We decided to try Hotwire for the first time, and were not so lucky.

The hotel is ideally located (close to the Hancock Center, the Magnifficent Mile, Sofitel Tower, Hyatt, etc), so location is the best thing about this hotel. A+ for this.

As for the hotel per se, when you arrive someone opens you the door (so you get surprised because you have read all these reviews) but that's all that is. Check in lady makes you feel you are not welcomed. She tries hard to let you know she does not want to be there.

Then, there is the elevator... ha ha... exactly like the Tower of Terror in DisneyWorld. In fact, it is a wooden cart, with crancky noises and the wire hitting the walls of the elevator, what makes you think: Who (or what) is out there?

Anyway... The room was in urgent need of a remodelation.... in 1970. Nowadays, everything is outdated. The AC control was so scarry we did not even try it. It had push buttons.. had never seen this. The shower had a temperature display, which looked like the oddometer of a 1940's Mercedes Benz. The door let in so much light through the borders, it looked like an allien was on the other side (if this were a movie).

In fact... it all looked just as if you where taken to the Island in the series LOST, and this hotel were part of the Dharma Initiative.

The hotel had complementary internet on the lobby, but as we were staying on the 7th floor, we did not get any signal.

While in Chicago, you CANNOT miss the Bobby Bike Hike. It's worth every penny. The best thing we did in Chicago.

We also went to Wrigley Field (was too cold and boring to enjoy), and the Hancock Center, which is also worth enjoying while having a drink (it's also pretty cheap) if you cannot afford to have dinner there.

The stay was not terrible, but would deffinetely try looking for something else.

I was actually pleasently surprised after reading the reviews I was ready to hate the place. But the old school charm, location and service were great. Its within walking distance to everything and the view was beautiful. If you are going to stay in your hotel room for your entire stay, you might want to stay somewhere else , but if you just want a quiet place to remind you of old chicago this is it.

My fiancee and I stayed here for one night in September 2007 and liked it very much. We got a great deal at $150 booking through lastminutetravel.com (ironically booked over two months ahead of time), amazingly cheap for a Saturday in that area. Especially considering that every other travel site I checked was charging a minimum of $220 for the Tremont on the same night -- and every other hotel in a two mile radius was averaging nearly $250 to $300. But I digress.

I have to say I'm a little baffled by some of the other reviews, as we had a really nice stay at the Tremont. The location was PERFECTION less than a block from Michigan Ave, and we actually had a really neat view of the Hancock Building from our window. Additionally, the room was clean, the bed was comfortable, the bathroom was plenty big enough for our needs, and the staff acceptably accomodating. And while the room was a bit on the small side, it's pretty much exactly what I was expecting based on everything I'd read about the Tremont. It's kind of irritating reading reviews complaining about the room size when the hotel is hardly trying to hide the fact that the rooms are not large. It IS an old, boutique hotel - if you're looking for a larger room, and willing to spend more money, then by all means go stay at the Marriott down the road.

We did not spend a whole lot of time in our room, so I can't comment on things like whether or not there was cable TV (we did watch some TV, though not much -- but I could have sworn there WAS cable, but maybe we were just watching network TV before bed) or internet access, but what time we did spend was very nice, and it was a great central "home base" for coming back to between activities. I don't know that I'd recommend extended stays here, but it's fantastic for a quick weekend away.

I stayed at the Tremont with my husband, who was attending a conference in Chicago. Our room was tiny, the bed was a Queen size (expected a King for the room price), the television had only three channels that weren't too fuzzy to watch, there was no fitness center, the doorman was rude, there was a $3.00 charge per bag to store the luggage after check-out, our room always smelled musty, the bathroom flooring was in terrible shape (broken tiles with dirt in the hole where the tile piece was missing), the staff at the front desk was also rude, there is no coffee/tea maker in the room, there is also no wifi in the rooms. The cost of the room (almost $200/night) was astronomical for the lack of amenities and poor condition of the room.

I have stayed at approximately 10 other hotels in Chicago (The Drake, Palmer House, Hilton on lower Michigan, Hard Rock Hotel, Hyatt on the River, and the Holiday Inn to name a few) and the Tremont is, by far, the worst hotel of the ones that I've stayed at in Chicago. A Hampton Inn located by an Interstate exit is far superior to the Tremont. Prior to our stay, I thought that "boutique hotel" meant fewer rooms, cute and quaint. Now I know that it means "sub-standard accomodation". I will certainly never stay at the Tremont again.