I had a funeral to attend to in the area and was booked into the hotel by Priceline for $60/night. Given the price I was paying, I was satisfied with the hotel. Room was wonderful -- spacious, great TV, tasteful modern furnishings, nice robe in the closet. Two shower heads in shower. Soft towels. Internet access was pricey -- I needed it and it cost me $50 for 8 accesses. Shula's steak house is very expensive as is the breakfast menu there.

I don't think the round layout with an open central core was meant for a cold climate. Outside the room, the coridors were always cold. The front desk clerks were shivering whenever I walked by. The lobby was too cold to loiter in. There are two choices for workout rooms. Top floor has cardio machines and is open 24 hours. In the basement is a full service spa with pool, racquetball, all possible machines and hours you would expect from a regular health club. Apparently they sell memberships to the locals.

Noise is a huge problem. The tent ballroom sends noise up to the entire side of the building.

The hotel was largely vacant during my stay except Saturday night when it was hopping, but Sunday morning there were as usual almost no cars in the parking lot. I suspect the hotel is losing some big $ and that is why they are filling rooms with us Priceline customers.

The hotel is right off the Eisenhower Expressway, so it is possible to get to many places easily. Not the hotel's fault, but what is with the 55 MPH speed limit in Illinois??? Didn't anybody tell them that Nixon's speed limit died with him???

I have no idea what is in the Itasca area that could justify such a pricey hotel. I would never pay the rack rate here.

A Satisfied Priceline guest

We took a girls weekend up to Chicago for some shopping. Since we planned to spend an ample amount of time at Woodfield Mall and IKEA, we opted to stay in the "burbs." Our arrival and checkin was a breeze. Our room was very crisp and clean. White comforters is appealing and relieving. Starbucks coffee and TAZO tea are both in the room. We called the front desk for 2 extra robes, and within minutes (literally) they were at our door. That evening we asked as we walked in from dinner (close to midnight) for some extra bags of decaf and they actually said "stay right here!" They ran off to somewhere and came back with 4 bags for us. They were above and beyond on customer service. I ran the next morning on the trail behind the hotel. It's a paved trail that loops around 4-5 manmade lakes, each one boasting a fountain and birds (geese, ducks, etc...) I was planning to run 6 miles, but after 2 loops was a bit bored (as it's only about a 2 mile loop). This hotel is literally about 2 miles from Woodfield Mall and there are SEVERAL eateries in the area as well. It's a great option for a business trip, family vacation out of the city (no parking or valet costs!!) or just a quick trip "away."

First I want to say the hotel staff were all unfailingly polite and helpful. Couldn't ask for better. But, the design of the property leads to incredible noise echoing around the atrium into the rooms. When the bar is full with its open top the noise is over the top. Then, there is The Tent. This is literally a tent-like structure in back of the hotel, about 20 yards out. Be sure to check on weekends to see if there is going to be any kind of wedding or other event with loud music until late at night. Because if there is you won't be getting any sleep until very late at night. if your room is on that side of the building. We were on the 5th floor right over The Tent. The music was so loud that my daughter sang along with the songs and told me their names. When she was looking out about 11:00pm she put her hand on the window and told me it was vibrating from the bass and volume. When I went down and complained they gave my $25 off my rate, but that doesn't help when you need sleep. On top of that the noise level didn't go down one bit. Every night we stuffed the 1 inch opening at the bottom of the room door to muffle noise. Here are a couple of other quirks that don't help. The smoke alarms have a very bright flashing green light that lights up the room like a strobe light. The beautiful flat screen TV also has a bright orange light that flashes all night up the wall. The alarm clock beams across the room like a search light too.

I was there last spring for a convention. I found the Hotel stale and cold. The rooms were dated the staff not friendly and there was a large crack in the marble sink in my bathroom which caused water to run onto the floor every time I used it. After repeated calls to the front desk no help arrived. I was disapointed my rate was $200+ per night I wont be back. Not the quality I expect from Westin.