Hampton Inn & Suites Chicago-Downtown — Hotel in Chicago

Date stayed: 12/27-12/28/23 Room Booked: 2 Queen Corner Suite (Rm 1119)

Pros (mostly only apply to the 2 queen corner suite): Room (and hotel, minus the elevators, see below) appears to be recently refurbished, with new looking furniture, updated electrical outlets (with USBs), and nice flooring Room is huge - website lists 680 sq. ft for the corner suite, which is 100 sq. ft. larger than a comparable suite at the Homewood nearby. While the Embassy Suites don't list their square footage, based on my past stays at other Embassy Suites I can't image those ones being more than 500 sq. ft. One additional benefit of this room compared to a typical Embassy Suites is that the living room has windows to the outside, not of the atrium. For the corner suite only, suite comes with a full kitchen (big fridge, stovetop, microwave, dishwasher), along with pots, silverware, and plating. There's plenty of seating - there's a bar area and a 4 seat dining table. There is more seating in the living room than the picture indicates - there's another 2 seat couch next to the pull-out sofabed and armchair, meaning that 6 people can sit very comfortably without even having to resort to the dining room chairs or the bar chairs. Sofa bed was surprisingly comfortable (I've slept on some pretty bad sofa beds from some other Hilton hotels!) A/C is central (not a PTAC), and is fairly quiet from both the living room and sleeping area. Also, windows can be opened, which is a pleasant surprise. I honestly love the lobby and how it looks (the wall is a lit up pixel diagram of the Chicago streets). Much of the carpet in the hallways is also of the Chicago streets - just really appreciate the touches the hotel makes to be more "Chicago". This is one of the few hotels in Chicago that has rooms that can fit 6 people, and includes both free breakfast and a indoor pool, which are both decent enough for a Chicago hotel. Hotel offers free luggage storage. Location is within walking distance to the Grand Red Line station, and within walking distance to the loop in general.

Cons: Yes, the fire department right across the street definitely makes its presence known - I would definitely recommend earplugs if you are sensitive to noise. Not the hotel's fault (other than they should have soundproofed the walls better), but a rather cheap way to help guests is to offer free earplugs at check in (maybe they do, I brought my own earplugs) This area is relatively safe, but while we were walking back at night, we had a group of teenagers follow us and throw stuff at us. Again, not the hotel's fault, but it would have been nice if the hotel had better street lighting and more obvious cameras to at least help discourage this kind of behavior. Hotel is undergoing elevator modernization that is set to be done by summer 2024. Since this is temporary I didn't necessarily consider this in my rating, but it's a good-to-know to expect VERY LONG WAITS during breakfast hours and check-out. No hot tub. Looking at old 3D views there used to be one, but it looks like they took it out and replaced with a table, which is a bummer. Breakfast area really should be much bigger - or, perhaps the hours extended during holiday/weekend since they know that 9-10am is the busiest

Overall thoughts: The room itself is probably one of the best appointed rooms I've seen, and honestly may be the best value suite-type room in the Chicago area. If I was rating the hotel purely based on the room, I would easily give it a 5. However, the location of this hotel, while from a maps-POV is great, walking around at night in the area doesn't provide the best feeling, and while I understand much of it is not the hotel's fault necessarily, I feel it's important to at least note down so that others who are unfamiliar with Chicago can at least expect it (along with including some possible suggestions that the hotel could hopefully reasonably implement). Realistically, the overall rating I would give for this hotel is...

I've stayed here twice now when visiting Chicago, (April 2023, and a year ago in April 2022), and I'm certain I will be back! Overall a great place for the price.

Pros: Excellent location! Within walking distance to everything downtown, and close to a Red Line CTA subway station, which will get you pretty much anywhere else you may want to visit.

Clean, fairly spacious rooms. We've booked the 2 queen beds rooms both times we've visited. Beds are a bit on the firm side, but comfortable. Pillows are soft and fluffy. Room came with a mini-fridge (which actually stayed cold), desk with chair, large TV, several drawers and a closet for storage. The bathroom was also clean and spacious with a large mirror and vanity, well stocked with towels, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. Great water pressure too, (that seems to be an issue with many hotels I’ve stayed at). Also included were a hairdryer, iron and ironing board. The rooms and bathrooms both times look recently renovated and/or well taken care of.

Free Wi-Fi, the signal strength of which was good to fair. Not super strong, but no issues with it overall.

Free breakfast! Not only that, but a really nice selection of items as well; waffles, Danishes, muffins, croissants, bagels, fresh fruit, eggs, sausage, cereal, several different types of juices and coffee. I’m sure there was more; I’m just drawing a blank.

Very friendly staff. In fact, they have Digital Key access for check in and check out, so you may not even have to deal with staff at all.

Fitness center in the hotel was clean and actually had nice equipment. Nothing was run down or outdated.

Very nice, relaxing outdoor patio area next to the indoor pool, (you have to go through the pool area to access it). Complete with couches, tables, chairs, and table umbrellas.

Beautiful lobby! Very eye-catching, tastefully decorated, and artistic without being pretentious. Quite relaxing actually.

Several plugs and USB outlets in the room.

Although I’ve read other complaints about street noise, we didn’t experience any excessive noise during either stay. We were on the 5th floor during both stays, so request a higher floor if you want to avoid the noise.

Cons: No free parking. Actually no onsite parking at all. And at $65/day, valet parking gets pretty expensive quick. However, self-parking at any of the surrounding garages will run you almost that much a day anyway. Plus literally all of the nearby parking garages have tons of negative reviews. So the valet parking is the easiest option, and they include it on your bill so you don’t have to pay or fight with a separate company. Expensive, but worth it.

Only 3 elevators. During peak hours, expect to be waiting several minutes for an elevator.

While the indoor pool is a nice touch, it’s smaller than it looks in the pictures and is generally overcrowded. My youngest loves to swim, but every time we’ve been to the pool on both trips, we were fighting for even a square foot of space in the pool. And the water doesn’t seem to be heated, as it is always freezing regardless of the time of day.

While the breakfast area is quite spacious and has a lot of seating, they put all of the food in a small, confined space. So when it is peak breakfast time (7:30 - 8:30 a.m.), you are all packed in and standing in long lines to get anything, bumping into people frequently. Only 3 waffle makers, which take 2-3 minutes per waffle to cook, so expect to be standing in line 15-20 minutes if you want to make a waffle during peak breakfast time.

No in-room microwave, (at least not in the 2 queen beds rooms). If you need to heat anything up, you have to go down to either the breakfast area or the hotel lobby.

Overall though, this is a great place to stay if you’re looking at doing the Magnificent Mile or don’t mind walking a short distance to many of the other great downtown Chicago...

5 stars ONLY because of Yolo, she deserves the recognition

If I were rating the hotel itself, I would give it 3 to 4 stars for cleanliness and location. If I were rating management and Hilton corporate, it would be a 1 star experience. I am leaving 5 stars strictly so that Yolo, a front desk representative, receives the recognition she deserves for saving this stay.

Reservation Disaster (Hilton Corporate’s Error) I booked a two queen suite months in advance using points plus a cash balance. Six weeks before arrival, I called Hilton to add 20,000 additional points. The representative said he had to rebook the reservation to apply all the points and returned with a significantly lower balance, from about 1,200 dollars to about 600 dollars. What he did not mention was that he had rebooked me into a standard two queen room instead of the suite I intentionally selected for a multi-day stay with three people.

Check-In Chaos and Management Failure When I arrived around 2:30 PM, I learned I had been placed in a standard room. I was told someone would meet me upstairs with new key cards and a luggage cart. No one ever arrived. One of my bags split open in the hallway and I had no access back into the room because the key was deactivated. After waiting, I was told by the manager, Javier, that he would assist immediately. There was another delay. Once we spoke in the lobby, he informed me there was nothing he could do and that I would need to call Hilton corporate myself. I suggested simply comping a connecting room to provide similar space to what I had originally booked. He refused, said he needed to keep rooms available to sell, and then disappeared entirely without further follow-up.

Hilton Corporate: Three Calls, One Liar, Resolution Only After Pressure It took three separate calls before anyone at corporate reviewed the recorded call from six weeks earlier, which confirmed I had only requested to add points, not change room types. The third supervisor, Michael, was dismissive, attempted to blame me, and repeatedly claimed there was nothing he could do. Only after I mentioned that I have a relative who is a DO within Hilton did he suddenly manage to comp the connecting room, a solution he had previously insisted was impossible.

Then There Was Yolo, a True Professional Who Saved the Experience Yolo was the first person who treated us with genuine empathy. She listened, acknowledged the frustration, confirmed room availability honestly, and provided reassurance throughout the situation. She remained kind, calm, professional, and solutions-focused despite not being responsible for the issue. Her demeanor and service are what hospitality should be. She demonstrated more leadership and guest care than management or corporate support.

Final Outcome We ultimately stayed in the standard room with an adjoining room that was finally comped. It was not the suite I had originally booked, but thanks to Yolo’s professionalism and compassion, we were able to reset and enjoy our trip.

Hotel Snapshot – Pros and Cons

Clean despite being dated (carpets did not dirty socks)

Excellent downtown location

Ideal for guests who enjoy vibrant city surroundings

Very loud at night due to nearby fire station, attached bar, and street noise

Dated interiors and thin walls

Management seemed disengaged and not focused on guest resolution

Final Thoughts This is a five star review for Yolo alone. The hotel itself earns around 3 to 4 stars. Hilton management and corporate support was a 1 star experience filled with avoidable frustration. Yolo is the full five stars. She is the reason I did not cancel and leave. She is the reason this review is one of recognition rather than warning.

Hilton leadership should take note. You are fortunate to have her. Promote her before...