Holiday Inn Express Chicago - Magnificent Mile by IHG — Hotel in Chicago

Booked this hotel for 4 nights in July 2025. It didn’t go well from the start. I don’t typically burn businesses in these reviews but consider this a public service.

Where to start: Upon arriving at the hotel, they sent me to a room that was literally a walk-in closet. The queen bed took up 90% of the room and the desk with a lamp took up 5%. There was nowhere to put your clothes because there was no dresser. The closet was on the other side of the room which was blocked by the bed. To get to the bed, you needed to scooch around the perimeter of the bed to put your clothes away in the closet. The space between the bed and the wall was less than a foot. If you were not a 5’4, 155 pound person, you’d be in serious trouble and would have just left your clothes in the suitcase, which would take up the last 5% of the room.

I would have tolerated this but that’s when I felt this loud vibrating noise in the room. It was the AC unit. It sounded like a gas lawn mower. After I had unpacked and hung my work clothes I had to go to the front desk and request a new room, which they were able to accommodate. This is why I gave service 3 stars instead of 1 as the front desk likely gets abused by many guests due to the conditions at the hotel, and they put on a brave face.

Did I mention, the keys didn’t work when I first got to the room and had to go back to the front desk to get it activated? Sorry about that.

When I moved rooms, the new room was legit 30% larger than the one I was originally given, making me wonder what made them think to give me that room in the first place if this larger room was available?

Once again the key was an issue in the new room, as it didn’t work again and had to go back to the desk to get it reactivated. This happened again when I came back from breakfast the next morning. Ever since then, every time I came back to the hotel, I had to ask the front desk to activate the key before I went up to the room. Unfortunately the AC unit in this room was just as loud, but I just bit the bullet as I had a larger room.

Then came the last night. It was 95 degrees and muggy that day. I came back to the room after work and took a quick shower and then went to dinner. When I got back to the room after dinner, I noticed that I was sweating while packing my clothes away. The room was 80 degrees and the AC unit had stopped working altogether. I went down to the front desk and complained, and the person said that she didn’t have anyone there to fix the AC, and there were no other rooms at the hotel.

They offered to comp one night of the stay. For that, and for the sake of the rest of the staff at the hotel, I’m leaving a 3 star rating for the staff, since the ladies working during breakfast were great and pleasant, and kept the dining area clean. I asked the front desk for a fan, and she came back with one, only the fan was caked with gosh knows what all around the air intake of the fan. I asked if they could clean it and she said she didn’t have anyone who could do it. If I was in her shoes I would have tried my best to try to clean it myself for the guest.

Were there any Pro’s to the stay? The water pressure in the shower was excellent I guess. And the Tv and iron worked. You were close to some nice restaurants and shopping.

The AC unit didn’t turn back on all night.

Needless to say, I will not be rebooking at this hotel ever again. They couldn’t compensate me enough. Hope you do better in the future because I feel bad for your front desk staff who has to take abuse day in and day out for the sorry state...

Booked this hotel for 4 nights in July 2025. It didn’t go well from the start. I don’t typically burn businesses in these reviews but consider this a public service.|Where to start: Upon arriving at the hotel, they sent me to a room that was literally a walk-in closet. The queen bed took up 90% of the room and the desk with a lamp took up 5%. There was nowhere to put your clothes because there was no dresser. The closet was on the other side of the room which was blocked by the bed. To get to the bed, you needed to scooch around the perimeter of the bed to put your clothes away in the closet. The space between the bed and the wall was less than a foot. If you were not a 5’4, 155 pound person, you’d be in serious trouble and would have just left your clothes in the suitcase, which would take up the last 5% of the room.|I would have tolerated this but that’s when I felt this loud vibrating noise in the room. It was the AC unit. It sounded like a gas lawn mower. After I had unpacked and hung my work clothes I had to go to the front desk and request a new room, which they were able to accommodate. This is why I gave service 3 stars instead of 1 as the front desk likely gets abused by many guests due to the conditions at the hotel, and they put on a brave face.|Did I mention, the keys didn’t work when I first got to the room and had to go back to the front desk to get it activated? Sorry about that.|When I moved rooms, the new room was legit 30% larger than the one I was originally given, making me wonder what made them think to give me that room in the first place if this larger room was available?|Once again the key was an issue in the new room, as it didn’t work again and had to go back to the desk to get it reactivated. This happened again when I came back from breakfast the next morning. Ever since then, every time I came back to the hotel, I had to ask the front desk to activate the key before I went up to the room. Unfortunately the AC unit in this room was just as loud, but I just bit the bullet as I had a larger room.|Then came the last night. It was 95 degrees and muggy that day. I came back to the room after work and took a quick shower and then went to dinner. When I got back to the room after dinner, I noticed that I was sweating while packing my clothes away. The room was 80 degrees and the AC unit had stopped working altogether. I went down to the front desk and complained, and the person said that she didn’t have anyone there to fix the AC, and there were no other rooms at the hotel.|They offered to comp one night of the stay. For that, and for the sake of the rest of the staff at the hotel, I’m leaving a 3 star rating for the staff, since the ladies working during breakfast were great and pleasant, and kept the dining area clean. I asked the front desk for a fan, and she came back with one, only the fan was caked with gosh knows what all around the air intake of the fan. I asked if they could clean it and she said she didn’t have anyone who could do it. If I was in her shoes I would have tried my best to try to clean it myself for the guest.|Were there any Pro’s to the stay? The water pressure in the shower was excellent I guess. And the Tv and iron worked. You were close to some nice restaurants and shopping.|The AC unit didn’t turn back on all night.|Needless to say, I will not be rebooking at this hotel ever again. They couldn’t compensate me enough. Hope you do better in the future because I feel bad for your front desk staff who has to take abuse day in and day out for the sorry state...

This is my second time staying at this hotel, and things were off with this recent visit from what I previously experienced.

Cons: I booked a disability assist tub room room with a fridge, there was no fridge in the room. The tub shows a picture with a seat for the tub, but there was no seat. In the tub, the gasket to stop water drainage must be deteriorated because the tub drained quickly as I tried to soak. The water only got to a slightly hotter than warm temperature. The closet is impractical because there's a dresser in the closet, so you better have midriffs to hang because if you don't, they're sitting on the dresser. A doorman opened the door and assisted with my luggage only once and any other time I walked by, they just stood there. Half the bed was a crater; it was so soft, the other half was super firm. It was hard to find a neutral spot. When I exited the elevator for my floor, it felt like a blazing desert, luckily, my door was close to the elevator, so I didn't deal with it too long. Walls to the hallway are thin, so you're going to hear EVERYTHING at 2am when people are talking to each other and slamming doors.

Pros: I didn't ask for housekeeping because there were more than enough towels and pillows for just me. Room had a cute coffee/tea section. I asked for a disability assist tub because I have a hard time getting out of the tub, so the multiple rails were fantastic. The only workers I saw with hustle were the breakfast staff. They were consistently emptying trash cans, wiping down tables, taking dirty plates, restocking food. Breakfast has a few options that I think would satisfy a majority of the people's taste. All my bottles (hand soap, lotion, shampoo and conditioner - DOVE brand by the way) were full, but the body wash was completely empty. Pillows are clearly labeled as firm and soft. You are in the heart of downtown. The Red line is in walking distance and about 15/20 min (depending how quickly you walk) is the Blue line. The Magnificent Mile is not far and there is a bus stop close by if you want to check out Navy Pier.

I didn't bother fighting any of the cons because I was so tired upon check in. A fridge is luxury, so any leftovers, I just put on ice and ate later. It's not a horrible hotel; compared to other places I've staying at in Chicago though, I think I would take the time to check out other places before...