.the staff was rude and short when we asked questions. The room was dust and we were afraid to turn down the covers. Also when booking it was supposed to be $188 with fees $230 and we were charged 272 .