I booked this place through an acquintance at Chicago. We stayed here for 10 days and must say its a really great hotel. Also known as the home of presidents because in the past, many a US presidents and foreign heads of states stayed here, Congress plaza is located right in the heart of downtown Chicao on Michigan Avenue. The view is awesome, facing lake michigan and Buckingham fountain. As we had busienss meetings at CBoT, CBoE, CME etc we could easily walk our way through. Although hotel is priced economically the food and water are bit pricey or at least seemed to me coming from a cheaper place like India.
There is a departmental store around the corner where one can buy water etc at lower rate.

The rooms on the inner side ( facing the roof of the lobby ) were pathetic. requested for a change. Changed room was good, stayed for a week.

Hotel is very old, interiors are also old. Attitude of some of the ladies at front desk was not co operative.

All this was compromised with the central location of the hotel.
Other facilities are not up to mark.

For better price book through other web sites. The hotel do not give good rates when you approach direct. For extension of stay also I had to go through other sites for better price.

We were there last year and we really enjoyed the room size and it's cleanliness. It's in a nice place (just on Michigan Av.) but you´ll have to walk some blocks to get to Millenium Park (first) and the Magnificent Mile (later). Walking in Chicago (most beautiful city in the world) is fantastic if it's not too cold, or too windy. If you're ok with that kind of weather, then you'll enjoy the views from the hotel to the hot spots of the city.

So, not sure if they've completely renovated or not -- but a lot of the bad reviews are not warranted! At the very least, we had a completely positive experience at the Congress!

It's central location and the El is very close, so its easy to get everywhere! The room was huge -- gorgeous high ceilings, clean carpets, new furniture, extremely comfy beds. The only thing that I'd want is a littttle more hot water and extra towels b/c I like big towels and a lot of them.

Like I said, it is close to the El so depending on where your room is situated, you might hear the rumbling of trains (they aren't frequent) but the sound from this was negligible. Note that me and my roomie are also New Yorkers, so sounds don't bother us like they might bother people who aren't used to hearing trains/sirens/etc at night.

Overall, definitely would come back here again!