If you do stay at this hotel, be sure to walk from home (it's probably cheaper.) Parking is outrageous, and you will not be informed of this charge until after you check out of the hotel. If I had been informed of the extremely high rates to park my car, I would have taken a train or even parked somewhere else cheaper. Also they offer to check your bags for you, don't do it! It is such a cluster, that its easier to just hold onto them and lug them down Michigan Avenue yourself. Staff seems very disorganized and unfriendly. Great location, and that is just about it.

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!