After reading the other reviews on this site, I was expecting to have to barricade myself in my room while sleeping in my clothes and trying to fend off hordes of lice. In my experience, this hotel does not deserve the reviews it's received.

Let me preface this by saying this is a "DISCOUNT" hotel. And they even call themselves that. If you want high class, go book the W. I made a weekend roadtrip into Chicago and wanted something very cheap and very central to get the most bang for my buck. Red Roof delivered.

First, service. When I checked in the service was polite and to the point. They didn't chat me up, try to up-sell me, or bother me with any other trivialities. They checked me in and showed me the way to my room. Sure it's nice at the W when they ask you, "What is your wish?" but that comes with a price tag. The staff were helpful when I asked for directions and were not rude at all.

Secondly, the room. After reading the reviews on cleanliness I gave my room a serious once over before unpacking anything. The room was a little run down as it's an older building, but there were no real cleanliness concerns. It was a little dusty under the bed with a few stains in the dark coloured carpet, but nothing I'd consider unhealthy. The sheets and towels were pristine white and clean. There were no odours or anything unpleasant as has been commented in other reviews.

The room was quite small. It would be a little cramped for a couple, and I certainly wouldn't want to be sharing the room with kids. My room only had 1 bed though, so the others may be larger. For 1 person it was perfect, but I don't go on vacation to spend a lot of time in my room.

The room is also equipped with a safe.

My only complaints would be that there were a few broken items in the room. The window looked like someone had tried to force it open so I was able to actually remove it from its frame. I only noticed this because it was a little noisy, but being right downtown that's to be expected. The A/C also wasn't working in my room, but I didn't need it at this time of year. It wouldn't surprise me if the two were related.

Third, location, location, location. It doesn't get much better than this! 1 block from the Miracle mile, a 10 minute walk to the Navy Pier, and less than 10 minutes to the John Hancock building. It's a phenomenal central location to be able to cover a lot of sites on foot.

Lastly, value. I booked on priceline and got my room for $50/night! No complaints there considering the prices of other nearby hotels. Now valet parking was another $40/night but after asking around that sounds like it's pretty typical.

In conclusion, as a single traveler looking for a cheap central hotel on a sightseeing vacation, I'd have no problem returning to this hotel again.