Cancelled our tour of 5 people, 2 hours before it happened. Super disappointed to say the least…read more Claimed there wasn't enough people for a public tour, we could have added people if we had known. Cancelled us for a private tour, just unprofessional. wasn't very kind on the phone

Lily and ruby were great host. If I did it again I'd ask for them. They went out of there way to…read moremake sure we had a great time. They even laughed at our stupid jokes. The tour was about 2 hours long. And we hit three bars on state street and university ave area. We had a great time and The two groups before did as well. It was more work then we expected but with 10 or more people it was manageable. If you have a large group I suggest you go earlier or the wait time for dinks at each bar will eat into the number of places you can go to.

This is a must do tour in Wisconsin! 10/10 experience for the entire family and people of all ages…read morewill find this tour educational and well run. Tina toured us around the farm and she is so knowable, kind and great with kids. The cows are well taken care of, the facilities are clean and every location around the farm is a great educational opportunity with visuals and hands on opportunities. This tour totally exceeded expectations, brought us into the life of being a dairy farmer, and I am so happy to have these memories with my children.

This place is amazing and Tina is a star. As like many people it was on my bucket list to milk a…read morecow , and Tina fulfilled that wish. I was worried initially of going into an experience that was overcrowded with cows who were poorly taken care of but I got the complete opposite of that. It's very clear that Tina and her family love what they do and love their animals. Tina was incredibly informative and kind during the entire tour. The farm is pretty clean for being a farm , but definitely wear shoes that you're okay with getting a little dirty (they do give plastic covering). Through out the process I was able to pet a handful of cows, bottle feed a new born, and milk a cow. Amazing , highly recommend !!!!!

Great place! Stopped in and did a flight of wines…read more Great location, outdoors was beautiful and outdoor seating was pleasant and plentiful. The scenery with the grape vines instilled in the background was very pretty. Staff was very accommodating and resourceful when we had questions. Ended up taking a Wauna Blush and a La Crescent home with us. Definitely worth stopping!

Very cute winery. Attended a baby shower there, and the space was too tight for the number of…read morepeople that were invited but it was definitely cozy otherwise. Flatbread pizzas were yummy and the bartenders did a great job keeping up with the onslaught of people. The two wines I had were just okay, but that definitely won't stop me from trying again.

I would DEFINITELY stay here again. Though there are downsides (it is urban), there is a lot of…read moreupside here. Oh, and with changes lately, things are much improved so some of the older reviews may no longer be applicable. OK - so I arrived mid-day Monday for check-in for one night and found my bunk in the 4-bunk room to be great - and lucky me, I ended up with a private room as the other two reservations ended up cancelling. There is a 2-door locker but you need to bring your own lock. No problem for me as the room door has a key so my belongings were safe inside. The 4-bunk room was the old kitchen - amazing to contemplate. It's not small for a room but I can't imagine fitting in a kitchen for multiple person use. The new kitchen is on the first level behind the office and sitting room. It has a large island and dining table and lots of space for moving around. I didn't use the kitchen except to store some food in the fridge and get some water to drink. However, there was an ample availability of things and an easy clean-up system, though it appeared some people had left their dirty dishes in the sink. I washed a couple more than just mine but not all of them. Maybe people don't get that this is a hostel, not a hotel. There is no cleaning lady to make up your bed, no maid to clean the kitchen. That's why it's inexpensive!! There is a large couch in the lobby entrance which, with the sitting parlor, allows multiple groups to have gatherings. The sitting room even has a piano! I should have taken a moment to play but I'm so rusty... There is a limited library so bring a book to donate if you can. I was so busy touring State Street that it was not a problem but for a longer stay, you may want to bring some reading material. When I was here in Jan-2015, the computer in the lobby was non-functional. I had my own but didn't even use it so can't comment on the WIFI. There is no alcohol allowed at the hostel so if you're gonna be drinking, you can enjoy one of the MANY pubs within walking distance. However, if you have an experience like me, do this with a GPS so you can find your way home. I have a very good sense of direction but all the criss-crossing and diagonal streets really threw me for a loop. I will say (to my credit) that I had to ask for directions at the parking garage around the corner from the hostel and even that guy had to pull out a map! I was literally a stone's throw from the place. He said it's real easy to get turned around. What an understatement! Parking was $7 and I was glad I paid for it as this is right downtown and it snowed overnight. Glad to be safe in a spot in back. There was some hallway noise but nothing too loud and nothing during quiet hours. The bed was SUPER COMFY - way great for a hostel environment. Nice sheets and blankets with extra pillows available (my personal favorite thing). Downsides: 1) The towels in the bathroom are hand towels (like large washcloth size) so it took two to get the job done. But they are super-absorbent and brightly colored so they are cheerful! The shower is small but I'm a big girl - standard 3' x 3' which is workable. 2) There is a garbage truck garage across the street and they rumble out about 6 AM... but it's over quick. I guess this is just weekdays so weekends would be better. Best upside: Carlos is super-fantastic friendly. He can direct you to anything you might need to get to in town. I definitely felt welcomed by him when I ran into him late Monday evening. Helpful hint: A family of 3-4 could stay in Room 2 as it has a double bed-bunk. That's where we'll stay next time we do a family vacation to Madison. Overall, I thought Madison was a hip town with loads to see - wish I had more than 24-hours and that it was about 50 degrees warmer! This place is a good value for the price.

I'm going to make this simple as I can. 2019 summer I came back to the hostel and already I was…read moreasked to have a conversation about my last visit to the hostel. There was no room for the next few days (private) and I still have a booking in another room but I decided to cancel and head to Chicago for a big wedding. But let's be honest here ok, Yelp translated my last review wrong and now I am here to update and clear the air. I didn't like my last visit in 2018 of November and there were things I wasn't too cheerful about it. There was a guy doing drugs and offering us things that were so troublesome. We had complained about it to the staff and they said they will talk to him. Turns out that he was a homeless man last-named Goldsby living in Madison Wisconsin at the Men's homeless shelter. "How do I know this? Well, I'm the case manager for homeless services and I see him all the time but the point of this is to point out a flaw in checking in an individual that suppose to be from out of states. I've warned the young ladies that his energy didn't sit well with me or with the other guest. Another homeless guy comes in but this time it happens in October/November or 2018 where a friend of mine from Thailand had her GoPro stolen (I did replace it out of the kindness of my heart) but this guy was asked guests for money and wanted to eat our food. "I know, so disturbing." but later that night he now has money? So I can someone do a background check on this guy and the guy took off the next day. Again, months later after taking a JOB under the city and returning to Madison, I'd see the same guy at a day shelter for the homeless. "I should say something to the hostel but that's not my problem anymore but you as the viewer should know what happen with my experience. This is why I'd happen to take a star off, as a dual citizen I want to be told and ensure that this is a happy place for travelers. There were other things that happen but I rather keep that between HIUSA and I. Other than that, other HIUSA locations are out of this world amazing. But doesn't this bother some people, to find out that Hi-Madison isn't fully checking state Identification or have the better judgment to denied hospitality services? In 2015, 2016, 2017 and all experiences were so excellent that I starting to bring friends with me from other countries to Madison to the hostel. It's still a great place and right at the heart of the capitol. I'd notice a few things and questions. Now, I do not make visits to the hostel anymore and do not need the services from this location but it's a good place for anyone working in the Madison area for a short time. I'd now work for the city of Madison and a full-time photographer. But you only can stay up to 14 days a year now. It's not seasonal anymore. So if you here doing a Covance study or working internationally under visa requirements, be aware this also applies to you. Max stay is 14 days as well. But now I just have some friends that I've met at the HI-Madison location for work or summer classes and offer them a place to stay for FREE. Book your rooms in the advancement.

We had a wonderful experience here! We booked very last minute, and were a little confused about…read morewhat the different types of sites were (back-in, tent, etc.). After emailing them I received a rather prompt response that our tent was welcome on one of their back in sites, which I'm very glad we chose because it had a little paved driveway that fit a picnic table, our car, and had a little space left over that our toddler loved drawing on with chalk. Check in was super easy, and very friendly. All the staff we interacted with were happy to help and answer our questions. This is a VERY family oriented campground, there are kids everywhere, but it was a blast! They have a huge sand pit area that has giant jumping pillow, a tether ball pole, some plastic playsets, and a large swimming pond with lots of inflatables. There is also a pool, but it was closed for the season. At the main lodge there are board games, carpet ball, giant games, and a handful of arcade games. The bathrooms were also very well kept. There were a limited number of flushing toilets on the overnight campgrounds, as a good portion of the area is used for seasonal permanent campers. However, there were port-a-potties very strategically placed and well maintained. Showers are 50 cents for 7 minutes. I would highly recommend this campground! We are already looking at coming back next year. It's also very close to Devil's Lake, but a little too far to walk to (parking at the Lake is $16).

LOVE this campground and it's close to Devil's Lake. My family has been going here for years! We…read moretake the ferry over the lake because the kids think it's awesome, and it is. We have always camped in tents, but one year someone from our group rented a yurt, and it was awesome! Great family friendly place. Lots of things to do with the kids. They have a pond with inflatables, which the kids love. They also have a pool. There is also a pillow bounce thing and playground. A major plus is that they have bathrooms and showers! It is a pretty large place and gets booked up quick! The prices are reasonable, but have gone up over the years. They do have a store there, but be prepared to pay. The staff is always friendly and helpful. They have activities throughout the week so be sure to check the events calendar.

Our family for years has worked with Lori to book our vacations! Her expertise and advice are so…read moreappreciated! Our favorite destinations are Mexico and the Caribbean, and she is so knowledgeable about current travel restrictions and requirements, airports/airlines/layovers, resorts, etc. We would not book a vacation without including her! We can't wait to book our next vacation with Lori!

Great detail on final travel plans with lots of knowledge of the areas that we were looking at as…read morewe sifted through the options. We saved a lot of time money by having Lori help with our Roman Holiday and will have a better vacation because of it.

My husband and I went on the lake to lake tour with guide Stanley. We we super excited to eat and…read moretour our way through Madison!! We've done 3 walking food tours prior to this one and were excited to add it to our list. There were many things we loved about this tour; Stanley's enthusiasm, the beautiful day and great walking weather, the folks we chatted with on the tour and *most* of the food. The tour was extremely slow to get going. We were all very hungry; eating small breakfasts and no morning snacks in anticipation of a heavy food afternoon. The tour began promptly at 12:30. We spent a very long time in the Convention Center talking about Frank Lloyd Wright. And then when we left the history part of the tour continued for an hour. The first tasting of any food did not happen until a little after 1:30. First stop was Merchant, a funky restaurant/bar, where we were served a Small quarter of a cuban sandwich and a tiny arugula salad dressed in vinaigrette. The Cubano was very good but the serving we seriously tiny. Then we lingered waaaay too long (in my opinion) at the Merchant sitting at the table even though everyone had been done for a while. After the merchant we made Lots of little stops to look at landmarks around the capital area. And we did a little walk through of the capital building, which was very beautiful, but my tummy was still rumbling!!!! 2:22 was our second stop at Fromagination Cheese Shop. This was an absolutely adorable shop with oodles of cheese as well as other gormete food stuffs like cookies, pastries, honey, balsamic vinegar, mustard, jams and jellies and other gift stuff . 3 small pieces of cheese and 2 crackers. There were also a few samples around the store for tasting but really it was a very small food sampling. Shortly after that around 2:44 we made it to Ian's Pizza for a half-slice of Mac and cheese pizza. Ehhh. Did not like it. They had some really cool other kinds and just an awesome menu in general. Just was not into the Mac and Cheese slice. Ick Next up was a little after 3:00 and we stopped at Himal Chuli which was a Nepalese eatery for a Mango Lassi. I was disappointed that we did not get to go inside the restaurant. We just grabbed-and-go our drinks and walked to our next stop. At around 3:17 we stopped into State Street Brats where we were served half to a third of a brat and A half pint of Spotted Cow beer from New Glarus Brewery. Good tasting. But again, a very small sample Lastly we walked to UW campus to the student union for a vanilla malt. It was good. Wish we had gotten to try the ice cream. I'm sure they have some great flavors there. The union was amazing however, right on the lake. Lucky students. The tour ran over, ending around 3:45. My husband and I left still feeling kind of hungry which has NEVER happened to us after a food tour. So, we had a fun time but left with mixed feelings about the tour. Not sure how much we will recommend this one to ours friends. Would rather send them down to the zerve.com food tours in Chicago.

Monroe street tour was wonderful!!, great food all in walking distance!…read moreguide was well educated in Madison history. The food was excellent choices. went to many places I did not know were there! pizza, salad, beligum beer, mussels, so fun! enoyed every moment, if you live in madison or visiting this tour is a must!!

Customer service was great. But the wine selection was disappointing. Their sweetest wine is like a…read moresemi-dry. There wasn't any "vibe" like at other wineries. Food options were also disappointing. Seating area outside was lifeless, old and dirty. Glad to try another winery, but since we're not dry wine fans, we won't be back.

Held my wife's 60th birthday celebration there. Had a BQ food truck come and serve. We used the…read morelarge barn ( which got a little warm) then we moved out to a patio overlooking the vineyard. We had live entertainment and cold water and cake delivered from Madison Hy vee. But here's the best thing we were able to transform the barn interior to our celebration and the cost was $300.00 + purchase 4 cases of wine! Compared to other Madison venues this was a deal. And with an open beer and wine bar we had no problem meeting the minimum case requirement. The Botham family are very accommodating and gracious hosts. Actually come to us to fill our glasses while we dance and enjoy the great weather for 4 hours. Are event started at 4pm and we left about 8pm. I'd do it again! Great wine also.