I visited Chicago to hang out with friends and I selected The Willows because: 1) It is in my old neighbourhood (Lakeview), which I love and 2) it is convenient to get to Boystown, Wrigleyville, the Near North, The Loop, and Evanston: all locations I wanted to visit on this trip. I loved the architecture of the hotel and my room was quite large. The free breakfast is continental, but it is ample. The service was efficient, but not overly warm. I have stayed here once before and will definitely stay again.
Some general recommendations:
1) Book on Expedia or another travel website. This is my second time at The Willows and both times the rates on their website were more expensive than on Expedia.
2) From O'Hare, take the Blue Line to Logan Square and then bus #76 to Sheridan. Get off at Diversey and Clark. It is only one block away from the hotel.
3) Explore the local neighbourhood on foot. There are wonderful shops, especially walking north on Broadway. Be sure to try Intelligentsia Coffee on Broadway.
4) If you are going to the Magnificent Mile, walk to Diversey and Sheridan (only a couple of blocks from the hotel), and take the 151 Sheridan bus south. It will drop you off right on Michigan Ave.

I recently was in Chicago for a weekend stay on my way to another city, and I booked the Willows for a 30% off rate of around $100 per night. I had read all the reviews, so I had reasonable expectations of what I would be getting. The hotel is very well located, near shops and restaurants, Halsted Street, and the metro. The staff were all very courteous and helpful, and the availablility of hot coffee and tea in the cozy lobby area 24/7 was a nice touch, as the high on a couple of days that I was there was around 15. My room was number 200. The advantage was that it was one of the few front facing King rooms... probably the one in the photo in their website, but was much smaller than you would have guessed from looking at the photo. Still, it was clean and efficient. The only complaint was that it was adjacent to the stairwell, and I was awakened a couple of times by footsteps I did see the suite, which was much bigger, but did not have the view of room 200, so if traveling alone I would stay with the King room. I honestly have nothing negative to say about this hotel.... If you want a more neighborhood feel in a small hotel, then this is a great place to stay. One other note for travelers - the traffic from the airport is terrible on Diversy, the road towards this area. I would definitely consider taking the train in... take the Blue Line to the Logan Square Station and cab in around 3 miles to the hotel, or if the weather is ok take the Blue line all the way downtown, connect with the Brown line to Diversy, and walk about 6 blocks to the hotel.

This is one of the hidden gems of Chicago, especially if you want to feel like you're living in a Chicago neighborhood. Boutique by nature, with rooms that are nicely kept, large and comfortable (albeit somewhat aged) and easy access to restaurants and shopping. Here's the problem, though: the staff is ambivalent and, sometimes, outright rude. This is really disturbing to me, as I love the hotel itself. I stayed for several days on the most recent visit, and nearly every staff member was outright dismissive. Frequently, there's no one at the desk (which made me wonder if this is really something the management should know about), and when there is someone, it's a guarantee that he won't greet you and won't ever smile. Bottom line is that this is an above average property downgraded by a personnel problem.

I was having a difficult time with my 4 star bidding (my bids were getting too too high in the Loop and River North) on Priceline because I would be staying midweek rather than the weekend but..it all turned out just fine when I got a Wednesday and Thursday night on the 3 star Willows at a good price.

No compaints. The Willows is an older, refurbished hotel nestled in the safe Lakeview East neighborhood and it served me well.

Reminded me of a small european hotel. I had a first floor room so I didn't get in on the elevator adventures I had read about in other reviews.

The room and bath were clean. Comfortable bed.
The staff was friendly and attentive.

Nice breakfast.

What I liked most about The Willows was its great location.

Close to good restaurants and shopping. A mall with a Borders is a block away and a 5 minute walk takes you to the 151 bus that'll get you downtown.

I also liked the convenience of taking the blue line from O'Hare transfering to the 76 bus at Logan Square and arriving within a block of The Willows. This public transportation airport to hotel jaunt took a little over an hour. No need for a car. Chicago has excellent public transportation. I got a visitors pass. Highly recommended.

If you like to walk or jog you are very close to the Lake Michigan waterfront trails and the north end of Lincoln Park.

While not the fanciest of places to stay The Willows still has plenty of charm that would be lacking if you stayed at chain hotels in the vicinity.

I couldn't say adios to the place without having my picture taken by the nice desk clerk with me standing in front of that neat french fireplace in thelobby.

Only regret would be not getting a ride on the legendary Rube Goldberg lift. .