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!
