ACME Hotel Chicago, Outset Collection by Hilton — Hotel in Chicago

My stay at the hotel was just okay, and I really did not enjoy some aspects of it. First of all, my check-in process was kind of bumpy. I made a reservation through the Hotel Tonight app, and my room was supposed to be assigned upon arrival. A day before, I called the hotel to ask if it would be possible to check in early and to request a room on a high floor with as much natural daylight as possible. The guy I spoke to on the phone had an unfriendly attitude, saying it would probably be impossible and that I should call again the next morning. On the day of my check-in, I called around 10 a.m. and spoke to a girl who told me she had noted my requests and that they would most likely prepare my room by 2 p.m. Finally, I arrived at the hotel at 2 p.m. They assigned me a basic room with a Queen bed, but it was on a low floor, super dark, and facing the inner side of the building. I went back to the front desk and asked for a room on a higher floor with more daylight. The front desk guy gave me a dirty look and, with an annoyed attitude, found me a room on a high floor. That room (#1006) looked identical to the first room but had more daylight. However, it was a corner room, and another room’s window was right next to mine, leaving me with no privacy. I had to keep the curtains closed the entire time, which I hated. I returned to the front desk yet again to explain this issue, asking for another try. They told me that all the Standard Queen rooms were like this, and if I wanted a brighter room with a city view, I would have to pay $35 extra per night. They even mentioned that they had multiple rooms of that type available for my dates but refused to move me into one for free, even though the Hotel Tonight app policy allows hotels to assign any available room type. Frustrated, I decided to stay in room #1006.||The room was tiny but in very good overall condition, and I found the design pretty. There was even a nice soft bathrobe in the room, which was a pleasant surprise. I also liked the cute orange refrigerator - a nice design touch that added some color to the room. I appreciated having a table with a mini leather sofa and chairs next to the window. The Queen bed was comfortable. However, I did not like that the air conditioner was located directly above the bed, blowing cold air right on me, which affected my nose. There was also no closet; instead, a few hangers were mounted on the wall, but there weren’t many, and space was limited. The bathroom was small but modern and nice-looking, with everything working well. The shower stall was large and very comfortable to use, and the bathroom amenities were of good quality. Wi-Fi worked well with decent speed, although my AT&T phone data was much faster. Another issue was that the room was not very soundproof - I could hear many noises from the hallway, especially when the housekeeping staff vacuumed the floors.||One of the biggest issues during my stay was the strong smell of marijuana throughout the hotel. It smelled like marijuana even inside my room - either from previous guests or my neighbors. This nasty smell was literally everywhere! As someone who has never smoked in my entire life, I was extremely disgusted by this.||Another negative aspect of my stay was the night-time staff. There was an extremely rude and unprofessional lady working at night. A few times, I returned to the hotel late at night when the front door was closed, so I had to ring the bell. Through the window, I could see that she was in no rush to get up from her comfortable chair. She moved very slowly, taking her time to open the door. On one particularly rainy night, she even refused to let me inside until I showed my room key, leaving me standing in the rain. To make matters worse, she never greeted me with a simple “Hi” or “Good night.” I found her behavior incredibly rude and annoying. She was quite old, by the way (which might explain why she moved so slowly), but honestly, she was not even a real nighttime security guard. If the hotel wants to secure the place, they should hire someone younger and healthier who can actually do the job!||As for the hotel’s positives, I must mention its nice location, which is very central and convenient.||Finalizing my review, I want to point out that the rate I paid - approximately $105 per night with all taxes and fees included - was overpriced for the overall poor experience I had. The rate for my room should have been about half that price.||I absolutely have no intention of coming back to this place in the future. I recommend staying away from this hotel if you want a comfortable...

My stay at this hotel was just okay, and I didn’t enjoy many aspects of it. First, the check-in process was bumpy. I booked through the Hotel Tonight app, where my room was supposed to be assigned on arrival. I called the day before to request early check-in and a high-floor room with natural light. The guy I spoke to had an unfriendly attitude, saying it was unlikely and to call the next morning. On the day of check-in, I called at 10 a.m., and a girl noted my requests, saying my room would likely be ready by 2 p.m. At 2 p.m., I arrived and was assigned a basic, dark room with a Queen bed on a low floor, facing the inner building. I went back to the front desk to ask for a brighter, higher-floor room. The front desk guy gave me a dirty look and, with an annoyed attitude, moved me to room #1006 on a higher floor. The room had more daylight, but it was a corner room, and another room’s window was right next to mine—leaving me with no privacy. I had to keep the curtains closed the whole time, which I hated. I asked to try again, but they told me all Standard Queen rooms were like this, and if I wanted a brighter, city-view room, I’d need to pay $35 extra per night. Even though they had available rooms, they refused to move me for free, despite Hotel Tonight’s policy allowing hotels to assign any available room type. Frustrated, I stayed in #1006. The room itself was tiny but in great overall condition, and I liked the design. There was a soft bathrobe, which was a nice surprise, and I loved the cute orange refrigerator, which added a pop of color. The table with a mini leather sofa by the window was a nice touch, and the Queen bed was comfortable. However, the air conditioner was directly above the bed and blew cold air on me, which affected my nose. There was also no closet, just a few wall hangers with limited space. The bathroom was small but modern, with a large, comfortable shower stall and good-quality amenities. Everything worked fine, but the room wasn’t very soundproof - I could hear noises from the hallway, especially housekeeping vacuuming the floors. A major issue was the strong smell of marijuana throughout the hotel, even inside my room. I’m not sure if it was from previous guests or neighbors, but as someone who’s never smoked, I was extremely disgusted by it. Another negative part of my stay was the rude and slow night-time staff. The lady working at night was extremely unprofessional. When I returned to the hotel late, the front door was locked, so I had to ring the bell. Through the window, I could see her taking her time to get up and walk very slowly to the door. One rainy night, she refused to let me in until I found and showed my room key, leaving me standing in the rain. She never greeted me with a simple “Hi” or “Good night,” which was incredibly annoying. On the positive side, the hotel’s location is nice - very central and convenient. However, the rate I paid - approximately $105 per night with all taxes - was overpriced for the poor overall experience I had. The room rate should have been about half that price. I have no intention of coming back to this place, and I recommend staying away if you want a comfortable...

This hotel was a mixed bag for me. The very thing so many complain about, the front desk, was the exact opposite for me. I found the front desk staff very accommodating. Both my requests for an early check in and high floor were granted. I even got a room with a view, which was basically a free upgrade. The room conditions however, wow, why are so few talking about that?

So I'm settling in, putting my stuff up, take a minute to sit down on the office chair. I look over at the bed. The bottom mattress was torn and beat up. Then I took a closer look. Apparently someone was lonely and left their little "companion" behind. Gross! The rug in front of the bed was also pretty dirty. At this point, I am glad I don't have a blue light. The furniture was pretty scuffed up, the wood floors warped from likely hundreds of people over the years getting out of the shower and waking across the floor. Speaking of, the bathroom had a wobbly toilet, albeit it was clean. Shower was very good, high water pressure and hot. Sink was clean. Towels directly above the toilet though? My OCD is kicking in my overdrive now LOL. TV had a remote with no ability to manually punch in the channel, you had to endlessly scroll to get to certain channels. Weird. No closet either. You hang your clothes on the wall rack. Bring your own toiletries far as body wash, because what's provided will only last a day. Last thing, and importantly, walls were paper thin. You can hear people sneezing, laughing, coughing, all night. Bring a noise machine to sleep with or you will be sorry.

Now...a few positives at least. The HVAC unit was definitely about 10-20 years old but very effective. The room was always toasty on the 15 degree days I stayed there. The fridge was in good working condition (no microwave or coffee maker). Elevators were fast and in working order. Location? Five stars. Grocery store and drug store both practically next door. Michigan Avenue and several excellent restaurants all in short walking distance. A huge blessing on freezing days. It's really what saved this place.

Final verdict, it's highly unlikely I would stay here again. I paid a very cheap rate, $91 a night, but in hindsight, I paid what the room was worth too. I can only imagine if I had gotten the infamous alley view rooms so...