Wisconsin-Aire Motel — Hotel in Town of Sherman

The Wisconsin-Aire is a roadside motel with parking in front of the units and outside doors to the rooms. The place has a bright appearance from the outside with a picnic table grill on one side and chairs in front. The rooms have been remodeled – redone floor, painted and paneled walls, tiled bathroom walls. It meets the basics – clean room, comfortable beds, decent towels, nice shower head and plenty of hot water for showers. Our room had a good size fridge, a microwave sitting on top of it, and wall A/C unit above that. There were two beds and a nightstand, no closet or any good place to hang things. There was a metal shelf/rack in a corner above one bed but no hangers. With the front windows closed the room was reasonable quiet considering the property is on a fairly busy highway. There wasn’t much traffic at night and we didn’t hear any noise from other rooms. The most noise we heard came from the boys living at the restaurant next door playing loud music while they played basketball one evening.|The staff was friendly and responsive when you could get a hold of them, easiest when someone was at the fireworks store they have on the road side of the parking lot. We were able to swap towels once we got someone’s attention there. Never got an answer on the phone numbers posted on the whiteboard in the office. We were given bottled water when we checked in.|Our room had wifi internet that very slow when it was working - it was constantly going up and down. The room had a nice flat screen TV but it used wifi - we couldn't get it to connect given available connectivity and bandwidth|The bathroom is fairly small - sink, tub w/shower, toilet, no vanity. There were no hooks in the bathroom to hang things on or towel racks within reach of the shower.|This is a basic motel - no pool, exercise room, or continental breakfast - consistent with the price.|Being a remodeled older property it has a few rough edges, generally aesthetic - e.g. uncovered electrical box above front door, bathroom very sink slow to drain, light over the shower not working, and the door lock needing a little “talking to” to get it to unlock with a key – passage lock and no deadbolt. No smoke detectors were visible.|To know: hair dryers and coffee are available upon request; book directly with motel for best rate. We ate at the restaurant next door and found it quite good. (It looks like a Mexican...

As I have been doing annually for a number of years, I stayed at the Wisconsin Aire Motel for the weekend of the WeatherTech® International Challenge at Road America, July 12-15, 2024. I used to stay at the Maple Leaf Motel on Highway 57 in Plymouth, but it’s turned into a bit of a dump, catering mostly to long-term renters. The Wisconsin Aire Motel is 16 miles further south on Hwy 57 but the extra 30-mile round-trip drive to Plymouth each day was not really an issue. The Wisconsin Aire Motel changed ownership a couple of years ago and in talking to the new owner at the time, he detailed plans for remodeling. Went back last year for the same July time-frame and found that the motel had been sold again. Fast forward to this past weekend, found no change in ownership but the room I was in (#29), had not been refurbished as was indicated the prior two years. Still no place to hang or store anything. Thankfully, there were two beds in the room, so my wife and I used one of the beds to store the travel items we brought for the weekend. No way to adjust the air conditioner other than climb on the table that had a small refrigerator and microwave on it. I’m now 80 so I didn’t do this. Two fresh bath towels, a face towel and a washcloth in the bathroom. The floor towel by the tub was filthy. Vent looked like it had never been cleaned since the motel was built. But hey, the facility was better than camping. Good night sleep Friday night and went to the track Saturday AM. Back to the motel Saturday PM. Found the bed not made nor were the towels replaced. Called the owner and was told “we don’t make up the rooms during a client’s stay unless requested!” I asked for fresh towels, and they were brought to the room about a half hour later. The owner also indicated that he was going to use half of the rooms for longer-term rentals beginning later this year. Looks like a once nice motel is going to turn into another Maple Leaf! I...

If you are coming anywhere close to the vicinity of Sheboygan, Elkhart Lake, or Random Lake, you should consider this motel. Sure, it looks like a remnant from the past, when motor-hotels were the only option, but this location is somewhere to book not overlook. I booked it online with a “secret deal”, but could have easily done it directly. The room was well under $50 per night; my point is that even if you are made of money, there is no reason to overspend if you just need a place to stay without resort amenities you may not use anyway, like a swimming pool, a looking pond, and gardens that are look-but-don’t-touch. (Those locations have their place, but this is a different perspective.) The family that owns and operates this property is meticulous in keeping the grounds and the rooms clean, comfortable, and inviting. The bed is probably the most comfortable bed that I have ever slept on in any hotel or motel—and I don’t give that acclaim lightly; I am like Princess and The Pea when it comes to bed comfort. The sound of Highway 57 is “right there” but I had no problem falling asleep. There was a nice television set in the room and a desk that was big enough to handle the flat-top space I needed to take stock of my packed items during a four-night stay. There was a nice chair for sitting and side tables on each side of the bed. For one person it was fine, for two people (it was a king bed), the floor space may be a little tight unless you travel light, but it was perfect. A very pleasant surprise and I definitely would go back; I only wish I had stayed there on previous visits to the greater Sheboygan area. Coming from me, someone who has worked in four- and five-star hotels, that is saying a lot. It is nice to know that it is a local family that owns it and if you like the idea of buying local and supporting people in this way, in addition to being a clean, comfortable, cost-efficient place to stay, this is the...