My husband and I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Metro for our first trip to Chicago. We had originally booked at a Hampton Inn on Travelocity, but it was overbooked and Travelocity recommended this hotel at the same pricepoint. I did a quick check of the Tripadvisor ratings before I committed, but then when I read the reviews, I started to have my doubts.
Well, I shouldn't have worried at all. True, the hotel is many blocks away from tourist attractions, but if you don't mind walking a bit and/or using mass transit like us, you'd find it just fine. My husband and I, unfamiliar with the layout of Chicago, ended up getting off the Blue line at Monroe and walked about 25 minutes to the hotel. Location-wise, while it is not near the metro, there's a bus stop across the street (in front of the Dominick's grocery store); the 8 will bring you up the street to Milwaukee/Grand to catch the Blue line, (which is what we did at the end of our trip to take us straight into O'Hare). The bus system in general is very well run...we bought at 3day transit pass for $14pp, and that was the best deal, as we used it many many times. The best part of using mass transit on our trips is that it makes us feel not as touristy. (Remember...it's the journey, and not necessarily the destination...)
Speaking of the Dominick's grocery store, we were happy to find it so convenient, even though we only used it to buy bottled water, and coffee from the Starbucks stand inside. There's also a Walgreens on the other side of the hotel. There are also hot food options inside (prepared foods, a sandwich stand, etc.) The proximity to Greektown allowed us to pick up a gyro at 2AM after we came back from a late night comedy show at Second City as well!
As for the rooms, we got upgraded to a "Deluxe". I don't know how my room was different from the other ones, but we were disappointed that we got two doubles instead of one king. The room had a nice color scheme of neutrals, but sort of dark. The light over one of the beds was not working, but we didn't bother to call downstairs. There was a flat screen TV. Beds were comfy, and were piled with four different pillows (firm, soft, flat, etc). Bathroom was very clean and I liked the fluffy towels. There was complimentary wireless internet service as well. The only thing that I would have really wanted was maybe a minifridge.
Check out is at 12pm. Since our flight was at 4, we asked to have a late checkout, and they provided us with a 2pm check out. Overall, we would definitely consider staying here again
TripAdvisor has free and easy resources to help you enhance your listing and promote your property.
- Start Here - Visit Your Owners' Center
- Add Photo
- Add Video
