We were with a group for a wedding, so supposedly we received the "preferred" rate because of that. Other members of the group had been shown 2 rooms several months earlier and they were impressed by the spaciousness and lovely furniture. When we checked in, credit card information was written by hand on a paper form, completed by me with number, security code and my signature. No credit card machine was used. Arriving at the room, it took some figuring out to know which of the the 5 keys on the keyring to use to open the door.
Upon entering the room, we were quite surprised to be in a small room, No lovely seating area or even a comfortable chair. There was a small table with 2 straightback dining room type chairs. As mentioned in other reviews, there was a kitchen behind a door with microwave, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, coffee pot with a broken lid, and cabinets with basic supplies.
In the bathroom, the toilet tissue holder was useless because there was no rod for the middle of the roll, so it sat on the toilet tank. The 3-way sliding shower door had every door off lhe track'; we never did get all the parts on the track so it was easily operable. The alarm clock was unplugged, and, of course, the outlet was behind the immovable headboard. There were no directions anywhere about how to dial room to room. When I called the front desk, I was curtly told to dial 7 first. Paint, wallpaper, and furniture was in need of sprucing up. We used the valet parking at $35 a night, and upon our return home 2 days later we discovered that the driver's side inside door handle had been broken as if the valet didn't know it was automatically locked and snapped the handle. The continental breakfast was adequate, the quality of the bakery being better than average. Upon checkout, I had to fill out another credit card slip for the parkiing, and when I asked why this was needed again, she desk clerk said because the other paper was in another folder. No receipt was given for either payment.
Positive side-great location. We were directly across from the plant conservatory and zoo and could see some of the lake above the treetops. The hotel was quiet and the lobby beautiful
Value?? We have had far better experiences at the HIlton and Congress hotel on Michigan Ave. at much less cost.
All in all, we were disappointed after having made the reservations months earlier based on our friends' tour and the pictures in the brochure that came with our confirmation.
