I brought a troop of 8 girls, with my coleader, from Minneapolis to Chicago for Memorial Day weekend. We rode the Megabus (about $35 roundtrip), bought CitiPass tickets (about $60) and 3-day visitor bus/El passes ($9), ate dim sum at Phoenix in Chinatown, and stayed at the Chicago IYH hostel for 3 nights (about $100) --- including meals, our entire trip for 4 days/3 nights cost about $230 per girl. We walked thru Millenium Park, the Bean & amphitheatre, down past the harbor to the Aquarium & Planetarium; ate fabulous deli food at Ada's; Chicago hotdogs, & Giordano's pizza; saw a pretty good DePaul Theater School play at the Merle Reskin theatre for $10; visited the John Hancock building at night; spent a day exploring the Museum of Science & Industry. We shared a (free) spaghetti dinner with a GS troop from Ohio, and talked with people from Germany, London, San Francisco, and Spain.

We gave our leftover Citipass books, that still had coupons for the Field museum, and unexpired bus passes good for one day, to people at the hostel when we left.

The 10-bed room worked out great for a GS troop but did not have its own bathroom; one girl got a little freaked out when an older man winked at her, as she walked down the long hall past the men's room to the women's bathroom. The bathrooms are a bit dark but the women's was fairly clean (I'd bring shower shoes) and never overcrowded.

The bed comfort and the security were both somewhat below average compared with other hostels where I've stayed. The most troubling thing for me was very minimal, lax, SECURITY, particularly given the location in downtown Chicago. For example, my co-leader, who had not ever stayed in a hostel before, did not realize how careful you need to be in an urban hostel and she left her purse on her bed while we ate breakfast --- when she returned, she found that $60 in cash had been stolen from her wallet. We didn't even bother to report this, realizing there was no way to prove who might have taken it, but it soured the day a bit --- again it was a lesson for the girls about how to live in shared space in a big city. Secondly, the elevator was supposed to be operable only by keycard, but in fact, only one of the two elevators was "keyed," the other was accessible to anyone, anytime, any floor... and the security guard on the ground floor was not always staffed... so, it would be pretty easy for anyone off the street to walk in and access the floors. Third, the website describes a "safe" where valuables can be stored but this turned out to be a latticed cupboard behind the main desk... when I asked to pick up the notebook computer I had stored there, I was handed someone else's and I couldn't help thinking how easily she could have handed my things to someone else. I'd think twice about letting them hang onto my valuables in this so-called "safe" again...

Better beds and mattresses would be so nice... the girls were just fine but the wire-mesh bedframes sagged under middle-aged adult weight, and then the edges of the fitted sheets slipped off of the plastic mattresses, so my co-leader and I ended up sleeping partly on plastic, partly on the crumpled-up, detached, bottom sheet... not the greatest for comfort. Wooden bunks always seem to be more comfortable and less saggy, but I assume they must be much more expensive! I'd probably pay extra to sleep on one, though... maybe worth considering as they replace the current beds, over the years...

re breakfast, who's going to complain about free food? I liked my toasted bagel, banana, juice, and tea. The coffee was undrinkable, but I liked my tea. It might have been nice to have some hot chocolate available for the girls but they were fine with milk or juice. Sign up for a spaghetti dinner if you get a chance, ours was great and it was fun to chat with fellow travellers over a free meal. We had our own plans, but the hostel organizes all sorts of "field trips" that guests can sign up for, most at nominal costs.