The Karsten Hotel

Friendly staff make you feel like family from the moment you check-in. Open windows filtered in the freshness of Lake Michigan. The lobby is large and filled with historic items. There are free snacks and drinks in a breakfast room that has an attached porch. We have a hobby of ghost hunting but we didn't choose to do it because our focus was just relaxation. The overall vibe is positive and I would love to go back.

My husband John and I have never encountered a friendlier welcome than we did at the Karsten Nest Hotel. The owner, Alex, went out of his way--and then some--to make sure that our stay was happy and comfortable. Athena, a member of the staff, was also wonderful. Alex has put a lot of work into this historic property. There so many things to appreciate: the lovely carpeting, interesting pieces such as old record players and antique furniture, and incredible woodwork. The building has a reputation for being *******. John and I stayed in room 310, purportedly the most active area in the building. Unfortunately, we didn't experience much of a paranormal nature, although I heard some odd noises, and we did have quite a bit of difficulty getting the door to unlock on our last morning there. Athena gave us a great tour of the basement and shared some of her experiences with us. I loved how the breezes from Lake Michigan wafted through the building--it put me in mind of a Victorian House in which I used to stay on the ocean in Maine. John and I so enjoyed talking to Alex and Athena. We appreciated the breakfast and Alex's generosity. It's a lovely, peaceful place to stay where one truly feels welcome. I recommend staying there wholeheartedly.

No microwave or fridge in rooms. The restaurant is not operating the bar is not running. You can use the kitchen but it is dirty. Only one burner works on the make shift stove. There is no oven also. The coffee is gross ot is not fresh and your expected to warm it up they always have the power off. The building is cold the heat is turned way down if it is was warmer in the lobby it would be a cool place to hang out. The owner does not understand hospitality and what is expected when people stay.

Stayed here for a wedding down the road. The hotel is old, which is really neat. The decor was ok. There were some very neat antique pieces, but then there were also strange knick knacks and signs like "Home sweet home" which kind of threw off the back-in-time vibe that I think they were going for. The bartender, Steven, was incredibly nice and helpful. However, the bar was very dark and the leather on the stools was falling apart. The dining room seemed nice, but the kitchen looked very dirty. I didn't go down for breakfast after viewing the items the day before - opened boxes of cereal sitting out and bananas well past their expiration date with fruit flies everywhere. The coffee is from a Coffee Mate pot like you have at home. There is no elevator, which was fine with me but could be a problem for people who can't walk upstairs as all rooms are up at least one flight of stairs. We got the jacuzzi suite, but it was anything but a suite. It was incredibly small. There were two chairs for the desk, but you could only actually pull one out to use because the other one was blocked in by the TV stand. There was a mini fridge, but it was full of water, so we couldn't use it. Only two pillows on the bed. The jacuzzi was just the shower tub. The bathroom was very dark. There was no place to hang the handtowel by the sink, which is outside the bathroom. The room was pretty dirty. I did not take my socks off on the hardwood floor. The windows would have been nice to look out but they were so dirty with cobwebs and dead bugs. Lastly, there were no curtains in the room, which had two gigantic windows! We were woken up at 5:15 AM at sunrise. Not fun. I have a lot more comments but will spare you the time. Look elsewhere if you need to stay in Kewaunee.