Stayed at the Homewood Suites for one week in late June/early July 2005, at a price of $149. per night.

This all-suite hotel has an excellent location two blocks from Michigan Ave. and two blocks from a subway stop. Shopping and restuarant choices are within easy walking distance.

The hotel occupies the 6th-19th. floor, and I very strongly recommend asking for a room on floors 15-19 for the view as well as the noise reduction at those heights. (Do NOT get stuck in suites 706 or 708. Both these rooms are adjacent to the hotel's one coin-op laundry room for guests. By the way, the washers and dryers worked very well!)

Homewood offers a good hot breakfast buffet, but it can get crowded at times. Each suite includes a full-size refrigerator and a mike in a separate kitchen area. The shallow pool on the 19th floor is also very nice - the area has stunning views of The Loop. The room air conditioning also worked very well and was rather quiet.

Problems with the hotel and my stay in it included: long waits for the two elevators; minor problems with the maid service; and a stains on the rapidly ageing carpet and furniture. Also, the mattress, pillows and bed linens were subpar - even for an older budget hotel. Please be aware that
each "suite" is only large enough to comfortably accomodate 2-4 persons.

You should be able to get a good deal at this hotel - there were many
empty rooms during my stay. Their business seems to largely depend
on tour groups and conventioneers.

Recommended - with a few reservations - to those on a budget.

We visited Chicago the last week of June 2005, decided to extend our stay for a couple of days. The Hilton was full due to the July 4 weekend crowds, but the registration clerk at the Hilton suggested and booked the Homewood suites. This was an excellent find for us. We had a two room suite with a kitchenette. The beds were BIG and comfortable, lobby nice and service excellent, even though the hotel was very full. The pool was really nice also- glass enclosed on the nineteenth floor with an excellent view. Breakfast was included. We had an excellent rate of $189, but I think that it was the weekend rate. I think this was a real great stay, especially if you are traveling with kids and want more space than just a hotel room provides.

We stayed at the Homewood Suites for 3 nights over the 4th of July weekend. The location of the hotel is excelllent. It is two blocks from Michigan Avenue. There is a subway (red line) one block west. The room size was OK. The configuration of the room was not great. Access to the bathroom was through the main bedroom which is not the best setup if you have a family. The Embassy Suites that I have stayed in have the bathroom with a separate entrance which is a better setup. There is some kind of problem with the water system in the hotel. It was very noisy (loud clunking and banging) when guests were using their showers or bathrooms. This was not wonderful when the folks next door were using their shower at 3:30AM. The hotel was pretty busy and there was a long wait for the elevators on occasion. There is a great Crunch gym next door which is free to hotel guests. The pool in the hotel was very nice. Overall it was an OK stay but it definitely could have been better.

This hotel is great for families, especially with young kids, especially those on a budget, because it has:
1. A nice swimming pool. #1 on the kid satisfaction list.
2. Free, full breakfasts seven days per week with a variety of hot and cold foods.
3. Free "business receptions" Mon-Thurs evenings. What that really means is a free, hot buffet supper (choices more limited, sometimes less tasty than breakfast).
4. Full kitchens in the room with microwave, stove, dishwasher, sink and real (empty! no mini-bar!) refrigerator.
5. A very nice city grocery store (Osco/Jewel) only two blocks away to stock your kitchen (if you want).
6. A separate bedroom for mom and dad. We pulled the mattress out of the fold-out couch in the "living room" and put it on the floor. Our two young kids enjoyed "camping out," everyone got a good night's sleep, and didn't all have to go to bed at the same time or get up at the same time.
7. A great location: two blocks west of Michigan Ave shopping and bus service, one-two blocks south of "Restaurant Row," and one block north of the east-west bus to Navy Pier.
8. Free wireless internet access.
9. Small workout room in hotel, plus free access to large workout facility ("Crunch") next door (get away from kids while they swim with other parent.)
10. Nice, basic clean rooms.

Once you pay the room rate (about $200) and the garage fee ($35), your other costs are totally under your control: eat hotel food, eat your food, eat out cheap or eat out well. Use your car, take the bus, take a cab, take a train, ride a boat. With the free breakfast, you can get the kids up, going, fed and to a museum on the bus by 10 am.

The Homewood Suites can be your "home away from home," but it's not the place for a honeymoon (with a kitchen! Get real!) or a romantic getaway or a place that caters to your every whim. Bring your guidebook or your computer and do your homework.

Recommendations:
Get a CTA Visitor Transit Pass (2, 3 or 5-day) at the Marriott Hotel gift shop next door. Get a transit map or print one out from the computer.

Have a Lincoln Park Zoo day: take bus 146 from Michigan Ave. to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Walk the zoo, the farm, the Conservatory and the Cuthbaert Nature Museum (with the butterfly room). Then go to the nice playground across the street and one block south from the main entrance to the zoo to wear out your kids for a good night's sleep.

The Wendella Tours boat dock is only four blocks from the hotel where Michigan Ave. meets the river.