Ringling House Bed & Breakfast — Hotel in Baraboo

Lovely B & B. We enjoyed the room. It was lovely, large, with a king bed. Bathroom was nice. The home is gorgeous, with lots of lovely antiques, and wonderful architectural details.

The only things keeping us from a 5 star rating on the room itself were the two wasps we had to kill (they got through the screen somehow); the room did not cool down as much as we would have liked (would have been just fine for 90% of other people, however), and that the beautiful antique sink/vanity had hot only/cold only taps which was a pain. There were 3 taps, perhaps the center tap was supposed to be warm water, but it just wasn't. While this is beautiful, it made washing my face and hands less than ideal.

Very nice perks:

Dining room where you eat breakfast is gorgeous. There are two sitting rooms you can use downstairs that are really beautiful.

There are motion detecting lights on the staircase, so when you come back to your room after 7 pm, they come on automatically as you go up the stairs, and go off minutes after you go into your room.

Keep in mind: there is a refrigerator/microwave for guest use, but it is outside the rooms on the landing of the second floor. Also, you MUST be able to manage stairs to stay here. Believe it or not, there is an elevator. However, it no longer works and I'm sure wouldn't be worth the cost to repair.

The location is great, it is at the "slow" end of a main street, and in a residential area. We don't like being in the commercial area of towns, so we were happy about the location.

Our hostess was pleasant, and made us some very nice breakfasts. Note that the breakfasts were not high in protein, if this is an issue for you. This is not a complaint, just a heads-up. If you let her know I am sure she can work with your dietary needs, or at least let you know to what extent she can accommodate.

All-in-all, we had a good time and...

We parked by several illl maintained buildings that require remediation to repaint. The entrance is through the smoking area, which was very unpleasant. Most of interior is in disrepair. I understand the house is old, but faucets shouldn't leak, and the mattress should not have a big divot. Upon arrival, Julie made somewhat of an effort to interact and showed us to our room. The showerheads and Italian lotion and hand soap are nice. The quality of workmanship on repairs left something to be desired. The dining room and stained glass were very well preserved. The constant pressure to donate, tip, and buy things was distasteful. The breakfast was was okay, but definitely would not define as homemade or gourmet: especially the brown and serve sausage. The French press coffee was nice, until the level got low, and the press and coffee looked greasy: like there was greasy water or dish soap in it. Food and coffee were luke warm the 1st day: a little better after. Fruit was fresh.

Saturday night they had a loud fundraiser. I wish they would have done it on a day or time they were closed to the public: but not the end of the world. Doorbell could be heard regularly: including late at night. Walked out of our room to someone listening at our door. Very creepy. We felt like we were intruding and heard constant complaints about having to make breakfast. We generally stay in 3 star places, but was the Walmart of our experiences. Most of our disappointment probably stems from the high expectations they set on their own website and on travel sites. It doesn't mesh with the reality and condition of the bed...

I have stayed at many bed-and-breakfasts and this is by far the worst I have seen. it appears majority of the house needs cleaning, painting, and restoring in many areas. There are holes in the ceiling on the porch, the bathroom floor was cracked , the tiles are peeling in the shower area. and curtains appeared to never have been washed. The breakfast actually made the person I was with sick. She had some blueberry scones there that did not seem very fresh at all. She served two on a plate and then never gave us a plate to put them on. I told her I do not eat eggs yet she chose to serve eggs on a warm bun of some sort. Also, when he served the beverage, he had his hand completely over the top of the glass and his fingers around the upper edge where your mouth would contact it. We were told that they would have hot coffee and hot tea ready early in the morning however, when we got there 10 minutes before the breakfast was going to be served there was no hot water. We asked for hot water for the tea and he got quite irritate. On the bill a marketing fee was added and then they add tax on that. She has a box for donations and has a list of what the repairs were needed including some work on the chimney for $12,000. She also leaves an envelope for a tip. I guess we should've really known things were not quite right when we parked the car in an area that looked like a disaster zone. I think the only thing attractive about this place would be the Ringling Brothers's name. I would not recommend staying...