This hotel was perfect! The staff was so friendly and helpful and they could meet your every need. The concierge was incredible, too. There was absolutley nothing he didn't know about the city. He really contributed to our visit to chicago! The room was perfected in sanitation, design, and comfort. The beds are cozy and big, with a nice, soft matress, and the room has a very intresting contemporary design. And the room was SPOTLESS! The maid NEVER missed a spot! Never had service like that! While you're there, you are waling distance of the Magnificent mile, Water Tower Place, the Chicago Tribune Building, and the Chicago River. You're gonna have to use public transit to get to many of the other attractions though. Its about a 10 minute cab ride to any of them. Couple flaws - If you don't like elevators, request a low floor. The building was an office building, and the elevators aren't meant to work in a hotel. The elevators can get really crowded. They're small too. Another thing is that this hotel is across the street from a hospital. Sirens scream a lot around there. But overall, I LOVE THIS PLACE! Only hotel I would ever stay at in the windy city! WILL STAY HERE AGAIN!

Chicago has a lot of hotel choices with reasonable prices. We prefer boutique hotels and Chicago has a lot of them as well. We picked Affinia because of its location near the lakeshore where we wanted to go for morning runs and the price was unbeatable. About six weeks before our trip, the hotel website was offering a special rate. We booked and prepaid for a junior suite averaging $186 per night.

The hotel is located just off the Magnificent Mile so was a great location for shopping. A short walk south on Michigan Avenue will take you across the Chicago River to Millennium and Grant Park where we also wanted to go. And with the proximity to the lakeshore pathway, the location for us was ideal.

The hotel has a number of extra amenities including C Restaurant, a 29th floor roof top bar, in room spa services and a fitness center. We had a lunch and a breakfast at the restaurant and enjoyed a nice meal and pleasant service each time. The roof top bar on the 29th floor provided a good view all the way to Millennium Park and over the rooftops of nearby buildings on Michigan Avenue while sipping on a drink and soaking in a bit of sunshine. We did not try out the spa services or fitness center.

The room itself was very comfortable. Lots of room with a spacious sitting area and a flat screen tv which could be swung around to face either the bed or the sitting areas. The bathroom, like most boutique hotels, was stylish but small. A vanity area helped ease bathroom congestion. The hotel offers a pillow menu of six different types of pillows. I tried the Swedish memory pillow which offered extra neck support and supposedly eased tension. Hard to tell since I was on vacation and tension was not a concern. The hotel also offers experience kits. I took the stay fit one with a yoga mat, work out DVDs, etc. but did not use it much since we were running each morning. They also offer a walking tour kit and a picnic kit.

The room has a coffee maker and coffee free of charge. We did not sample from the mini bar nor use room service dining. We wanted ice and wine glasses had to request that each afternoon but delivery was very prompt. Housekeeping kept the room clean.

We found all the staff to be very friendly and helpful and could not fault the service at all. When we arrived, they gave us city maps and directions. They printed out our board passing at the front desk the day before we were to leave. The doormen were always very welcoming.

The one negative aspect was the noise from building construction next door. The single pane windows did not reduce the noise level by much, so it was noticeable each morning. If you want to sleep in late, which we did not, you may not want to stay at this hotel. Another minor annoyance was the elevator. One of the two elevators servicing floors 8 - 29 was being repaired leaving only one elevator and often some rather tedious waiting and then getting on a crowded elevator car. The other elevator is supposed to be repaired by the end of June 2009.

We booked at the Affinia Hotel May 14-18, 2009 through the hotel’s website for $115-135 USD/night for a studio suite, after seeing it on travelticker. Our very spacious suite included a double bed, fully stocked mini-bar, large flat panel TV, wireless internet (extra fee of $10/24hrs), coffee supplies as well as a couch and chair – easily large enough for entertaining or relaxing.

Location – the hotel is perfectly situated on a side street about one block west of Michigan Avenue and a multitude of restaurants and shopping.

Hotel – the hotel itself is modern, classy and inviting and includes a rooftop lounge/bar area with great views of the city. There is a restaurant located within the hotel which has an excellent brunch menu and outdoor seating. The hotel also has many free services including toiletries, guide books with iPods containing walking tours, and pillow selection.

Customer Service – the staff is very friendly and helpful – from the front desk to the doormen.

Chicago: I would recommend 2 items to consider when visiting Chicago. 1) The city offers a free service which matches you with a guide who will give you a walking tour of a section of the city of your choice. The guides are very knowledgeable and you get to see places you probably wouldn’t. I highly recommend it: http://www.chicagogreeter.com 2) the second is to eat at Japanois on W Chicago Ave. Eat upstairs then head down to their river-side lounge area for drinks.

A couple minor issues noted: the elevators are very slow to the upper floors and paying for wireless internet access is awful as this is included from most hotels.

In sum, if you’re looking for great value, great location, friendly staff, and a modern hotel, book at Affinia Chicago.

I had stayed at the Affinia Chicago and other Affinia properties many times over the past several years.

Recently, I had to cancel a reservation. Despite what appears to be a mixup between Amex Travel services and Affinia's policies, Affinia insisted on charging me for a missed stay.

I spoke personally with the manager and explained that I was a loyal customer and that when I travel, I typically travel with large groups and that I make the hotel recommendations. I reminded her that I was rescheduling my trip to Chicago for 2 weeks later, and would be bringing 4-5 colleagues with me. She was smug and continued to insist on charging me.

If this is the kind of service that a frequent customer receives, imagine the service you'll receive as a first-time customer!

Go elsewhere. There are plenty of boutiques and chains in Chicago that truly value their customers.