Chinatown Hotel — Hotel in Chicago

I recently stayed here while in chicago. It was an average hotel not a 5 star but it was fine. I found some staff to be more helpful than others. For example....when I checked in the young chinese girl seemed unfriendly and callous when I tried to engage her in a conversation. The other front desk agent female....seemed more concerned for my comfort and friendlier. The first room I had...had a cable that was broken si U complained and they moved me to another room. The rooms are fine with a private bathroom and bed. They included a unit to cool or heat the room which I found amazing as it kept me toasty in the cold chicago night. Also the hotel is close to the CTA subway station which I used to get me into the heart of the attractions in chicago.

Also the neighborhood I found to be safe and lively. Many asian businesses abound from restaurants to gift shops to ice cream stores etc. Also the price for this hotel was a value for the location. Some hotels on chicago are super expensive...but this one does not break the wallet. So I saved over 100 dollars that was used for entertainment.

Its true the hotel looks a bit outdated inside and they have no fridge in the rooms. But you get what you pay for and I was ok with the hotel. The only thing I did not like were the following. The cleaning people are chinese and I noticed when they clean the rooms they leave the doors of the rooms OPEN at the same time. For example I left the room early one day and came back while they were cleaning. I went to my room to find my door wide open and other rooms open as well but no one was watching the room when I got there. This is bad because no one was watching the rooms. The chinese guy was cleaning one room while he left the other doors open. I do not understand why most of the rooms were left open at once. I found this true on the 2 floor as well as I walked the down the stairs and saw rooms with the doors open. Anyone could have walked in and grab people's belongings.

Another concern when you enter the hotel front door...the front desk is on the right side a bit back and on the left side is a passageway hall where if the front desk person is not being attentive....someone can sneak in through the passageway and gain access inside the hotel and sneak into the stairs. A few times I walked in and did not see a person by the front desk.

This is a security flaw that the hotel should address. Also when I was by the front desk I saw snap shot printed computer pictures of what appeared to be "suspects" who had entered or tried to enter the hotel in the past.

The hotel really should find a solution to this security flaws.

Also 2 of the 6 nights in my stay at this hotel their were two men on my floor who smoked marijuana at night and I could smell this come into my room. I did complain to the front desk but they offered me a new room. When this happened at night I called downstairs and a Chinese guy answered but he was ineffective in resolving that complaint. Even though the smell went away a few minutes the point is these men shpuld have not been smoking in the first place as this is a smoke free hotel.

If I ever come back to chicago I most probably would not stay here again.

Again even though I was comfortable and saved some money at this hotel...but because of the security flaws and bad guests I would probably stay at the nearby jaslin hotel on the same block which has better security and a bit pricier but better quality.

If you do stay at this chinatown hotel be careful with your valuables when you leave your room....even the hotel states they are not responsible for your valuables in your room. So buyer beware!

If I was the owner of the hotel I would invest and upgrade the hotel and fix these flaws so this way customers can give a better...

There are surprisingly quite a large amount of negative reviews about the hotel on Google Maps, but I'm glad to report that my experience was a positive one!

Check-in was super smooth. We checked in at 5pm and the guy at the front desk was super friendly, fluent in both English and Mandarin. The hallways have air fresheners but unfortunately there might be irresponsible guests smoking in their non-smoking rooms which could seep into the hallways (bear in mind it's a budget friendly hotel that mostly attracts the lower to middle class), but nothing of that sort once you enter your room! There is a pantry with a microwave, a fridge and an ice machine on the first floor! Wifi is also very reliable unlike some of the other Airbnb's I've stayed within Chinatown. The hotel also locks the front door at 1.30am for the safety of the guests and their employees (front desk is 24hrs, just call if you're locked out or get other options if you can afford to party till that late. Don't be a Karen and bang the glass door in the middle of the night.)

The room was considerably clean, with very minor strands of hair in shower areas. Some people mentioned bed bugs in their rooms when I was doing my research, we had none! (I suspected it was only the largest room that had been bugs based on reviews, or the people themselves brought it in). I can understand how some guest find the bed being too hard, but it was okay for me and we managed to get a wonderful two night sleep! The room looks rather new too, with the paint still bright new and a modern air conditioner, however the room is small, so if you're a large person you might wanna find somewhere else :/. You could also hear other rooms too if they talk loudly or make noises (just like if you're staying in an apartment), but my experience was rather relaxing and quiet. There was even a walk-in closet! Overall, the room feels like a former dorm room turned budget friendly hotel room.

Location wise, it's as good as it gets. There's a premium Chinese restaurant literally right across the hotel, plus it's Chinatown, it's impossible for anyone to starve here. Lots of amazing Dim Sums and bakeries for breakfast and lots of affordable Asian delicacies in the area. The bubble tea and ice cream shops are really popular especially after all the general stores are closed. It's also only a 3-5 min walk to the metro (friendly reminder to stay vigilant if you are using the metro during early hours, I witnessed a snatching crime while riding the metro at 5am). The only downside I could think of is if you look at the map, the hotel is on a street that leads to residential areas, not exactly directly on a main street of Chinatown, so it could feel a little darker at night compared to the main streets.

With the quality of the room and the location of the hotel being so close to the city center, it is probably THE BEST PLACE you can get for price. We were so glad we got stayed here and we will probably stay here next time we come back to Chicago!

7/10 for solo 8/10 for couples 8/10 for work 1/10 for plus size humans 1/10 for humans that cannot climb stairs If you're a single woman travelling I would recommend getting a better hotel for safety purposes if you can afford it.

If management sees this, might I recommend adding some lights to brighten the stairways, and the bathroom tiles could use a little refurbishing as it's...

• COCKROACHES... refer to google images, description of experience below Reason for booking: Booked 5 days at the Chinatown Hotel because it was one of the more affordable options in Chicago. The front desk staff was excellent and very accommodating. Pros: 1)The location of the hotel was excellent, right in Chinatown and easy access to train.

2. Front desk staff are excellent Cons: 1)The hotel smells very strongly of smoke.
3. The rooms are not soundproof and I could hear the tv loudly till 4am at night during one of the nights.
4. Cockroaches - I attached images on google images for Chinatown hotel

Cancellation: I tried to cancel after finding a giant cockroach crawling on the walls of the hotel. I caught it and brought to the front desk and they did not appear to be surprised. I asked to speak to the manager, but the manager would only speak to me through the front desk staff leading to a problem with communication. I asked to be called by the manager but they refused saying they will only call tomorrow. The front desk staff offered me a 100$ discount for the room and that I could be upgraded to a better room. I said I was not happy with the discount and I was offered a full refund if I checked out immediately (approximately 930pm). I scrambled to find an alternative hotel and when I came down to checkout the manager instructed the front desk staff to change the conditions and only refunded me for one of the nights that I shared with the cockroaches. I did not argue because it was late at night and I was in a rush to get out of the hotel. I am very disappointed with the communication and conflict resolution of the management. I also urge everyone to take the negative reviews more seriously for this hotel.

Edit: I called the manager today and was given a...