I got "upgraded" to a remodeled room, #1601. Right next to the elevator, and the noises kept me up all night (and usually I have no trouble sleeping). Internet amazingly slow to the point of being unworkable. No ethernet cable to back up the wireless access. Very poor entertainment options. Colleague found a dirty sock under her bed, also found internet access unworkable, had a dripping faucet, and had a used bar of soap in her bathroom- Yech.

I stayed here last year and it was ok, but I'm not going back.

We stayed at the 71 for the Chicago marathon from Oct. 9-15 in 2008. We booked online through lastminute.com already in February and received a really good rate considering the period - marathon times are always crazy. They upgraded us to a riverview room in the 28th floor, gorgeous views. Location is ideal, close to magnificent mile, Navy Pier and downtown - all in walking distance. You can tell from the bathtub and the wallpaper that it's not a new hotel, but the rooms are really big and very nice. Staff is ok although not over-friendly. There's no restaurant at all, they have roomservice and a very good corner bakery cafe right next to the hotel, very convenient for breakfast.

Only downside are the elevators - from the 2 going up to our floor only one was working for the entire period, and this one got stuck on the last day of our stay, which meant everybody had to take the service elevator.

I booked the hotel on Hotwire-3 and a half stars at 189 a night. All of the reviews are right. The carpet of the lobby is absolutely filthy gross. Elevators are bizarre and you do have to wait. The hallways reek of some kind of fragrance to cover up some major stale smell. The rooms are beat up. Furniture in rooms looks like people have bashed their suitcases into it for about 6 years. The paint is peeling off and the carpeting, albeit new, looks like it was the cheapest option possible. This is certainly NOT a three and a half star. I even wrote to Hotwire asking them to rethink offering this hotel to customers. It is depressing, weird and absolutely not kept up! Stay somewhere else!

Only one elevator operated to service the upper floors. The service elevator was offered as an alternative, but often the wait time was ten minutes or even longer. The housekeeping staff was inconsistent on leaving sufficent towels, etc. I will not stay here again.