Chateau Hotel and Conference Center — Hotel in Bloomington

We chose thos hotel because its vicinity to restaurants and anything else one might need, but mostly because it looked interesting. I was surprised it was built in the 80s as it actually felt much older in layout. Upon walking up, it's like walking up to the Biltmore estate. A commanding building with lion statues, brass lambs on on either side of the doors. Just fun.

Entering the lobby was a bit surreal. It was very quiet when we arrived, and the space was filled with a bizarre (almost creepy) circus-like music that only moments later I realized was coming from a claw machine. The front desk was fast and efficient at getting us our room keys. After, though, we just had to wander a bit and look at the decore. Antique furniture and fixtures about. The aesthetic was refreshing... (With the exception of the breakfast area that was for some reason putting out Hobby Lobby vibes, BUT i am getting ahead of myself)

We went to our room and dropped off our bags. The room was clean, and a lot of updates had been done, but it had some flaws as well. A smaller shower, a stiff standard matress on a memory foam foundation rather than box springs, nowhere to easily charge a phone. I don't watch TV, but if you do, you would probably be excited that it is huge.

We went back downstairs to see the pool and hot tub. The men's room even had a sauna. It was impressive and clean enough, only slightly dated and a few obvious repairs needed. We went back to the lobby to explore the antiques, water feature, and the newly opened bar. The friendly bartender had no menu and limited mixers but made a fine gin and tonic. It was nice to have a few cocktails before walking to bed.

I get a room for two reasons, shower and sleep. Neither went great. The bed was very uncomfortable, leading to a restless night. The tap water here had a smell that didn't feel great showering in.

Going downstairs to get coffee and breakfast, the coffee smelled awful, tasted awful, and we really hope it is just the bad water we experienced in the shower. The breakfast area was interesting. Very quiet when we arrived (nobody there). In the serveware, there was cut-up breakfast pizza, sausage, pancakes, and hashbrowns. We all go to a hotel breakfast with low expectations, right? Keep it down there, not good. The cookies were amazing, so if you can handle sweets in the morning, maybe just do that.

It was clean, and right after we touched things, a woman came out to wipe them down.

I am probably rating this hotel higher than I should. If my shower and bed were like this at a Hilton or Marriot property, I would rate this lower. However, I loved the vibe of this place so much. It suited me, it was unique and refreshing, and I will still come back to give it another shot as they are clearly still working on improvements. This hotel (I had to research) has been through several owners, so give them a chance and stay somewhere that actually...

I booked weeks in advance for a Thursday- Saturday stay. We chose this hotel for their pool area. Thursday evening we (my husband and I and our 15 year old twins) had a movie event to go to, and we planned on just hanging out at the pool all day Friday. We live within an hour and a half of the hotel and were hoping to arrive at noon to use the pool until the 3pm check-in time, but called the morning of and were told we couldn't use the pool until we had room keys, completely understandable. No mention at check in that the pool was closed for maintenance at that time. We found out on our own after we went to the room and changed into bathing suits and went downstairs. We knew by the time we got back from our evening out that the pool would be closed, again, no big deal. Went to breakfast early Friday morning then back up to the room to get ready for the pool, what we had been looking forward to for weeks, a day with no worries and full of relaxation. I called down to the desk to see what time the pool opened and was told it was closed for maintenance but would open at 4pm so the chemicals had time to settle. She said, "sorry about that". There is absolutely nothing else to do at this hotel btw. At 10am I called back down and asked what my cancelation options were and was told that it's by 3pm the day prior. I asked to speak with a manager and she said he wouldn't be in until 4pm but she could transfer me to his voicemail. I'm boiling at this point. Feeling stuck we sucked it up, went to Walmart and bought some games, made up some snacks in the room, and went and sat in the lobby and played games until 330pm. Finally get to the pool and the water is freezing, but the hot tub was nice. Went to dinner at 7pm and when we got back the weekend guests were all checked in and the pool was PACKED! There are only like 8 chairs in there. I know this all sounds so trivial but when you work hard day in and day out and look forward to a little family getaway it just sucks that it gets ruined without being given a definitive choice of staying or receiving a refund or even an invitation to come back for a future stay. Mom's out there get what I'm saying. We paid almost $400 for what?

The hotel is old, but very clean. We had a one bedroom king suite, not sure what kind of lense they used on the camera for rooms but our room was definitely smaller than the pictures make it appear. It had it's quirks but it was very clean. Also, the hotel is overpowered by the smell of fabuloso, if you're sensitive to smells, be warned. The breakfast was great, the staff did a wonderful job keeping the items stocked and tidy. At check in, the registration form you sign has an option to decline daily maid service, we did not decline it, but still never received service. They'll bring items that you request but our trash was never taken out and the cans...

We arrived when there was a downpour of rain. This affected my mood.

Don't be fooled by the picture of the front with the long awning. The current awning doesn't protect anyone parking in front from the elements (see pic). I parked just to the side and was soaked by the time I got to the front door. There was a medium sized group of people outside under the awning and blocking easy access to the door, one of whom was smoking (I'm allergic to cigarette smoke. Is there a law regarding smoking in Illinois?).

The woman checking us in was not friendly. She wasn't mean, just not friendly.

After I checked in, started to return to the car but, as I pushed open the (distorted) glass door, it slammed into a woman on the other side. In her defense, she was just trying to stay out of the train. On the other hand, she could have chosen to not block the door. I took a pic of the door the next morning, but it doesn't give justice to the poor visibility; at night, with a downpour, the people outside were not visible. The morning's pic is much clearer, but still shows a distorted view.

Because of other people's reviews, this hotel was booked . . . the closest available parking spot was far enough away that I was further drenched by the time I could claim shelter in my room.

Our room was on the 5th floor (the top, but not the penthouse). Once of the elevator, we walked to the end of the earth to find our room (really, it was a long walk. Not complaining to much: my Fitbit is happy with me).

Upon opening the door to our room, my experience changed for the better. We had a king-sized bed (I'm tall), a fireplace, tv, and a large space next to the bed for, I assume, dancing, but it was probably unfinished - that would be a great place for a couch. There was a respectable amount of space between the bed and the tv. The fireplace looked expensive, but I wonder if anyone actually used it.

There was a little kitchenette between the sleeping area and the bathroom. Odd, but efficient. It had a fridge, two-burner range, kitchen sink, and a coffee maker.

The bathroom was of decent size. I didn't know you could have a rocking chair as a toilet (likely, the toilet wasn't secured properly). The shower was nice. The hand-held and had decent water pressure, but once you switched to the overhead shower, things got really slow. Because of the design of the large shower head, the water just tricked down, which irked me becausei was in a hurry. The shower entrance was obscured by having the nuisance of a door, the lack of which allowed some water onto the floor.

It wasn't until the next morning that I was able to see and enjoy some of the architecture and artwork this hotel...