The Hampton Inn Majestic was located perfectly for purposes of our recent trip to Chicago... within easy walking distance of the Ford Theatre (where we saw LEGALLY BLONDE), of an office where I had business to do, of the Art Institute of Chicago, and of both the Red and Blue lines of the train, which made getting to the hotel from the airport by train INCREDIBLY easy, inexpensive, and fast compared to taking a taxi in.
I want to say that we were hard pressed to make a decision between this hotel and the Homewood Suites which are also so highly rated here at TripAdvisor... and which, from the reviews, have a GREAT breakfast and lots of space, including a full kitchen. Even better, we were able to find an online room rate of $139 for the Homewood Suites, which is a great price for that hotel... but in the end, with very little to go on in deciding between the two, my husband and I selected the Hampton Inn Majestic for two reasons... one, because it really was the best situated hotel for the business we had to do in town... and two, because the Homewood Stay Suites reviews all (or mostly) seemed to be from families traveling with children. I don't dislike kids, but I have had too many experiences when traveling of kids not being well-supervised in hotels by parents who understandably want to relax and enjoy their own well-deserved vacations.... and regretably for other travelers in hotels, this often means having children pounding up and down hotel hallways outside your door at all hours, yelling and chasing each other early in the morning... slamming in and out of rooms with loud, self-closing doors repeatedly.... handling food at breakfast buffets without washing hands, etc.
I have seen NO indications in reviews for the Homewood Suites that this is the case or the norm at that hotel! But I couldn't find any reviews from people who weren't themselves traveling with children, so I wasn't sure I was seeing reviews from travelers with my own perspective. So, regretfully, we passed on Homewood Suites and reserved with Hampton Inn Majestic.
I searched and searched, but could not find a rate less than $199 a night for the time we'd be there... my husband and I are not "luxury hotel" people, and prefer not to blow more than $100 a night of vacation budgets on lodging...but in the end decided that the location and the good reviews might justify the expense.
We were not disappointed. I realize that every hotel review is subjective, and that everyone's personal experience is dictated by a number of unpredictable factors... but all I can do is tell you what we experienced.
We were given a room on the 8th floor. Elevator access to room floors is controlled by your room key, which is a nice added security measure in downtown Chicago. Our room was a good size. Walls are a darkish rust color, which made for a darker room than I generally like, but color doesn't matter that much to me. The most important thing to me in ANY hotel room is whether or not the bed is comfortable.
These beds were terrific. Not too soft, not too hard; didn't wake up with aching backs.
The second most important thing to me in a hotel room is room temperature. The thermostat in our room was easy to understand, immediately responsive, and let you set a specific temperature and maintain it automatically rather than force you to rely on vague "warmer/cooler" dials that required you to constantly adjust a dial up or down.
The third most important thing to me in a hotel room is quiet. Our room was wonderfully quiet for all four nights of our stay. We didn't hear doors slamming in the morning, or plumbing from other rooms. We didn't hear other people's TVs, or hair dryers, or conversations. We didn't hear conversations out in the hallway. I'm pretty sure there were at least three other people staying on our floor, because newspapers would be outside those doors in the mornings... either we lucked out and stayed on a floor with some very courteous fellow travelers, or these rooms are just well sound-proofed.
The shower heads are very high... my 6-foot-tall husband was thrilled not to have to crouch to wash his hair. I'm a bit shorter, and had to adjust the shower spray to ensure that there'd still be some force to the water by the time it hit my reduced height. :-)
The included breakfast was okay, not spectacular... but it did include hot items (scrambled egg discs and ham discs) as well as breads and a variety of cereals, juices, milk, etc. I would have liked to have waffles as an option.
The business center was TERRIFIC. I was able to check email and print boarding passes, as one would expect, but ALSO to download and print some Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF documents, which is not always possible in a hotel business center.
There are lots of dining options within walking or easy train ride distance. We ate at the Grillroom across the street (WONDERFUL flourless chocolate cake there!!!), at Petterino's within walking distance of the Ford Theatre, and at the Weber Grille (an easy ride on the red line). All were great.
The Hampton Inn Majestic staff, though we had limited interaction with them, were very friendly and helpful throughout. We regretfully decided to check out a night early because our flight home was going to be very early in the morning, and the train's Blue Line was going to be undergoing repairs over the weekend that would force us to take the train part of the way, then take a shuttle, then get back on the train... and we couldn't face the uncertainty and possible delays on the morning of an early flight. We decided to spend the last night in the Chicago Hilton at O'Hare, and did not have nearly as wonderful an experience there as we did at this Hampton Inn (which, I believe, is also a Hilton property?). I have also posted a review about our experience at that hotel, if you're interested.
In summary, if this hotel is as well-located for you as it was for us, you can't go wrong. Sure wish it were cheaper... but it's not outrageous for a hotel in downtown Chicago, and you definitely get good hotel value for the money.
