I visited Chicago for the first time this July 4th weekend. It was SOOOO hard trying to decide which hotel location was the best. I was most interested in location rather than price or hotel chain. The Crowne Plaza Metro is wonderfully located for a tourist who wants an all-around experience without leaving the downtown area. It is located on the main "Greektown" street which primarily is several blocks of Greek restaurants (sit-down dining and fast food) and residences. On one side of the hotel is a Walgreens and the other side is Dominick's grocery store (subsidiary of Safeway). Sears Tower is about four short blocks away from the hotel in which you cross the Interstate and Chicago River.

The hotel parking was $35/night but I parked across the street (west) and paid $20/night. At first, I thought "Why did I rent a car when I could just take public transportation?" but then there were a few times I'm glad I had the car to zip around the outskirts. Truly, though, there is no need for a car. The train is very inexpensive from O'Hare to downtown and the bus (Route 20) stops at the entrance of Dominick's and goes all the way to Millennium Park (the huge park next to the lake).

One or two blocks south of the hotel Route 124 (or 126?) can also take you to generally the same block over by the park. I made the mistake of driving my car to the Sears Tower and parking in their parking facility. I was slapped with a $31 charge just to park for about 2 hours. Parking everywhere downtown (except for sparsely-available meters) was VERY expensive. It was the only negative about my whole trip.

This hotel is clean and new and modern looking even though it's a renovated old structure. It's right next to the Interstate but well insulated so you can't hear noise. Also, there really isn't a perfectly-located room because you're going to see the John Hancock building on one side of the hotel and Sears Tower on the other no matter which room you choose. Every room has a balcony.

It's best to go to the Sears Tower Observatory in the late afternoon because of where the sun shines on the buildings, and go in the morning to the John Hancock Observatory because of the same reason. Both observatories give you a different view and perspective. I was glad I took the "Skyline Cruise" from Navy Pier because the distant, all-incompassing view of the skyline was really neat. For the river cruise, I simply paid the water taxi price and used that trip to bring my from the Navy Pier back to Union Station where I got off and walked two blocks to the hotel. The river cruise was $30 which was basically narrated, but the one-way water taxi was only $6 for the same route and distance.

Lastly, if I return I now know the Hotel Monaco, Hotel 71, or Holiday Inn or Westin right on the Chicago River would be the four I would choose based on price at the time. All four of those hotels seemed like THE BEST location for a second trip. But, the Crowne Plaza was the best for a first trip because I felt right outside of the skyscrapers but only steps away.

Nothing special. What we like about the hotel 1) Nice location 2) Clean rooms 3) Small extras in room were nice. ( Ex. Dream machine and plasma TV) Cons 1) Small hotel with no extras 2) Hostess at restaurant very rude 3) Car was parked 2 blocks from hotel 4) Staff rushed and unprofessional. They often made numerous comments they had booked 2 wedding receptions and were to busy to accommodate their guests.

This hotel is not quite in the Loop, just two blocks West right on the border of Greektown. Because of this you can get a top notch high class room without having to pay the ransom they demand by hotels in the Loop.

The hotel had very nice staff and the room was very well done. It had upscale furnishings including a chaise lounge. It had all the Crowne Plaza sleep amenities and was very clean and comfortable.

The bathroom was smallish, but had a very unique sliding glass door (made of frosted glass that you can't see through) which saved room. The faucet and shower heads were not standard but rather very unique and upscale. However, the ceiling to the shower was very low. If you are taller than 6'6" you may not fit in the shower easily. (Also our double bedded room only had three towels and we had to ask for more).
But the best asset of the hotel is its location to some less expensive and very unique dining options in Greek town just one block south of the hotel. There are no less than 15 Greek restaurants and some that are very high class within a three block walk from the hotel. The neighborhood is very safe and you are just a short walk from Union Station and the west side of the Loop. You can easily grab a taxi, hop on a bus or the El or do like we did, walk to the Chicago River and grab a water taxi to Navy Pier to get to the East Loop.

My wife stayed here on a business trip to Chicago. Very nice room with a great view, large bed, and many "extra" ammenities. She encountered two "small" problems. The high-speed internet was anything but fast and the room was next to the elevators show it was a bit noisey. Overall, she was very pleased.