Where are Waukesha and Pewaukee?
The twin cities are in southeast Wisconsin, 20 miles west of Milwaukee and 60 miles east of Madison. Waukesha (pop. 70,000) is the largest town in Waukesha County (pop. 390,000).
How do I get there?
The cities are on Interstate 94, which links Milwaukee and Madison and ties Milwaukee to Chicago. For those who fly, General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee is a 30-minute drive. The Waukesha-Pewaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau can assist with shuttles from the airport.
What’s new?
The Country Springs Hotel Water Park Conference Center is upgrading guest rooms in its executive house.
The Radisson Pewaukee Hotel will fly the Holiday Inn flag, after it makes $400,000 in improvements.
Tell me about your main meeting sites.
• The 187-room Country Springs Hotel Water Park Conference Center is the area’s largest, with more than 40,000 square feet of meeting space in more than 20 rooms, including executive learning centers for training sessions.
• The Milwaukee Marriott West has 281 guest rooms and 14,000 square feet of meeting space.
• The Radisson (now Holiday Inn) has 119 guest rooms and 3,000 square feet of meeting space.
• Downtown, the 20-room Clarke Hotel is suited to board meetings. Its 1,750 square feet of meeting space includes the Wine View Room, stocked with hundreds of bottles of wine, and a private dining room for eight.
What are some interesting places for off-site events?
• Waukesha’s old post office is a venue with sparkle. The Rotunda has a stained-glass skylight, a coffered dome, hand-painted walls, gold chandeliers and an upper mezzanine.
• The Frame Park Rotary Building is between gardens and the Fox River in a park. The 1,600-square-foot space has a fireplace and views of the riverbanks.
• Ten Chimneys, the former home of actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, makes a fun tour, what with its mementos and notes from the stars who knew and visited the theatrical couple. It is also an event venue of note.
• Having dinner in the loft of an octagonal barn at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor living-history museum, is an enjoyable way to re-create life in 19th-century rural Wisconsin.
For a taste of Waukesha/Pewaukee…
Get a look at the lake and listen to piano tunes on the patio at Piano Blu, an upscale restaurant with a private room that offers lake-view dining and audiovisual options.
Downtown Waukesha is a haven for local eateries. La Estacion, a Mexican restaurant, makes its home in refurbished train cars, including a private car that can be used for sophisticated parties. The railcars go nowhere, but they add to the atmosphere. Enjoy a pint of beer with interesting people in an engaging environment at House of Guinness, which made the 2008 Nightclub and Bar Editor’s Top 100 List.
Tell me about some extra-special CVB services.
As budgets have tightened, the CVB has turned to community partners to provide on-site experiences at no charge for conference events. For example, a local car-collectors club displayed antique and collectible cars at a tailgate party for an airport manager conference.
