I arrived late on Friday night, only to find that I had made my reservation for arrival on Saturday. Kisha at the front desk cheerfully assured me that they had rooms, and got me squared away promptly with a joke and a smile. Every time she saw me thereafter she greeted me by name.

The customer service at this hotel is top rate. There are always at least two concierge/bellmen ready to provide directions, call a cab (very quickly too!), or carry a bag for you. One of them even gave me a quarter when I was rooting through my purse for change for the newspaper. The desk staff is pleasant and very helpful. They met all of my needs very well.

The room was nice. Clean, basic amenities, quiet even though the hotel is located right off interstate 290. Holiday Inn has a pillow menu, and there are three pillows on the bed. Nice quality toiletries in the bath (shampoo, conditioner, body soap, face soap, and lotion) but I do not like the smell of mint - not their fault. Good pressure and hot water in the shower.

The penthouse (top floor) contains a workout area, a business center, and a rooftop outdoor pool. The pool was indeed chilly at 8:30 a.m., but in the afternoon the sun warmed it considerably. Neat to swim outside on the roof during the air show - good views. The business center was a computer and a printer - both worked well and quickly. Fast internet. The workout room has several good quality machines (treadmills, stairmasters, ellipticals) and televisions to view while working out.

Everyone I met that worked for the hotel greeted me with what came across as sincere pleasure to see me, and made eye contact when saying hello or asking how to help.

Onsite pizza restaurant was good enough - the waitstaff there was very friendly and accomodating. Prices were good - pizza was okay, but the breadsticks were quite good. There is also a small chicken and fish place next door - independently owned.

Parking is $30 valet, or $16 to self park. Do the self park, the lot is just next door the hotel. It's not necessarily guarded, there are the usual caveats about your stuff, but I overlooked that lot and it was well lit at night.

The hotel is a bit off the beaten path, but I walked downtown in 20 minutes, easily. It is near enough by cab to the Museum Campus. Cabs were quickly hailed by the bellmen, and are plentiful everywhere. They are also required to take credit cards in Chicago. You need to be firm with some of them about this, but they are.

I will stay here again in November. I enjoyed the two night stay and found it to be a good value for the money, and a pleasant weekend lodging.

Went for this hotel as it was right near the Amtrak station, you can literally walk from the station to the hotel, although it is a little difficult to see and get to. Just ask if you are stuck, but don't waste money on a cab!

The hotel itself was OK. The room was clean and tidy. For some reason we had a disabled suite, so the shower was always leaking onto the bathroom floor and we had to laydown towels on a regular basis to keep out feet dry. But the room was good. Not a lot of noise going on, so a good nights sleep had each night. No complaints about the room, although this place was a little expensive. There was also a rooftop pool, which was the coldest pool I have ever swam in! Literally freezing.. nice pool area though and if the water was warm would have been fantastic. Nice views from the roof of the surrounding buildings.

The main issue was that there was nothing to do really immediately at the hotel. You can walk down St Canal St about 10 minutes and you hit some shops and supermarkets, ideal for some shopping or food. There is a bus stop at Union Station, so you can commute for 2 dollars to the main attractions that Chicago has to offer. I would recommend spending a day at Navy Pier, which is easy to get to by bus.

Overall I would only recommend this hotel if you want convenient access to the Amtrak Union Station and are willing to get buses to see anything decent in Chicago.

Stayed in a King Suite and the room was very large and Clean, close to "the loop". Not a lot of things to do in this part of town but there is a bus stop close and many downtown buses stop there. So for $2 you can get anywhere downtown in about 15 minutes.

I walked in without a reservation in Jan 2008, because this is the nearest hotel to the Amtrak station, and my connecting train was going to be a awhile. What a perfect pit-stop to freshen up after a cross-country train ride!

The customer service was excellent! The ladies at the desk were very patient, courteous, and thorough. There is a lounge onsite where I got one beer to unwind after my trip. The wireless internet was smooth. The room was immaculate and well-stocked. Being a single female traveler, I was pleased that there was a security guard onsite.

Holiday Inn Downtown served my needs efficiently. I didn't care how much it cost; I just needed to get away from that Amtrak station for a few hours.