Just got home from a 3 night stay at the Embassy Suites Downtown Chicago - Lakefront (Mar 15-18). After reading some reviews I was a little hesitant, but I work in a hotel so I'm very aware of how picky/unreasonable people can be so I kept an open mind. I was travelling with my boyfriend and another couple (mid to late 20s).

When we arrived at the hotel at 12pm, we were greeted by the friendly doormen and took the elevator up to the Sky Lobby. Dinah at the front desk checked us in with no problem or hesitation even though we were 4 hours early. She was so frienly and helpful and has excellent customer service skills. Next, we went up to our rooms on the 17th floor, using a different elevator than the one we took to the sky lobby. At first, this seemed a little annoying (because you couldn't take an elevator from your room all the way down to the main floor) but we eventually grew used to it.

The room was GREAT!!!! Very spacious, clean, comfortable bed and furniture, 3 sinks in total, good sized televisions....really couldn't have asked for more. The wireless internet in the room is $15.00 and I didn't find it to be that slow. If you don't want to pay the fee, you can access the internet in the business center for free and it is open 24 hours a day.

The managers reception is an awesome way to start off your night. It is from 5:30-7:30 every night. You can only order one alcoholic drink at a time but there is no limit to the number of drinks you can have within the 2 hours (unless they have to cut you off). They also provide chips, salsa, and some other munchies. The bar tenders were very friendly and will make pretty much any drink you want. The line was long at times, but I didn't find the wait to be bad at all. (P a t i e n c e )

Breakfast was great. They had a good variety and it was very convenient. The line for the omelette station can get a little long but if you just want a buffet style breakfast, they have a seperate cart for that where the line is very short (they only put it out when the hotel is over 50% occupancy).

Overall, our stay was wonderful. I really can't complain about anything. I would definitely stay at this hotel again for several reasons:

- Breakfast and Managers Reception
- Great service from front desk, bar tenders, breakfast staff, and housekeeping attendant.
- AWESOME location (only 2 blocks from the mag mile and close to Navy Pier)
- Clean, spacious, and comfortable rooms.
- Good and friendly atmosphere!

Hope this review helps :)

Just got back from a 4 night stay here with my wife and 6mnth old . Staff were friendly and helpful . Found the breakfast to be excellent . Didnt make the managers reception , but it's there . Pool opened at 6am which suited us perfectly and was clean and uncrowded. The suite suited us as we had our young daughter asleep in the complimentary crib while we watched TV in the other room and in the morning one of us sat with her in the lounge while the other got some sleep in the Bedroom. All this for $120 a night and only 2 blocks from Navy Pier one direction and 2 blocks to Michigan Ave. the other . Everything (touristy) in walking distance . While the wireless access is expensive , there is complimentary Internet Access in the Business Center available to all guests . All in all a great place for a break with kids . Very impressed

I've stayed at many Embassy Suites and have generally had excellent experiences. Though this ES was tolerable, it was a bit of a letdown because it appeared to be a stripped-down version of the original concept. Good points: Excellent location for business; nicely finished rooms though a tad smaller than most I recall in this line. Staff are friendly and competent; cooked-to-order complimentary breakfast and Manager's Reception are, as always, strong pluses. The breakfast co-ordinator was really wonderful. An inexpensive pub-style restaurant at ground level was convenient for quick meals, and a grocery store across the street was also useful. Other points were not as strong. First, if they *must* charge for internet access (which costs them basically nothing), they shouldn't charge $15 per day *and* have only insecure wireless connections available. Upkeep was spotty; though clean, the rooms had one burned-out light bulb and the light at the computer station wasn't working either; in fact that light-and-plug combination had no power and there was nothing we could do about it because it was hard-wired. The interior courtyard, lush and gorgeous in most Embassy Suites, was open and sterile, dominated by a large vertical slate fountain that was damaged and was not in operation, nor had it been for a long time. A couple of rows of "bamboos" added a bit of green but the long-dead plants, to which plastic leaves were attached, had split open. Altogether rather depressing. But, if they fix some of these issues, and brought the hotel's atrium back up to ES standards, and held back on Internet fleecing, I'd recommend the place highly.

I stayed at the Embassy Suites last January for a few nights...first off, I lived in Chicago for two years so staying in hotels is always a bit strange when I return. Anyway, the hotel is decent for business, it's in the Loop, has good access to the El and is close to Union Station. However, it was lacking something. Usually I like staying at Embassy Suites but this hotel is very unremarkable. It was clean enough and the people were nice enough but it's doubtful I'll stay there again.

I'd rather stay at the Hilton downtown or even the Hilton Garden Inn on Ohio than the Embassy Suites. Plus, even as a Diamond Member, I had to pay $9.95 for internet per day. The nickle and diming really annoys me anyway, but when I stay at Hilton's 100 nights a year? Usually I get comped for stuff like this at the front desk but not this time. You've got a lot of choices downtown, and I'd look elsewhere. I will say the bar is nice in the lobby but the food for Happy Hour was pretty bland.