The Homewood Suites Chicago was a new find for us on our annual siblings reunion weekend. The hotel was running a weekend rate special in May, and it looked nice in photos, so we took a chance. The hotel is in the River North section, and parking is expensive - $34-42 a day, depending on whether you choose garage or valet service. But, the location is worth it, it's a block from the Loop train (underground at State and Grand). And, you can walk everywhere in Chicago from this hotel, which is nice on a wonderful summer weekend.

The suite is arranged with a kitcen, dining table for 2, a sleeper sofa and chair is one room, and a king size bed and the bath in the other room. The bathroom sink is separate from the toilet and shower, which is convenient. The kitchen has a dishwasher, serveware, coffee maker and toaster, plus a microwave and a 2 burner stove. And it has granite countertops, a nice touch.

This hotel is thrilling all of the little ones, and fitness freaks. The 19th floor has a very nice pool,, 4 feet deep and long enough to do some laps. I have never seen so many well-behaved children under constant parental supervision in a hotel before, which I loved (thanks to parents who understand it's important to watch your kids at all times). There are lots of towels and tables and chairs for parents to relax, looking out over the city to the west. The fitness center has nice free weights, heavy balls and treadmills. If you prefer, there is a complimentaty pass to the health club Crunch next door.

The full breakfast is a full breakfast - sausage and biscuits, corned beef, bacon, scrambled eggs, pastries, french toast, cereals, yogurt and cottage cheese, fresh fruit, toasted breads, coffee, tea, juices. They serve the breakfast in a dining hall that is crowded at peak times, so you can pack a box from the breakfast buffet and take it back to your room. No dinky cups, either...everything is full sized, and they keep replenishing the buffet until closing time.

Outside the hotel, Nordstroms across the street has great sales, and you can walk inside through a mall to get to Michigan Avenue 2 blocks to the east - convenient on a rainy day. Restaurants in the area offer every kind of food. We tried Shaw's Crab House and Rockit and were very pleased. Be sure to try Ina's on W. Randolph for breakfast, too.

Also not to miss in the area are Millennium Park - what a fun place for kids - and the beaches along Lake Michigan. We tried a street fair to the north and had a nice walk after having lunch there.

Last but not least, the wireless access to the internet. It's free, and there's a router in each room above the kitchen cabinets. We had to reboot the router each time we signed on - unplug the power for a few seconds, then reconnect it. It worked each time we tried that.

This was the first of two hotels we stayed at during the week during NPE Week. Overall, the three day stay was very good. Room was large, very clean, bed very comfortable, free internet, clean kitchen and kids enjoyed the pool and breakfast was a huge convenience. Dinners are provided in the evening during the week even though we didn't take advantage of this. Staff response upon arrival and check in was luke warm, but so were we after an 8 hour drive. We tried to switch our room from a default king reservation to a double, but the front desk wasn't too responsive about our request. They offered a roll a way bed, but we used the sofa bed for the kids instead. I would have preferred they rectify the situation, but I let it slide. Workout room is very nice, but it was 80+ degrees. They also offer a free pass to Crunch Gym next door. Great location! 24 hour business center was a great feature too! I was able to use the facility to print discount tickets to an attraction. Loved this!

Great staff, location, rooms and breakfast!!!!!We stayed w/ our 15 yr old daughter and our 7 yr old son and had plenty of room in our 1bedroom suite. We arrived 2 hours early and we were able to check in at no additional charge. Every staff member was so helpfull. The ladies at the front desk were always giving us great directions!
We can't wait to go back to Chicago and this is the ONLY place we will stay.
Martinez family (st louis)

Not much to add to what others have already stated - it's a terrific hotel. The rooms are immaculate and large, the location is outstanding, it has gorgeous views of nearby architectural marvels, it's walking distance from the Art Institute, which for my money is the best museum in the USA. It's also less than a block from the subway, right on top of worldclass shopping and dining, and a 10-minute walk from the fabulous House of Blues music venue.

On top of it all, it's quiet as a churchyard so you sleep like a baby in the awesome padded mattresses, there's great water pressure, and no worries buying a snack - even in the middle of the night, as there's a vending area in the lobby. The ventilation is excellent - we were neither too hot nor too cold. The room darkening shades were 100% with no rips or other gaps for light to blaze through in the morning. (I'm a super light sleeper and quiet/dark/ventilation are all important issues for me - Homewood passed with flying colors.)

Also! Free wi-fi, which is often the reason Hilton steals me away from my other loyalty program at Sheraton - who wants to be nickel and dimed?

The ONLY reason I'm not giving this place five stars is I think $42 is too much for valet parking and the rooms themselves are expensive, at $189 for a king suite - this is before taxes. Also, one of the elevators was broken during our stay and even though we could use the service elevator, there was a 10-minute wait sometimes to get downstairs.

Still, the service was excellent and combined with the other pluses of this property, we'll be back for 100% certain.