I could sleep under the stars in a sleeping bag in downtown Chicago (actually, I have....) and it would be great. With the world's greatest food and the best city skyline, anyplace is terrific. The view from my hotel room here is among the best I've seen in Chicago: Tribune building, Wrigley clock tower, Trump tower, Sears tower (or whatever its called now), BP building, University of Chicago, and the river. Wow! Awesome restaurants a short walk or cab ride away (this time we enjoyed Nacional 47, a Lettuce Entertain You salsa club). Cab was very easy to hail in front of hotel. 24 hour supermarket across the street, walking distance to lakefront, Navy Pier, Grant Park, and Michigan Ave. shopping. And it's way cheaper than the Peninsula, 4 Seasons, or the Drake.
Oh yeah, the hotel. Tall modern chic-urban Embassy Suites. Covered Valet parking for $49 extra per night was ok. Check in kiosk was broken and check-in through clerks was average at best. Elevators are fast. General motif is modern, and rooms are a little more trendy than most ES. Rooms include smoke detector, refrigerator (no freezer), table with 3 chairs, easy chair, sleeper sofa, microwave, coffee pot, and hair dryer. Although I was there with my wife and young teens, we had so much fun in the city we slept through breakfast and never got to use the pool. So I can't comment on how this would be for a relaxing hotel-based stay, but why would you want one of those in Chicago? If your significant others won't go the sleeping bag in Chicago route, this is a great second choice.

We loved this hotel! We are huge fans of Embassy Suites anyway -- and this one didn't disappoint us. We took Amtrak into town so we didn't have to worry about the parking price -- but you will pay that price anywhere you stay downtown.

What I loved the most was the location. You are so close to things -- Dominick's (a beautiful grocery store w/a Starbucks inside), Walgreens, AMC movie theater, and a bowling alley. Also, you are within 10 to 15 minutes walking to Michigan Ave. shopping in one direction and Navy Pier the other direction.

We also enjoyed P.J. Clarke's restaurant adjacent to the hotel. At first I was disappointed that they didn't have a kids' menu. But, they had a few very kid-friendly selections on their adult menu -- cheeseburger, grilled cheese (my kids' choice -- it was superb!), pasta, etc. And, they did have crayons and a placemat to color and games to play on the back.

The staff was wonderful -- and VERY accomodating! I was also pleasantly surprised at the pool. When I looked at it on the website it looked like a true lap pool -- well, it is but wider than a single-lap lap pool. It was amazing how many kids were in that pool -- and it didn't seem like they were on top of each other. My son and I also used the fitness room and were very pleased with that.

All in all -- an excellent stay!

Coming into Chicago on late night train with kids so made reservations well in advance.
Arrived at hotel to find the only room they had left was a smoking room. They have you over a barrell with tired kids at midnight. The room was nasty, stinky and we all felt dirty. The pull out sofa bed is one of the worst I've ever slept on -- the mattress must be less than 2 inches thick and all smelly night long I felt every bar in the bed. The next morning our toilet was stopped up and wouldn't flush at all.
Breakfast was a madhouse and although it was plentiful, nothing was very good. The coffee was bad. The eggs were cold. I guess the fruit was ok.
We were told we could change rooms to a non-smoking this morning so we packed everything and took it downstairs at about 9:00 AM. We told the front desk staff that we were leaving for the day and we were told we would have a non-smoking room when we returned. We had to take our bags down to the lobby level and leave them with the bellman. All of this just took time as we had to wait in line for both things. Upon returning at 3:30 we went to the bell stand and were told we would have to go up to the lobby and see if we had a room (why can't they just call since we're already checked in?) We went upstairs and had to wait in line and when we finally got to the desk, we had not been assigned a room. The clerk messed with the computer for about 10 minutes and finally assigned a room. We were told the bell staff would bring our luggage. 45 minutes later, still no luggage. We called the bell stand and they said they would get it right away and the brought it right up -- I don't think the desk even notified the bell staff. After a nap we were getting ready to go back out and I noticed there isn't even a hair dryer---called to have a hairdryer brought up. 45 minutes later, no hair dryer. To avoid wasting even more or our vacation time dealing with this incompetent staff, I showered and left for Navy Pier with wet hair. After arriving back at the hotel, I called the front desk to bring the hair dryer and explained I had requested one earlier and it hadn't arrived --I asked to have it brought up, along with 2 glasses. The clerk didn't offer any apology for the earlier inconvenience and responded with a tone that made it seem like she was inconvenieced by the request. She just said, "I'll tell someone" About 30 minutes later the requested items arrived.
This place is nothing special, but the staff just seems incompetent and unconcerned about guest satisfaction. The rooms are ok, but they just don't feel very clean. I'm in the hotel room right now and unfortunately, I have to stay here tonight, but never again.
I wouldn't stay here again.

I was in town for the weekend with my mom and two daughters for our annual girls trip to Chicago. I had tried to book the State St. Embassy Suites, where we stayed last year, but they would only let me use my Hilton points at this location. We arrived in the morning and pre-registered for our room where they reserved a lake view room for us. This made me happy as I am all about the view! The decor here is modern, which is not my taste , so it seems a little cold. The location is very good--close to Navy Pier and close to Michigan Ave, so we spent Friday afternoon shopping. There is also a great grocery store across the street that has everything you would need. When we came back, our room was ready. All was in order...looked clean and lake view as promised. The first night we took advantage of the free cocktail hour. Choices were limited, but hey, it's free. We walked to Volare' for a yummy Italian dinner, then came back to the hotel to watch tv. My girls (ages 14 and 11) were going to swim in the pool, but complained that it was too small and didn't go in. It looks more like a lap pool, but too crowded to ever swim laps. The furniture in the living area was in good condition, but not especially comfortable to relax in. The pull-out bed is extremely uncomfortable, so don't plan to sleep there unless you are a small child. Also, the walls are thin, which we discovered at 3am when our noisy neighbors rolled in. Saturday morning we got up and arrived at breakfast at 9am--the same time as the majority of the other guests at the hotel. They advise you to eat early, and we learned our lesson as lines were very long. The food was actually very good though, especially the omelettes. The day was spent seeing the Art Institute, Mary Poppins, then out to dinner. We arrived back at the room in time to watch the Sat. night fireworks (off Navy Pier) from our window. Very cool! Sunday was a beautiful day and we walked over to Millenium Park and hung out before catching the train home. Overall, our hotel stay was good. I love Chicago and always have fun here, but have stayed at better places. It is a great value though, especially if you take advantage of the free cocktails and breakfast. If you are debating between the two Embassy Suites, the State St. one would be my pick, although it is a little more expensive. It is just a little more comfortable and friendlier, although no lake view.