Hotel Julien

Beautiful hotel. Nice rooms easy parking convent location. A little torked with staff indicated to me via email that shuttle service would be provided to ice brew event. Had to take cab instead.

We really loved our stay at Hotel Julien. I stayed with three other friends and we were in town to canvass before the caucuses. The hotel is centrally located so we could walk to all the bars and restaurants. Caroline’s, the hotel restaurant, is wonderful as well. Great breakfast and a cozy bar after a long day. Rooms were clean and spacious. We liked our view of the hills and homes in the city, versus the river on the other side. I got a very reasonable rate through Expedia as well. If we’re ever in Dubuque again, we will definitely book with Hotel Julien.

Beautiful hotel located right where you want to be for entertainment, dining and drinks. Luxury rooms feature comfortable beds, spacious bathroom and mini bar with complimentary keurig coffee drinks. If you’re staying in Dubuque don’t stay anywhere but Hotel Julien.

I got a really good Priceline rate on a room at the Julien on my way home from Christmas and jumped on the chance to stay at a nice hotel.
We checked in at about 7:00pm. The single desk clerk was very nice. The room keys came with a 15% discount at the in-​house spa, which we were sadly unable to use, and a free dessert with entrée at the in-​house restaurant, Caroline’s (reviewed separately).
The lobby is beautiful, classic and warm. We poked our heads into the on-​site cocktail lounge, but weren’t overly impressed with it, so we skipped a drink.
Our king room was nice, quite large with a good mattress and pillows. There was a sizable shower, a mini fridge, a coffee pot and desk area.
The furniture was showing a little wear and tear, but nothing major.
Our view, sadly, was of the rooftop.
It was a nice hotel, but we really couldn’t take advantage of the best features, the spa, pool, whirlpool or shop. It is right on Main Street with close proximity to shops, restaurants and bars.
Overall, this was nice.

This was a great hotel with only one drawback.
The rooms were big and comfortable. The beds were nice with lots of pillow choices. It was very clean and has a luxurious feel. The only problem was noise, we heard a couple of trains during the night. We heard people often and the for about ½ hour when the bars closed and we happened to wake up to the garbage truck, very early.
Without all the interruptions during the night it would have been a great stay!

We were on a «romantic» getaway so I paid a premium to get a king size bed. Our neighbors across the hall spent over $ 100 less and had a significantly larger room, and the bathtub that our listing had promised but did not deliver. I measured the bed with a measuring tape, it was not King size. I felt so ripped off that my face was red for the majority of the night. Spending as much as we did, I was hoping for a lot more. Can confidently say that it was my worst hotel room experience for the money (7 weeks of vacation last year), especially knowing that just staying with the default double queen room would have given us a bath and more space.
The restaurant downstairs is like an expensive Perkins, but with soggier hashbrowns.
The lobby and bar are swanky and fun. Good drinks. That’s the only star-​saving mechanism in my review.

My favorite hotel. I live across the street from it, and I have checked in a few times just to enjoy enjoy the Potosa Spa and room service. The hotel is luxury from the moment you walk in. The bar is high-​end, and we really enjoy their restaurant Caroline’s downstairs. They have a great pool/​workout room too! Hands down the nicest hotel experience you will find in Dubuque. Another thing I really admire about the Julien is how involved with the community they are, they hold a lot of exciting events (Film festivals, Diamond Dash Dream Wedding Contest, Expos, etc) here throughout the year and it’s always a pleasure to drop in or get involved! They even filmed a lot of material for the last season of The Bachelor there. This hotel definitely gets my final rose
Side note– I got a room the day 2 days before my wedding last week so me and my fiancé could have some extra space, and I needed to tie my tie and couldn’t figure out how to do it, I YouTube’d a tutorial but that didn’t work, with 10 minutes to go before we had to get in the limo I called the front desk and asked if anyone knew how to tie a tie and if they could tie mine lol. I was a bit embarrassed, but this nice young man came up in under a minute and fixed it for me! It was awesome and I’ll never forget it!

If it was possible to give no stars I would. The staff, manager and General manager of this hotel do not understand customer service. When I go to a hotel I do not expect the manager and General manager to treat the customers as if they are wrong. There was a misunderstanding and never an apology from management. Very poor customer service.

The rooms are very nice and a great price. But the most amazing part is the Riverboat Lounge and bartender Kegan. He makes the best Manhattan I’ve ever had and the other cocktails are just as tasty. I can’t recommend Kegan and Riverboat Lounge enough. You need to go there.

Hubs and I returned to Hotel Julien for the first time since being married here in June, 2013.
We absolutely love Dubuque and Hotel Julien. There’s really no better place to stay.
We checked-​in on a Sunday evening and immediately went to dinner. We returned at about 9:00pm that night and I noticed that we could hear our neighbor through the wall. Mostly his/​her TV, but I’d never experienced a noise issue at the Julien before.
I debated calling the front desk, but opted to turn on my white noise machine instead. It seemed like everyone staying at the hotel on this particular Sunday night was staying on the 5^th floor. I’m sure there’s a legitimate reason for keeping guests on the same floor (convenience? easy for housekeeping?).
Our rate for the evening was $ 150. Definitely more pricey than other lodging accommodations in the area, but you get what you pay for. Our room was very clean and tidy. Had I remembered my Diamond Jo card I likely would have received a big discount.
We had a good time nonetheless.
Highly recommend Hotel Julien. Sign-​up to receive special room rates via email, or flash your Diamond Jo card for a nice discount.

Biggest «Price Gouging Hotel «During the Holidays! Price goes from $ 100ish for a King room to $ 300 for a room when called they had NO explanation. MY OPINION IS HIGHWAY ROBERY!
Stayed here before and things have been great but when I called the lady person on the phone was very rude. I called again the next day to talk to the manager. The same rude lady answered and was rude again… That associate needs customer service training… To continue the review the day before I asked for a manager and she insisted that I would get the same answers while still being rude about everthing. I just said I wanted to talk to a Manager nicely…
I also was notified that they wouldnt honor the Diamond Joe discount any longer on weekends and the lady seemed to have made it up in my opinion as she gave me since a month or two ago. Again in my opinion to PRICE GOUGE ME! Below the manager states in his reply that they stopped over a year ago…
As for the discounts we all try to maximize them… Diamond Joe was always the same discount as an Employer rate.
UNBELIEVABLE that contacting a family member to have me alter a review I frown upon that and shake my head tisk tisk… and is bad business. Also a violation of Unilocal policies…
IN ALL I WOULD CHECK AROUND AT OTHER HOTELS THEY WAY STAFF AND THE MANAGER TREAT PEOPLE… As you can see the professionalism of the manger in the comments below.
AND I LEAVE THIS TO THE COURT OF THE PUBLIC TO DECIDE HOW RUDE THE MANAGER IS… Read other reviews he responds to as he’s very disrespectful and can tell he doesn’t have Good Management training.
Also kind of feel like a privacy policy has been violated in some of your comments disclosing my stays to the public… LATER DWIGHT ALTERD HIS REVIEW REMOVED HIS PRIVACY VIOLATIONS.
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7÷1÷15 Management reply below was edited after Privacy Policies were violated. I have an official screen shot of his original reply I will attach picture of his rudeness but I again will also leave that up to the Court of the Public to read his other rude replies…
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Small minded. I was told the hotel would not be willing to take responsibility for a tux that I needed to leave behind the front desk.
I believe that when a hotel or honestly any business is willing to take payment, then they should also be willing to take responsibility for the service or product they provide.
All I requested was to leave the tux behind the front desk for a short period of time, so that someone else could pick it up and return it for me.
The bridge from Dubuque to Illinois is directly behind their hotel and in all honesty I’m not sure if these people have ever made it across.

I turn to Unilocal for advice whether it’s for a hotel, a restaurant, a store, a school, practically any type of business I’m looking to support.
My husband and I purchased a travelzoo deal months ago for the Hotel Julien as we had a trip planned to dig up some information on my ancestry in Dubuque. As we kept up on our chosen travel dates I called the Hotel Julien to book our stay. The gentleman I spoke with was very friendly and completely helpful in getting my room booked. He made me excited to check in. I asked him some questions about Dubuque itself as I had never been and we spoke for several minutes on the phone after booking my room.
After I hung up I thought I would hop on Unilocal to maybe see some pictures and also take a look at what people were saying about the place. The pictures made me really excited, the reviews made me a little nervous.
I have stayed in hotels all over the country. My husband and o travel a lot. I do understand that someone can have a bad experience but the reviews on here are crazy and nit picky.
The Hotel Julien was amazing for us. It is a beautiful building with so much history and that I can appreciate on a separate level other than me seating there. Our room was clean, bed comfortable, staff were extremely friendly and accommodating, free coffee in lobby (who doesn’t love that?!).
To anyone reading this review, please know that this hotel is amazing. If you choose another while you’re in Dubuque I truly feel as though you will be missing out on this beautiful historical building.

I’d give negative stars if possible…
To start…
Checking in… I waited 45mins after check in, I overheard the room # when I originally asked & 45mins later I ended up on the floor above my original room. Makes me wonder what kind of party they had the night before. SO while I waited 45mins to get checked in I overheard them give a guest two $ 20 vouchers for food at the restaurant AND two vouchers for a wine tasting; naturally I thought sweet at least having to wait will pay off with a few vauchers…
NOT THE CASE, in fact they said nothing when I FINALLY got checked in except «sorry for the wait» I went ahead and asked where I could get some wine. You know, hinting I over the free wine vouchers I just heard them give out… «The best selection of wine around here would be at HY-​VEE, it’s a grocery store down the street» ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!
I bit my tongue & just said okay…
What else…
Three of the food items in the room were expired, along with three of the drinks in the fridge…
The people next door were up til 1am making more noise than you can imagine, then again at 7am!!!
I will NEVER stay here again nor suggest this place to anyone! You may think I’m being a bit ridiculous but when paying over $ 250 for a whirlpool suit you’d think they’d take care of you or at least act like cared…
They had an attitude like someone else will stay here, you’ve paid, we have your money, who cares…
To top this experience off the young man who checked us out the next day asked how our stay was & we replied pretty much to the T of this post and he didn’t hesitate to offer a voucher for the restaurant. I explained I thank him for the offer but it’s a little late for that, his coworkers had a chance to keep me as a customer the day before but dropped the ball!!!
Anywhere is better than Hotel Julien, I didn’t mention a few other thing, like missing light bulbs in lamps & I had to fix their broken blinds before using! TOO MUCH went wrong here for it to be a coincidence this hotel is TERRIBLE!!!

This is a beautiful hotel in a neat area. The room itself was very nice. Our room backed up to the railroad and trust me, you hear it. I’d ask for a room in the front of the hotel if possible, hoping that it’s a bit more quiet. We had breakfast at Caroline’s both mornings we stayed there and it was amazing.
Nice hotel, especially if you can get a deal on it (we got a deal through TravelZoo).

This hotel is beautiful and the renovation is exceptional. What makes it 2 stars is the service and the food. You would expect that the staff would fit the hotel structure in it’s elegance and class. It does not.
Went there for a wedding reception and the food was inedible. Red white and blue tortilla chips and runny refried beans. Like something you would get at Taco Bell. Wow what a disappointment.
You could do so much better Hotel Julien.

Oh, Hotel Julien. You have a special place in my heart, and I actually legitimately miss you sometimes. Here’s why:
1. You are the pearl of the little oyster that is Dubuque. A cute town, yes, but really not a huge scene here. Escaping to this hotel alone is worth a trip to the edge of Iowa. Certainly you could check out the town and use going to Potosi Brewing as an excuse to stay here, but really, you could just make a trip to Dubuque just to stay at Hotel Julien.
2. You exude historical elegance with your décor and restoration of a beautiful old building. Dubuque has some beautiful architecture, and this hotel embodies that essence. You get a sense you’re transplanted back to the 1920s with the dark wood, light accents, and high ceilings. And what’s more, the rooms are so inviting and spacious that you wake up feeling like you are home. (Tip: spend a little extra and book one of the King Jacuzzi Suites — SO worth it.)
3. Your staff is wonderful, your bar is fun, and your restaurant is pretty good, too.
We wish we could have stayed longer, but now we just can’t wait to go back. If you ever find yourself wanting a getaway, or near Dubuque, just pack a bag and head straight for this hotel. You will not be sorry.

So incredibly disappointed! For what is supposed to be a «boutique» hotel they have a lot to learn about hospitality!
We booked two rooms for two nights. Night one of each room was on a Travelzoo and night two of each room was regular price on us. We were check in by Ryan, who wasn’t unfriendly at the time but not welcoming either. We had two of the same room, one on the fifth floor and one on the sixth. So far so good. Now when we checked in Ryan didn’t bother to confirm the length of our stay as is customary whenever we check in anywhere else. If he had we would have been alerted to the upcoming problem. On our second day there, we went out in the morning and returned around lunchtime for a few minutes before we needed to head out again. But Wait! Our room keys don’t work! There was a guy checking our room for use of the mini bar, he said aren’t you checking out? No. Okay down to the lobby to straighten things out. Should be easy enough. Ryan was again manning the desk. He looked at our room and told us that we were booked into the same room on the eighth floor for the second night and we must move! We ask — why they didn’t tell us this when we checked in. There was no explanation just a demand that we move. We inquired as to why they couldn’t just put the other party in the eighth floor room. Ryan tells us that they had requested that exact room. Seemed odd, it wasn’t that great of a room (They put the Travelzoo redeemers in the worst rooms — between the stairwell and maintenance room.) Turns out that they just needed to be on the sixth floor with their friends. Okay, but since you messed up what are you going to do for us? How about a complementary room upgrade on the floor where our family is. Ryan goes in back, comes back and says we can give you $ 20 toward Caroline’s (the hotel restaurant — you can read my review about that separately) but you must move. Please note that not once was there any apology for the mess up or inconvenience. We responded that wasn’t acceptable and asked to speak with the manager on duty ourselves. Nope, no manager on premises. Ryan apparently had spoken with one on the phone. Well go call them back and tell them what they are offering is not acceptable. Nope can’t do that. You must move. This went on for a bit until he finally realized that he wasn’t going to bully us into moving without adequate compensation. He did go back again and this time came back and said that we didn’t have to move, that they would put the other customers in another room on the sixth floor. This would have been a fine solution if we hadn’t been treated so poorly to get to this solution. Based on our experience and many of reviews that I have read, the entire staff, managers included need to learn some customer service skills.
Also, the pool situation is in need of attention. Went to use the indoor pool on two occasion, both times there were no towels there. We had to call to get them delivered both times. Also, there is a sign that says that children under the age of 12 need to be accompanied by an adult. Both times we were there there were young out of control kids there without any parental supervision. The kids were even taking the workout ball from the adjoining workout room and using it as a pool toy. We pointed this out but the staff here didn’t care. The whole pool experience was nothing like what a «boutique» hotel normal offers but more like Motel located next to Disneyland!

The rooms are really, really nice here. And the spa is great. But there were many, many little things that went wrong during our stay so that we definitely wouldn’t come back.
One thing was that they thought our reservation was over after our first night, when we had a second night booked. They had to re-​activate the cards multiple times that day, because the booking was done completely wrong. And we had to specially request maid service that day, since they thought we were checking out. Then, the day we were actually checking out, they knocked on our room repeatedly, early in the morning (around 9:00 am) while my husband was trying to sleep in, trying to clean the room. Crazy!
The other thing was that there was zero enforcement of their own rules at the pool. It was overrun with gangs of kids who were extremely loud and rambunctious. Which I would have no problem with, except that they were throwing balls around and there were tons of them in the hot tub, which really infringed on our own ability to enjoy the pool. And the hotel has a rule that no kids under 12 should be unsupervised! They were also out of towels (for the third time since we arrived), so we called to both request more towels and to ask the hotel to do something about how loud and raucous it was in the pool. The kids at this point had even taken some of the exercise equipment and were playing with it in the pool, and were also playing around on the wheelchair access chair. The hotel did nothing to stop any of this, and my family ended up having to leave to avoid getting hit by a ball or splashed in the hot tub.
I’m all for kids having fun in the pool, but I assume the rules are there for a reason, and if you choose not to enforce them generally, you should at least do something when it begins to negatively impact other guests!

What a great find in Dubuque! I stayed here for a week on business. Upon entering the hotel, you are greeted with an upscale lobby and friendly staff at check-​in. There is a bar attached to the north. They had ample parking (in front of and behind the hotel). The good impression continues throughout the hotel.
I had a large room which had a bedroom area, soaker tub and spacious bathroom. My room was a on a corner and had 8 windows! It was missing a luggage rack so I had to put my luggage on the floor (I asked co-​workers if they had one, and they did). I noticed that the room was warm so I attempted to make it cooler in the room with no luck. I stopped in at the front desk when I came back from meetings and they adjusted it to the temperature I specified. Unfortunately, it continued to be unpredictable. The air conditioning is the only reason for 4 stars instead of 5.
I would definitely stay at Hotel Julien again!