I booked this hotel on a 4 day getaway with my best friend. Despite reading some negative reviews on this hotel, we found the stay quite pleasurable. We stayed on the 8th floor on the North Tower. The room was clean, linens were clean and although the bathroom was small - we found it pleasing.
There were no picketers to be found - except about a block away on Michigan Ave.
All in all, I found the hotel very charming because of its history and character. It's a bit of a shame that it's received such bad publicity and its maintenance has been neglected. If the necessary money and effort was put into renovating and restoring the hotel back to its original glory, this hotel would no doubt be a competitor for chain-brand hotels.
This hotel is in no way suitable for those who are 'high-maintenance' and desire 21st century amenities. But for those who possess some good historical appreciation, then perhaps this hotel would do the trick.

My wife and I stayed at this hotel largely due to the price, location and because some reviewers before us claimed that this hotel is acceptable and good. By no means am I a 'high-maintenance' person but there were many key things that I did not agree with.

1) Our Lake view room was renovated only in the bathroom. Everything except the LCD TV seemed to be at least 30 years old and run-down. There was a musty smell in the air and unfortunately the windows were painted shut. From the 12th floor we could hear the street noise below, this was not the worst of our problems.
2) The water in the bathroom did not get hot. We called the front desk after 30 minutes of waiting for hot water and we were assured that a maintenance person would come. After 1 hour of waiting for him my wife took a cold shower and we went to bed.
3) At midnight people started talking, it turned out that they were from next door and the rooms are not insulated for noise at all very well. We heard EVERYTHING that was being discussed.
4) Although I asked them to quiet down, our neighbors ignored us. It turns out that we were next door to Honeymooners and the bride was bickering with her bridesmaid. Believe me when I say that the content of their discussion should not have fallen on other people's ears.
5) At 2:30 am I stormed to the Front Desk to complain about the previous 4 points. We were assured that we would be moved the next morning. One great thing was that the night-manager was very accomodating and apologetic.
6) The new room - We were moved to the South Tower in a room that was possibly the 18 or 19th floor. We were so furious that we had so little sleep that we dumped our bags and left to see Chicago. The room was similarly appointed as the first room and was very warm, there was no thermostat available however the widnow did open. The musty smell was quite a bit stronger in this room and we thought that it would be a good idea to air out the room a bit.
7) 9PM We got back to our room only to see that the musty air did not escape the room and although the window was open for all of a November's day, it made little difference with the room's heat. I'd have preferred to have slept with loud neighbors than be surrounded by a warm musk.

8) Check out - We waited quite a while to check out, the front staff rushed us out and was not at all acomodating. I asked about compensation for the terrible rooms and got nothing but a "Sorry you did not enjoy your stay". My only thought was to warn others on tripadvisor.com

Overall - If you are looking for just a cheap place to lay your head, I would still not recommend this hotel. The rooms were old, musty and I would not at all recommend going to get ice at anytime in the evening. The walk to the ice machine was a maze of dark corridors truly showing the hotels age and unkept assets. I am not exaggerating when I say that 2 minute walk to the ice machine creeped me out.

The good side of this hotel is that the bellhops were as friendly as can be. The location is great and the price was right. For my future trips to Chicago I would definately spend a few more dollars and stay elsewhere. It is clear that this hotel was likely one of great prestige and honour however it is obvious that those days are long gone. You have been warned with this hotel!

Our annual January weekend in Chicago is a combination of business and pleasure, the pleasure being our stay at the Congress. We've been doing this for a lot of years now, and have never had a bad stay at the Congress.

Our room this time was on the 11th floor of the North Tower -- a Lake View King, which was newly renovated. A suite had been split to create two rooms, so everything in the bath was brand new, as was the carpeting and flat-screen TV. An outlet strip ran around the perimeter of the walls, giving you plenty of places to plug in if needed. New wall paper has the new Congress Hotel logo pattern, as do the towels and bed linens (nice down comforter).

Hotel staff were helpful and pleasant, as usual, including the "Consierge", Joseph, who has become a fixture at the Congress. We only had breakfast at the hotel, but it was excellent with fast service. We're already looking forward to returning in January 2010!

First of all, the only reason I stayed at this Hotel is because the person I was traveling with recommended it. In order for me to travel I must stay at a Hotel that I feel totally comfortable at. This Hotel was not that! When I first viewed the Hotel online the appearance was that of colonial grandure. It gave the history of the Hotel and I said, "Wow this is going to be cool!. NOT!!. When we first arrived at the Hotel there were people in front of the Hotel picketing. The employee's were on strike, so that made me a little cautious. Once we got passed the picketing and entered the Hotel I had no complaints, the lobby was gorgeous and quite busy with patrons (Good sign, so I thought). As we proceeded to check-in I noticed a dirty, rotten smell. I have allergies so the slightest smell sets my sinuses off ( I should have realized this was a sign of things to come). Checked-In, proceeded to our room, which appeared to be in Egypt. Opened the door and to our surprise the room was horrible!!! It looked like something out of the TV Series "Good Times". The drapes were supposed to be white but were a dingy yellow color, the carpet had no padding under it, and the beds were calf high. The television set was not modern at all, it was something out of the early 1970's. Looked outside our 27th story window and we were enclosed by buildings with no fire escape. The room was hot, and stayed hot (It was the middle of August). The air conditioner did not work and the windows did not open. The bathroom was not too bad, (I would have rather slept in the bathroom in comparison to our bed's). The room came with a microwave, there was food left over from whomever stayed there previously. It was horrible!!!!

This is not a Hotel I recommed to anyone! I felt uncomfortable during the whole stay. I normally stay at Hotel's I am accustomed to, unfortunately I followed a friend and this is the Hotel she chose. This Hotel was recommeded to her by a friend and after her and I stayed here she will not recommend this hotel "Congress Hotel" to anyone. Of course you can check it out for yourself, but I recommend staying at a place that you feel confortable at. Unfortunately, after we walked into the Hotel and saw the room and all that it had to offer, we wanted to checkout and go somewhere else, but everything in Chicago was booked that weekend. A word of advise, please do your homework before staying at the "Congress Hotel".