The St Kate is my favorite hotel. It has a wonderful arts vibe and staff who are committed to providing the best possible experience. I always feel happy when I'm here.
The front desk staff greet you with a glass of champagne and truly friendly conversation. Once when we arrived late and exhausted, we were cheered up with two glasses of champagne and some snacks.
Each room is individually decorated with art, and every room offers whimsical touches (a ukulele; an eraser-shaped bar of soap to rub off the dirt). You can borrow albums from the lobby to play on your in-room turntable.
St Kate offers several art galleries, including one with an artist-in-residence, so you can have discussions about the artist's intent and process. In addition to all the onsite art, the hotel shares a building with the fabulous Milwaukee Rep Theater and it's just across the street from the Performing Arts Center, which offers a plethora of music, dance, and plays.
The bar area is large, with many comfortable places to lounge--with or without a drink. When the restaurants are crowded, you can get a great selection of their food in the bar.
I'd call the St Kate perfect, but I have to agree with two complaints made by many other reviewers. First, while I love the idea of nightly live music, the acoustics are terrible and the volume makes conversation almost impossible. Second, bar service -- especially the food --is excruciatingly slow. The management needs to hire more bartenders.