The Hilton Milwaukee, Milwaukee’s largest hotel, is undergoing a $40 million renovation that is slated for completion in summer 2025. According to owning company Marcus Hotels & Resorts, the project will be the “most extensive” in the company’s history, updating guestrooms, 34,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces and the hotel’s lobby.
Previously known as the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, the hotel has been rebranded to the Hilton Milwaukee, as it is most commonly known, to coincide with the renovation.
Of the property’s current stock of 729 guestrooms, all 554 rooms in the historic hotel’s original footprint will be renovated. The remaining 175 rooms in the 24-year-old west tower will eventually be removed from available room inventory. According to the company, the decision not to renovate all guestrooms was the result of “careful evaluation of current hotel market conditions, projected room supply and demand and the risks associated with proposed new hotel room supply that will require significant public subsidy.”
“The Hilton Milwaukee has been a towering mainstay in Milwaukee since 1928 and we are thrilled to usher in a new modern era that honors the hotel’s long tradition of style and elegance,” Michael Evans, president of Marcus Hotels & Resorts, said in a statement. “While taking great care to celebrate its distinguished past, this remodel will dramatically elevate the look, feel and experience of this stately city landmark into a brand-new hotel. As the largest hotel in Milwaukee, we look forward to welcoming locals, leisure travelers and group and convention guests alike as they experience and enjoy everything about our hometown, including the expanded Baird Center right across the street.”
Updated Guestrooms
The new guestrooms will combine the hotel’s 1920s aesthetics with modern style and luxuries. Using a warm color palette with soft wood and gold accents, each renovated room will include new furnishings and lighting as well as new custom-designed carpet and draperies and bright artwork to pop against the neutral wall tones.
Guestroom bathrooms will also be completely redesigned and remodeled to include newly tiled showers and marble countertops along with Wisconsin-based Kohler Co. fixtures and mirrors with built-in lighting.
The new guestrooms will also feature motion-sensor lighting, steamers and Nespresso machines as well as updated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Corridors will get new wallcoverings and light woodwork. Custom carpeting with an organic design with shades of gold and blue will flow through the hallways transitioning to a structured pattern near the elevator lobbies, with art deco fixtures lighting the corridors.
Meeting and Event Spaces
The hotel’s three ballrooms, pre-function spaces and meeting rooms also will undergo extensive renovations. Dating back to the early 20th century, each ballroom has high ceilings and the original chandeliers, antique mirrors, gold-leafed adornments and silver accents. These historical elements will be refurbished and maintained.
The spaces will get entirely new carpeting, draperies and wall coverings as well as a new sound system, updated HVAC and lighting controls and new digital signage.
Historic Lobby
The two-story lobby celebrates art deco design with chandeliers, geometric motifs and woodwork accenting the marble pillars and floors. The original lobby bar has been renamed The Monarch Lounge and maintains its original stone and metal fireplace.