Aloft Chicago Downtown River North — Hotel in Chicago

Hotels just aren’t what they used to be. The attention to detail just isn’t there for what you pay. We stayed 3 days (7/21, checking out on 7/24) and paid over $900.

The cleanliness of the room was abismal. We found hair in one set of towels and hair in the shower (long, straight, brown hair - wasn’t ours). We called downstairs immediately to have new towels brought up. 🤢 We brought anti back bacterial wipes , etc and just cleaned the shower and high touch places ourselves.

The king room is small, dark and dank. The lighting in the bathroom is low and the bathroom sink, etc. isn’t private at all. No room service/cleaning throughout our stay. Just one day and you sign something at check in saying you either wave it all together or get just the one day. Wow. Is this even a vacation anymore? What are we paying for at this rate? A near $300 a night after tax used to get you exemplary customer service and rooms with floors you could eat off of.

No microwaves in rooms either - don’t bring your leftovers back! The fridge is literally shoved UNDER THE SINK IN THE BATHROOM. LITERALLY…

We also kept having issues with our room keys deactivating. 2 deactivated by the end of the trip and we had 1 replaced. A day later the other deactivated, but worked on the elevator. Keys were kept in wallet, not necessarily next to cellphone so i don’t know what happened with that.

Here’s the icing on the cake. The Beatrix downstairs appears to be a very nice restaurant and it looks very hip! Definitely wanted to otros this establishment because it’s a part of the hotel. Well, we came downstairs one morning and wanted to dine there. We stood in front of the sign that says “Please See Host to be Seated” OR “Please Wait to be Seated” (I cannot remember so I’m putting both possibilities). Either way, coming in from the hotel side, you have no idea where the host is or where you should go. We stood by the sign for a second to try to get someone’s attention to ask. 3 or so waitresses continued their work or walked right pases us ti grab more cups, etc. No one greeted us or even asked how they could help. I then just stopped one of them and finally got their attention. She pointed ti the host closer ti the STREET entrance. Again, if you are a paying guest of the hotel, you would not see this without help or a better sign. Nothing was warm about the interaction. So we decided that even after being pointed to the right podium, we no longer wanted to just give our money to this establishment. We dined elsewhere throughout our stay.

Upon our return from eating our, I made a point to stop by the front desk and share with the gentleman. He admitted that a better and more clear sign was needed that we be value added and direct guest to the street entrance. He also apologized that we were completely ignored by staff while we stood their.

All in all, if you’re traveling and expecting to be treated like a good guest, you’re going to have to go up in rate to get what you deserve in service. It’s just not the same. Cleanliness, attention to detail and customer service are missing at...

We had reservations for this past 4th of July and the long weekend I prepaid for our room as a Bonvoy member as we had stayed at this location last July. It is centrally located to everything we are interested in doing when we are in Chicago and the rooms are a good size and nice. Last time we stayed they had an issue with their elevators in that only one was working -we just allowed extra time to get an elevator and just thought of it as a one off situation. This stay we were contacted via email ( as I was boarding my flight) to let us know the hotel had no AC and we needed to work with them to cancel and/or rebook with another hotel! I reached out via email per their instructions to let them know we were already in route and needed a new place to stay. They emailed me back and told me to call them and left the number. I let them know I would call once I landed we were already in the air. So on my own flight I started searching for options especially since it is a holiday weekend , the cubs were in town and a NASCAR race was happening on the streets of Chicago-I wanted to see what Marriott properties were in the area thinking it would be easiest for them to secure a sister property. I call the number they gave me as soon as I land- it is a corporate reservation line and the lady I spoke with couldn’t connect me directly to the Aloft or help me with my issue. She did tell me to call back and press zero for the operator. I do get through to the actual hotel to speak with the front desk. They tell they don’t have a solution for me ( mind you the AC has been out since the morning and it over 3 hours since they notified me. I totally understand the AC issue is out of their control but I would have thought they would be able to at least provide us a solution for a place to stay. Be nice if they provided me direct line to call them. I checked and there were rooms just down the street at the Marriott Moxy property. All that the Aloft told me is they could continue to work on it but the residence inn wouldn’t take anymore guests ( there are other hotels by Marriott) I felt like the issue( AC) was theirs but they made little effort to resolve the issue -they made it solely my problem to deal with instead. After seeing no help was going to happen in a timely manner I took matters into my own hands and found a place to stay before we left O’Hara. (We were delayed for our dinner reservations due to the issue) They apologized but you need to help find your guest suitable lodging at around the same price point or better than your property I realize they may be a franchise owner but they still represent the Marriott brand and they could’ve easily called the Moxy ( a block away) and reserved a room for us. We won’t be staying...

I've stayed here multiple times, at least two where I made the reservation myself.

The staff has always been great, with the odd exception of a few that seem rushed.

The rooms are comfortable and spacious, though some things can definitely be improved. If you're in a room with more than two people, as one might expect for a two bed room, the nightstand gets cramped while trying to charge phones and whatnot. The desk chair is wildly uncomfortable. The lighting is a bit weird but pretty standard for a hotel, mostly just wish the toilet/shower area had its own light.

The bathrooms only have one towel bar, which is fine if there's only one person in the room but definitely not for multiple. Other than where you should be able to hang clothes, you're kinda SOL for drying your towels after a shower. This kinda defeats the purpose of saving water because you're then either getting your towels replaced daily or dealing with a damp towel (ew).

There's a sliding door to separate the toilet/shower area from the rest of the room. It's heavy, most are horribly difficult/annoying to slide, and it has no lock. If they'd at least fix them so they slide easier, that would be fine.

They still keep the book of mormon and a bible in the drawers. For a hotel that's designed to be hip and modern, this feels weirdly outdated.

Drybar being the toiletry choice is nice and the blow dryers work well.

The ice machines are non-existent or not functional on most floors - Aloft is aware and usually sends you to another floor to get ice. You are only supposed to have access to the ground floor, the floor your room is on, and the lower level for the gym... but sometimes you can go to random floors. It's hit or miss.

If you want to park at the hotel, it is valet only and you can expect to pay for the convenience.

I have not yet visited the gym or used other amenities. I have had food/etc delivered and there's usually no problem, they just drop it at the front desk.

Location is great, easy access to transit, taxi, or rideshare. Most touristy crap is within 15-20min and there are a ton of food options. Noise can be loud with the fire station but that's about it and you're not going to find anywhere noiseless in the city.

Speaking of noise, I've never had any problem with hearing neighbors unless they are extremely loud. It's mostly occasional stomping or people being loud in the hallway. However, you can hear when the blinds are rolled up or down and they are LOUD.

Only other thing I can think of offhand is that the room doors are fine though the gap under the door is a bit much. I do like that there's a deadbolt and an extra thing to prevent the door from being opened all the way. It helps provide a bit of...