Don Q Inn - Wisconsin's Fantasy Hotel Where You Can Sleep in an Igloo or Space Capsule

Most hotels promise a good night's sleep and maybe continental breakfast. The Don Q Inn in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, promises you can spend that night in a space capsule, an igloo, or a medieval dungeon. Want to spend the night in a Viking ship? Done. Prefer a prehistoric cave? They've got that too. How about an igloo complete with Northern Lights? Of course they do.

This isn't your typical roadside motel. With 25 themed rooms ranging from prehistoric caves to medieval dungeons, the Don Q Inn has been confounding and delighting visitors for nearly five decades. Add in a massive Boeing aircraft parked on the front lawn and you've got one of America's most peculiar overnight experiences.

The Visionary Behind the Madness

The Don Q Inn exists because of one man's refusal to accept the ordinary. Don Quinn, a World War II fighter pilot who flew P-38s in the Pacific, later worked as a commercial pilot for United Airlines and Philippine Airlines. During his time with United, he even flew CBS news crews covering President Eisenhower's diplomatic trips.

In 1965, Quinn purchased 250 acres of farmland north of Dodgeville and built his own airstrip so he could park his cargo plane at home. What started as a practical solution soon evolved into something far grander. By 1968, Quinn had transformed an old barn into a supper club, naming it after a local contest dubbed it the Don Q Inn.

The entertainment was as outsized as Quinn's vision. The supper club hosted concerts by big bands including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Woody Herman, and country stars Kitty Wells and Johnny Wright. A 67-foot wagon wheel tree made from 400 welded steel wheels dominated the property.

But Quinn wasn't finished. In 1973, he began construction on a 32-unit motel using salvaged materials from across the Midwest – entrance doors from Dodgeville's Methodist Church, oak pillars from a Peoria church, ceiling rafters from an Iowa army hospital. The building opened in 1974 with themed rooms that included the Mirror, Mirror and the Swinger, which featured a double bed suspended from chains.

Quinn carved a 326-foot tunnel through limestone to connect the motel and supper club. He even moved the Methodist church's steeple to become a three-story honeymoon suite, complete with a copper tub made from a Monroe cheese vat.

Don Quinn sold the property in 1979 and died in 1988, but his eccentric legacy lives on in every corner of the inn.

The Boeing That Landed in a Backyard

The massive aircraft sitting on the Don Q Inn's front lawn isn't just decoration – it's a piece of aviation history with its own Hollywood connection. In 1977, Quinn purchased this Boeing 377 Stratocruiser from a California cargo company and had it flown to his personal airstrip.

Landing the 100,000-pound aircraft on a 2,700-foot runway was no simple feat, especially since the plane's wheels were three feet wider than the tarmac. Before its journey from Long Beach, Quinn hired the artist who painted the motorcycles in Easy Rider to decorate the fuselage with "Don Q Inn" lettering and a giant "Q" on the tail.

The plane had already achieved minor fame appearing in a 1976 Mercury Cougar commercial with Farrah Fawcett, who autographed the fuselage (though the signature has since faded). Prior to its commercial career, the aircraft served humanitarian missions, flying relief supplies into Biafra and Bangladesh.

Quinn originally planned to convert the plane into a coffee shop, but those plans never materialized. Today, you can walk through the aircraft freely, exploring the cockpit and imagining what it was like to pilot this Cold War-era giant.

The Don Q Inn's lobby immediately signals that you've entered somewhere special. A giant steam-engine fireplace dominates the space, surrounded not by traditional hotel seating but by barber chairs. In one corner sits a grand piano flanked by a dentist's chair, while nearby a giant cribbage board waits for players.

The aesthetic is deliberately rough-hewn, with lots of exposed wood, stone, and concrete creating an atmosphere that's part rustic lodge, part mad scientist's lair. The smell carries hints of old wood and that particular scent of a building that's accumulated decades of stories.

A 326-foot limestone tunnel, carved over two years, originally connected the motel to Quinn's supper club restaurant. Though the restaurant burned down in 2017, the tunnel remains as a testament to Quinn's ambitious vision.

The Cave Room

Step into prehistory in this suite featuring a 10-sided bed and whirlpool set in a recreation of a primitive cave. Modern luxury meets Stone Age aesthetics, creating an environment that's both comfortable and completely surreal.

The Cave has earned distinction as the Don Q Inn's most popular themed room.

The Blue Room

This suite centers around its showstopper – a 300-gallon copper cheese vat converted into a bathtub. The king-sized bed comes with a ceiling mirror, and there's a separate shower for more conventional bathing. The room's blue color scheme creates a surprisingly serene atmosphere despite its unconventional fixtures.

Mid-Evil #1

Medieval times get an adult twist in this suite featuring a queen-sized bed equipped with decorative shackles on both the bed and accompanying chair. A heart-shaped hydrotherapy tub completes the dungeon aesthetic. The room commits fully to its theme while maintaining the comfort expected from a modern hotel.

Mid-Evil #2

The second medieval-themed suite offers similar period authenticity with a queen-sized bed and matching shackled chair setup. Instead of the heart-shaped tub found in Mid-Evil #1, this room features a standard whirlpool. Both medieval rooms create an atmosphere that's part historical recreation, part fantasy fulfillment.

The Float

Viking exploration gets a landlocked interpretation in this suite where you'll sleep in a queen-sized bed built into a replica Viking ship. The nautical theme extends throughout the room, while a heart-shaped hydrotherapy tub provides modern relaxation after your imaginary sea voyage.

Tranquility Base

Space enthusiasts can live out their astronaut fantasies in this suite featuring a recreation of a Gemini space capsule. The "moon crate" whirlpool completes the cosmic experience.

This room represents Quinn's vision at its most ambitious – transforming a simple hotel stay into a journey to another world entirely.

Northern Lights

Perhaps the most visually striking of all the fantasy suites, Northern Lights features a full-size concrete igloo housing a round, mirrored bed. A real polar bear hide drapes over the igloo entrance, its snarling mouth serving as guardian to your arctic retreat. The whirlpool, surrounded by mirrors, overlooks painted scenes of icebergs and blue seas, while the walls depict a serene arctic landscape bathed in the aurora borealis.

The Indoor/Outdoor Pool

Built in 1988, the Don Q Inn's pool complex was one of Wisconsin's first indoor/outdoor installations. The larger-than-average pool transitions seamlessly between interior and exterior sections, allowing year-round swimming regardless of Wisconsin's notoriously harsh winters.

The eight-person whirlpool provides additional relaxation, and despite showing its age after more than three decades, the facility remains well-maintained and popular with guests. The pool area captures the same quirky spirit as the rest of the inn – functional and enjoyable while maintaining that slightly surreal quality that defines the entire Don Q experience.