As we have been traveling to Chicago several times now, we have tried several hotels too. This is one of the best so far. We came in by train from New York and it was only a short walk from Union Station.
The hotel is on the top floors of a pretty tall building, so you have to take the elevator up a few floors to get to the lobby. The lobby looked good, and had theire own staffed information desk were you could ask all kinds of questions, get directions and tips.
Check in was fast and the staff was polite. The room was spaciouse with to beds, a desk and a big tv. The bathroom was nice, big and clean.
The hotel was situated within walkingdistance of all the major attractions and there was alot of restaurants near by. We especially loved Rock Bottom Sportsbar and Restaurant. Great spare ribs, great prices.
This hotel is worth every penny, would stay there again in a hearbeat!

I booked my hotel at a great deal through orbitz from san antonio..the room had an excellent view of the river and downtown area..what i liked the best was that the brown line (cta public transportation) connects right into the merchandise mart where the hotel is located, there are also fast food eateries right in the mart..I found the hotel staff to be very friendly and always helpful..the only downside i found was the rooms, while the view was great there was no microwave, no fridge, also the area doesnt have much to offer for late night eating..you of course have the option of room service (not really cheap) until 1:30 am ..nothing really within walking distance unless you want to take a $ 5 cab ride towards the magnificent mile. I would recommend this hotel highly and would stay here again.

I've actually stayed at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza twice. Once for a wedding (the reception was held in the banquette room with the spectacular view) and the other was just recently when I brought my nephew downtown for his birthday. Not many of the Chicago hotels have a pool but this one does. They have some nice breakfast choices...but room service is a bit pricey. They offer parking at a reasonable rate, but the cars are not covered as they sit in an outside parking area. There are very steep steps down to the parking area.
There is a drive-up area to the front entrance. The hotel lobby itself is situated on the 15th floor so you need to take an elevator up once you enter the building. I've always seemed to find the cheapest rates on the Holiday Inn website. They provided us a room with a wonderful view of the river and Sears Tower. Its easy to get a cab. If you walk 2 blocks you can catch the el. The hotel rooms were average size. We had 2 double beds, desk , 2 chairs, tv with lots of first run and just released DVD selections for an additional fee. Video game rental for an additional fee. Electronic checkout. Bathroom was large and brightly lit. We went at Christmas time so the lobby was all decorated. Overall its a great place to stay for the price, but if you want to walk out onto Michigan Ave its a bit too west .

I would have to agree with the last traveler! The views at this hotel are outstanding! I stayed there the first weekend in January and I have to say that my experience was good. The staff was friendly and helpful at all time. I would stay here again and plan to do so next month. If I based my decision to stay at this hotel off previous reviews I would not have done so because of some negative comments but I did not see any of this during my stay! I suggest everyone seeing for them selves!!