Wisconsin summers are short. Fleeting. This makes impulsive decisions to get out and enjoy the warm weather even more necessary.
A few weekends ago, I felt inspired to take a beach vacation before summer’s end. Only when I checked the calendar, not only was the start of September looming but only a few days were open. Hopping a plane to either of the coasts was not going to happen.
This is how I ended up in downtown Racine, 40 minutes south of Milwaukee, for a night with my husband and our four-year-old Golden Retriever. The year-old Hotel Verdant served as base camp with the Lake Michigan shoreline only two blocks away.
The 80-room, pet-friendly hotel is in the shell of a historic 1898 building that once served as Zahn’s Department Store. And its perch along bustling Main Street in Monument Square puts you in the thick of the action.
Viewing the wide expanse of blue water from the rooftop bar (Eave) and clinking our Bodacious Bourbon Old Fashioneds together, then eating wood-fired pizza and pasta at the street-level restaurant (Marguerite) definitely satisfied my itch to travel near the water—and also eat and drink well. The Foraged Mushroom Bianco pizza (folding in herbs from the rooftop garden) and Lasagna Al Forno (featuring tomato and béchamel sauces) were a veritable trip to Italy.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
The LEED Gold-certified boutique hotel is keeping the environment in mind, too. On top of a rooftop garden that grows many items for the hotel (including botanical cocktails), there are loaner bicycles for exploring, electric-vehicle charging stations, a sauna and lots of plants in the lobby. There’s also a library of books in the lobby either written by local authors or about the region. Scandi-style furnishings in the guestrooms and lobby aren’t just to achieve minimalist aesthetic. The hotel purposefully sought out renewable materials for these custom furnishings.
More than once, I questioned how I could feel so relaxed only 40 minutes from home because normally there needs to be a “buffer” (a plane ride or a long car trip) to ease into a vacation. But in this case, the hotel’s calming environment was all it took. Once you park the car, you don’t have to leave in order to take a beach stroll, dine out or view incredible art.
It’s not just this new hotel that’s enticing travelers to downtown Racine. Downtown’s walkable cultural center is anchored by the Racine Art Museum, home to the country’s largest collection of contemporary crafts. In fact, the museum curated Hotel Verdant’s art collection, which is hung nearly everywhere in the hotel – even above our guestroom’s toilet! Twenty-three artists from Racine and Kenosha are represented.
At Reef Point Marina, only two blocks east of the hotel, is the five-acre Festival Park that includes Paul B. Harris Rotary Park and Memorial Hall, both hugging Lake Michigan and where many boats anchor. Events are hosted here nearly every weekend, such as the upcoming Sober Saturday Night music and art festival (Sept. 14) and Bark in the Park (Sept. 28).
For a refreshing summer-time treat, pop into Divino Gelato Café on Main Street. If the name sounds familiar, it should—other locations are in Waukesha and Brookfield, for a small taste of home.
