Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown River North — Hotel in Chicago

We stayed at Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown River North (State Street) in early August for six nights. While the location and a few standout staff members were definite positives, the overall experience was frustrating and disappointing—especially since we experienced many of the same issues during a stay here last year.||Pros:|• Fantastic location – Close to Michigan Avenue, the Riverwalk, and public transit (bus stops and L Train stops). Grocery store across the street, Starbucks next door, and plenty of restaurants nearby.|• Breakfast – Made-to-order omelets, good variety, something for everyone and hard-working, friendly breakfast staff who kept everything clean and running smoothly, even during busy times.|• Evening reception – Two complimentary drinks per adult and light snacks like nachos, hummus, pretzels, etc. Not enough for a full meal but a nice perk. Bartenders do a great job.|• Standout staff – Hector, the bellman did a great job. The breakfast staff and evening reception bartenders at the reception were also great – sorry we didn’t get all their names. These staff members could give the front desk staff lessons on professionalism and customer service. ||Cons:|1. Housekeeping & Linen Issues|• Housekeeping only cleaned our room twice in six nights, despite the hotel website stating there is daily housekeeping. See the attached pictures from the hotel website - the qr code is posted in the rooms on the TV base. |• Room was set up for only two guests (two towels, four flat pillows), even though four were registered. Daily calls were needed to request basic items like towels and toilet paper.|• Requests were often ignored or incomplete (asking for four towels, getting three).|• No bathroom fans meant towels stayed damp—reusing them the next day wasn’t realistic. |• Not sure if the hotel thinks people should share towels and that is why they don’t give enough towels for all registered guests. I don’t know many people who will share towels. |• Thin, scratchy towels and flat pillows made the linens feel more budget than Hilton-quality.|• Trash and dirty towels were frequently left in hallways due to lack of daily cleaning.|2. Communication & Service Failures|• Calls to the front desk and guest services were usually unanswered, requiring multiple tries.|• The “Chat with Us” app feature never got a response.|• Long lines at the front desk made in-person service frustrating and slow.|3. Elevator Problems|• Consistent long waits for elevators during peak hours (breakfast, check-in/out, evening reception).|• Elevators were often full upon arrival. If possible, book a lower floor to use the stairs.|• There always seemed to be one elevator out of service, but no notices saying one was out.|• Basically, there are not enough elevators for the capacity of guests this hotel has.|4. Maintenance Issues|• Upon arrival, the toilet wasn’t working (we fixed it ourselves).|• The bedroom door stuck and made loud noises.|• The sofa bed had a visible dip and was uncomfortable.|• These should have been caught by housekeeping or maintenance before our arrival.||Final Thoughts:|This was our second stay at this hotel, and unfortunately, the same problems from last year were still present. I had reached out prior to this visit, as suggested in the GM's response to my review last year, but received no reply to emails, and phone calls went unanswered. The hotel is just using a standard copy and paste response to negative reviews that says, “We are sorry to learn of your unsatisfactory experience. If you decide to return, please contact us ahead of time so we can ensure your stay is more satisfactory”. You can’t reach out before if no one answers the phones, answers emails or responds to the app chat. Even after selecting our room via online check-in and asking for it to be properly stocked, it wasn’t upon arrival to our room.||The hotel clearly has ongoing operational issues—many other reviews report the same frustrations. It feels like management doesn’t prioritize solving these problems, likely because the location and included amenities (breakfast, evening reception) keep the hotel full regardless. They don’t have to care about guest satisfaction because the hotel is always full. ||We were hoping this would be our go-to hotel as we will be visiting Chicago frequently the next few years, but we won’t be staying here again. It's simply not worth the daily hassle of tracking down towels, chasing service, and dealing with unanswered requests.||Embassy Suites River North has potential, but it consistently fails to meet basic service standards, and sadly, does not reflect the level of quality expected from the...

It is not often that a hotel checks all the boxes but this one does. And am I glad we picked this place in downtown Chicago because downtown Chicago is the place to stay if you are sightseeing around Chicago. The hotel is literally a 7-8 minute walk from Michigan Avenue aka the Magnificent Mile. And the best part we got to the hotel spending $20 via the CTA from the airport and that’s what it cost us for 4 of us. You change to the red line at Washington and get off the next stop after Washington and it’s a 5 minutes walk to the hotel from there. It would probably cost you 5 times as much if you took an Uber XL (with all our baggage). The location is perfect - restaurants all around - a Gordon Ramsay Burger joint, Sweetgreens, Weber Grill, a 7 Eleven - you name it all within a 5 minute waking distance. There is even a Starbucks in the same building literally next door to the entrance of the hotel. Check in was a breeze and we were given coupons to happy hour at the bar from 17:30- 19:30 hours for our stay that entitles you to 2 complimentary drinks per person. A pity we never used them as we were out soaking in the Chicago sights. Attractions like the river walk, the Bean are all within walking distance and that exactly how you spend time on the Magnificent Mile. The rooms are exactly as described - spacious like suites. It opens into a living room space with a large sofa, a writing table. There is a service platform that houses a coffee maker (yaaay), a microwave and a mini refrigerator and that leads into a bedroom with 2 double beds - perfect for a family of 4. Make that 5 if one of you can sleep on the sofa. The bathroom is spotless clean, spacious with a bathtub and plenty of towels. And enough shower gel, shampoo and moisturiser to boot. The living room and the need room both have large screen smart TVs with Netflix, YouTube and other apps per-installed. Breakfast is served in the mezzanine from 6:30 - 9:30 am. There is a live Omlette counter, sausage, bacon, waffles, toast, juice etc. Make sure you get in early for breakfast as it can fill up pretty quick. I think it’s very thoughtful that there is a water fountain in the mezzanine area next to the swimming pool. You can just refill your bottled with filtered water - saves you money from buying all those water bottles. The front office staff are a friendly and they seem to know their way around as we got useful pointers on restaurants and places of interest. They charge $100 per night as incidentals which is reimbursed (if there was no incidental from your side of course) - usually within 2 days of checking out. There is an Italian restaurant in the lobby area which must be good as it seemed full every evening. It’s probably the bar you go to for the happy hours (I assume). I have been to the United States a few times and my stay at the Embassy Suites in Chicago has been the best so far - hands down....

So, the mixed bag of previous reviews I've read had me second guessing my choice to stay here, but my experience was very enjoyable for my first visit to Chicago!||The entrance and lobby of the hotel was well kept, clean and welcoming. My encounters with the front desk, while few, always helpful and friendly.||I was not able to access my room upon arrival prior to the 4PM check-in, so I took the opportunity to drop off my luggage with Hector (super nice guy!) and get some early exploring. But once I was checked in, I found the room to be very spacious, comfortable and clean.||In short, here are some pros/cons to consider:||* PROS |1. The free breakfast was a good perk, which included a variety of options. It wasn't spectacular, but it was tasty and provided fuel for a day of exploring. |Tip: if you are an early riser, it's good to get there early. The lines get long at the omelette station and I heard food can run out. Also, start time varies from weekday to weekend.||2. Having a microwave, cold fridge, and functioning sink was handy when carrying leftovers from lunch/dinner. With all the delicious food options in Chicago, nothing went to waste.||3. The happy hour was a nice experience. Upon check-in you get a drink ticket to redeem a limit of two alcoholic beverages each night of your stay. Soft drinks and other beverages were unlimited. The snacks they served change each day, and staff are always present to replenish them. It was decent, and a nice option to enjoy before dinner.||4. Location was great. I was able to walk or take transit options to visit many sights.|| CONS *||1. Sloowwwww elevators, all four of them. It was especially slow during the breakfast hours and happy hours. The sensors where you tap your hotel key to get to higher floors sometimes didn't work on one side. Hilton should seriously consider upgrading the system to manage the movement of multiple cars, since the hotel hosts many, many guests.||2. Communication between staff|Going back to the initial check-in process, it would be nice if the housekeeping staff had a better communication system with the front desk about available rooms. There is no reason that someone should wait hours to settle in. Also, my room was not cleaned the next day of my stay, so I used to Hilton mobile app to report it. Housekeeping came up within the hour to address the need. That may have made a significant difference vs. contacting the front desk about it.||3. I can totally hear my neighbors on either side of the room if they talked loudly. The walls are a bit thin and you can hear street noises even from the highest floor. Lucky for me, I am a deep sleeper.||There are different hotels in the area I would likely want to try when I visit Chicago again, but I wouldn't cross Embassy Suites off the list if I return with family. I hope they actually read these reviews so improvements can be...