Every year, I take my Mom downtown for Mother's Day weekend. We try to stay at a different hotel every time to experience all the fun things to do in Chicago. I decided on the Avenue hotel this year because of its location (which is excellent) and its price happened to be within my budget.

I called the hotel directly to find out if they were doing anything special for Mother's Day as most hotels where we've stayed over the years have done. They explained to me that they had a special package deal that weekend (for an extra charge) that included complimentary brunch and mimosas. I thought, "My Mom will love that" and made my reservations.

When we got there, we were immediately surprised at how small the lobby was compared to all the other places we have stayed in the city. When we got to our room, again, we were dissappointed by how small and dark it was.

I had brought an expensive, special bottle of wine to share with my Mom over the weekend only to find that in order to keep it cold, I had to pay $25 for the USE of the refrigerator. Keep in mind, I wasn't planning on consuming anything FROM the refrigerator. The special wine is a tradition and I have NEVER been charged for the use of the refrigerator in any other hotel.

The first morning, when we got up, we were excited about having our complimentary brunch and a mimosa and headed to the "Sky Lounge" to eat. The front desk had given us vouchers for the two days. The brunch was just ok (definitely not worth the extra money I paid). What really irked me though was, when we asked the semi-comatose and unfriendly "waiter" for our mimosas, he said, "Uh, we don't serve alcohol until after five." Now this is an orange juice-based drink (that we already paid for, mind you) and is traditionally drank during, I don't know, BRUNCH-THE TIME BETWEEN BREAKFAST AND LUNCH. We were very dissappointed as my Mom had her heart set on the extravagant drink. We ended up going down to the neighboring Elephant lounge and ordered them there. When we complained to the front desk, absolutely nothing was done. We weren't given our money back for the cost of the drinks (which would have been four total). Later that week, I contacted the manager who credited my credit card $50 for the mixup. Of course that was appreciated but it should have been addressed when we complained.

The one bright spot was the concierge who was incredibly helpful in suggesting where to have dinner. All in all, it wasn't a horrible experience but it wasn't a memorable one. IF you're not planning on spending much time in your hotel room, the location is great. But if you're going for the whole stay/eat/drink experience, for the money, stay somewhere else.

I have been to the Avenue Hotel twice now. Once with my husband and son, and once for a girls weekend. Both times were fantastic!
The location is what drew me to the hotel in the first place, right near all the great shopping!
So the first time with my family, we had a big rooms with a so comfy king size bed for us, and a pullout couch for my son. He seemed fine with it! So we had almost the same layout with the girls, only two beds and a pull out! Big, clean room, flat TV, small bathroom, but that was fine. My husband enjoyed the free internet with his laptop.
Service was wonderful! The checkin went smoothly, the same girl checked us in both times, very nice, and let me know about what the hotel offered.
One of the best parts( of both trips) was the concierge. He was knowledgable, and both times made great recommendations for the family and the girls night out. We even got some free passes for the girls night out to Howl at the Moon, Martini Park(our two favorites) and more. He made our stay most enjoyable, as did the rest of the staff, the doorman Sami (funny guy) and the bartender in the lounge (small place but great views!)
We already have a reservation for another girls weekend in September, and have contacted Vern the concierge for more information! We can't wait!

We stayed at the Avenue Chicago within close proximity to all shops and museums. The hotel had a great rate for the weekend, but we did have to pay for valet parking. But parking is a cost that you will have to pay at any hotel in Chicago should you decide to drive. We opted to not drive any further during this trip and instead used public transportation to get anywhere we needed to go. Beautiful lobby, rooms and great staff!

PROS:
Location is fabulous. It is right off of Magnificent Mile, and very close to Starbucks, Corner Bakery, Dunkin', 7-11. We walked everywhere (except the zoo) and didn't feel we were far.
They offer free wireless (not typical at other four-stars).
Great showerheads and the curved shower curtain rod that gives you more room in the shower (typical at other four-stars).
Luggage storage before and after check-out (typical at other four-stars)
They upgraded us to a suite without asking (corner room with two walls of windows!).
They are available through Hotwire, which means you do not have to (and you should not) pay full price.

CONS:
While the superficial furnishings seemed somewhat new (bed linens, decor), the deeper elements seemed old and tired (baseboards, tile, public bathrooms on the second floor). Overall, I felt that I was staying in an old building that had been superficially spruced up to try and meet a four-star level.
There is no proper concierge or concierge desk (if there is, it is hidden). It seems that the front desk staff doubles as concierges. The day we checked in we asked for information about the river architectural tours (seemingly one of the more popular tourist activities in the city). We waited a few minutes while two staff members rifled through a desk to find brochures. In the end, they could not find anything. One of them very kindly gave us a map and directions to the site of one of the tour companies--that was very helpful. I, do, however, expect more from a four-star hotel. A proper concierge at a proper four-star hotel would have booked the tour for me or at least had ready access to brochures and detailed information.
Housekeeping came into our room without knocking about 2 hours before check-out time (we were checking out at the regular check-out time for all guests).
The bed was very, very uncomfortable--it sloped in the middle and tilted toward the head.
The staff, while friendly, were not as professional/formal as I'd expect from a four-star hotel in one of the largest cities in the country. The exception was one gentleman at the front desk who might have been Mik, the general manager.
The lotion in the bathroom had a seal, and the seal was broken. I don't usually see seals on hotel bathroom amenities, but when there is a seal and it's broken, it makes you feel like you are using used lotion...

Would I stay here again? I would really prefer not to, even with the discounted Hotwire price. Expect 3- or 3.5-star level if you go. It was just OK (the bed was definitely bad). A four-star hotel should be better than "just OK".