We decided to take our three children to Chicago for our fall break. We booked the Marriott on Priceline for $115 a night. If you are going to the city to sightsee and shop, it's a fine hotel if you don't mind taking the public transportation into the city. You can easily take the train or the bus to Michigan Avenue in about 20-30 minutes. We didn't feel unsafe even coming back to the hotel at night. We basically used it as a place to sleep and went sightseeing and shopping all day. There is a bus stop right in front of the hotel and they have a free shuttle that takes you to the nearby train stop. The front desk staff was excellent in helping us figure out what bus or train we needed to take to get to where we wanted to go. The lobby is nicely decorated. Our room was clean, but worn. The side chair in the room was so beat up that I'm really suprised that they hadn't hauled it to the dumpster. The beds were comfy. Suprisingly I only heard one siren in the middle of the night even though we were right across the street from the hospital. We parked in the hospital parking lot b/c that was only $13 a night and the hotel parking was $28. You don't have in and out priveleges at the hospital garage, but we used the bus/train to get around. Definitely not a 3.5 star like it is rated on Priceline, but we were happy with the money we saved by staying here and felt the staff was great.

I stayed at this hotel for business at the end of September, into October, 2008. I thought the room was below average compared to the typical Marriott. The wallpaper was starting to peel in certain locations, the rug was a little worn, and the mattress was really hard. Also, I'm not sure if I was being more microscopic than usual, but I seemed to find lots of little hairs all over, including on the bedspread, pillows, and sheets.

Perhaps the worst part of my experience was the noise. My room was facing the main road and Rush University is building a new hospital across the street from the hotel. On my first night, they were doing construction through the night and I had a tough time falling asleep. They did not work any of the other nights, but they did get started pretty early in the morning. Furthermore, there are a lot of other hospitals in the area (it's called Medical District for a good reason!) and I heard lots of ambulances throughout the night. Of course, I traveled with another person from my office and he did not complain of any noise, as his room was on a different side of the hotel and he could not hear the construction or ambulances.

This hotel had a few positives, though. First and foremost, although you are not staying in the main Chicago downtown, there is a city bus line that is right outside the hotel and will take you downtown in less than 15 minutes for just two dollars each way. Also, you are in easy walking distance (about 3-4 blocks) of Little Italy where there are plenty of interesting local restaurants to dine at, and you can also walk to the Jewel-Osco supermarket. The hotel staff was very helpful, too. A worker at the front desk very happily printed out my airplane boarding pass for me (the free computer in the lobby - only for printing out boarding passes and not for free internet surfing - was not working) and she also reserved a shuttle for my trip back to O'Hare.

If you plan on visiting Chicago for pure leisure, I wouldn't recommend this hotel. You'd be much better off staying in "The Loop" (the main downtown area), but if you have business to attend to on the South Side, I'd check this hotel out.

We spent 3 nights here for our son's wedding, occupying 2 rooms with other family members and friends also staying. For $140/night in the Chicago area, it wasn't a bad value. The hotel is not downtown, but downtown is easily accessible by car (not recommended) or train.

We found the employees to all be very friendly, pleasant and helpful. The breakfast, while pricey as one would expect in a chain hotel in a major city, wasn't exorbitant and was a pleasant buffet. On site parking is expensive at $28/day, but there really is not much other choice.

My 13-year-old son and I stayed for a baseball weekend. The hotel is conveniently located between Wrigley and US Cellular. I was looking for a reasonable and safe place to stay and I was very pleased.

The staff was pleasant and helpful. The room was clean and comfortable. An east / west and north / southbound bus is available right outside the door. The "L" is a friendly shuttle away. I would recommend this hotel to anyone who is looking for a simply lovely experience in Chicago right outside the hustle and bustle of the city.