Sentral Michigan Avenue | Chicago Apartments — Hotel in Chicago

I’ve been living at Sentral Michigan Avenue for about eight months, in a one-bedroom apartment. If you’re reading reviews to consider staying at Sentral, keep in mind that they offer both hotel services and long-term leases.

Pros: • Fiber-optic, gigabit internet through AT&T. This one was very important to me, and it’s incredibly difficult to filter apartments in Chicago based on their internet, so I went through quite a few tours only to discover that the only option for internet was a Comcast plan. • The winter garden is a lovely spot to work or relax. It’s clear that thought and effort went into its design. The infinity pool and hot tub are fantastic places to read, chat, or just close your eyes. • I like the floor plan. There’s not a lot of space in my one bedroom, but it feels like each area is just the right size. • The views are great. The only bad views are on the north side on the lowest twenty or so floors, as a hotel blocks those windows. • Dog and cat friendly. Pro for me, perhaps a con if you want a pet-free apartment! • The decor is generally nice, and adjusted seasonally. • The staff have always been helpful whenever I’ve had needs or questions.

Cons: • The bathrooms get humid in the summer. I’ve had to purchase and apply mold killer, as black mold started to grow in the corners of the shower. There’s a fan, but it doesn’t ventilate much, and even after maintenance looked at it, they said it was functioning properly. • They use cheap vinyl flooring. Across my apartment, I’ve noticed it peeling at the edges of some of the panels. This doesn’t bother me much, but I’m going to be upset if I’m asked to pay for it when I move out. • The kitchen cabinets have a confusing design. The top ones are very high up, so that even as someone who’s over six feet tall I have to stand on my tiptoes to reach the top shelves. Also, the edges of the cabinet doors over the oven are melted and warped, as they’re not heat-resistant. • The coworking space is in an adjacent building, so you have to go to the first floor, through a connecting door, and then up a separate elevator. In practice, I see most people work from the winter garden instead. • Management has started closing the hot tub for the winter as of this year, starting December 16th with no stated end date. Fellow residents told me that it was “broken” last winter, but this year management has abandoned that pretense and made the closure routine, despite the hot tub being pitched during my tour as open year round. They cite the cause being that someone could slip, but that excuse doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, given that they could salt the concrete or simply close it on icy days. The thousands of dollars that they save per month is the clear motivator for this change. Out of the cons I’ve listed, this is the only one that has me considering moving when my lease is up.

So, all that said, I’d give Sentral four out of five stars, with the caveat that it feels like those stars may be...

I reserved this room because I was bringing my 14 year old grandson to his first NFL Bears game and his first visit to Chicago. We were very excited after reading reviews from others online. Most people raved about the views of the lake. We arrived and went thru the check in process which was fairly easy. The front desk staff seemed a little flustered and we're not extremely helpful. We parked our car up the street due to the crazy price that was offered on site. I have never heard of $75 a night to park your car. That's quite high. Prior to our trip I had reached out by text to the property wondering about our room number hoping we were getting a high level room for the better veiws. When I text I was informed that my room would not be assigned until the day we arrive. So, now we have arrived and proceed to our room. The apartment is nice upon first walking in. We do not have much of a view. We are not on the lake side and we are on the 9th floor. The room has alot of marks all over the walls from presumably others scraping the walls with objects or something. The sink in the master bathroom drained extremely slow, when you brushed your teeth you had to turn the water off and wait for it to drain in order to finish brushing your teeth. There were several stains in the rug that was in the living room area. I contacted the people thru the text number that was provided and inquired about getting a different room with a better view and higher location and I'm told that the rooms are full. I checked in two hours early (which I was charged extra for) so I don't understand that at the point I asked for a different room I am told that none are available even though it was just prior to 4pm (check-in time). So people are just now checking in and being assigned rooms. I was also told that I would have had to "request" higher floors or "better" views when I made the reservation. How would I know this when reserving my room? This is not noted anywhere. After multiple attempts trying to get answers I just gave up. The location is great but other than that the customer service is not good at all and the rooms do not appear to be taken care of. For the price, I would not recommend this business. The parking is outrageous and the rooms are not taken care of and the customer service is...

Tldr: Don't live here. They don't do anything about trucks trapping your car in the alleyway, and they don't really care about your problems unless you're a hotel guest.

Pros: Amazing location (literally right across Grant Park. Very short walking distance to Printer's Row, Art museum, millennium park), about a mile from the Magnificent Mile. Great amenities (gym, dog walking track, winter garden, rec room, shared kitchen, bbq spot, multiple spots on the 7th floor where you can just hang out and get an amazing view of the Lake michigan).

Cons: As an apartment dweller and not a renter, you quickly find out that the focus of business here are the hotel guests and not you. You're not really their customers, but a means for this property to not be classified as a hotel. Too many times, the response from the staff is, quite literally, "🤷‍♂️". But they'll go the extra mile for the guests to the hotel.

There are 4 elevators. One will almost always be reserved for someone moving in & out, and at least one will almost always be out of service. So that's 2 elevators for the 50+ floors of residents. In addition, the hotel staff constantly use the same elevators. On average, the wait time for elevators is about 5-7 min.

The garage here is clearly designed to be a valet service garage (the spaces are extremely limited, and the pathways are wide enough for 1 car). I have to be careful with my tiny Hyundai. I have no idea how those other people with wide SUVs and trucks are doing it.

Worse problem with the garage is that it opens to an alleyway, and this alleyway is constantly blocked on both sides by trucks. About 2-3 times a month, I run into this problem. You try talking to the truck drivers, they tell you to get lost. You complain to the front desk and management? They basically tell you "too bad, so sad. Deal with it." The complete and utter apathy the staff expresses on this issue of you not being able to get out of where you live with your car is why, honestly, I'm not renewing my lease here. Sometimes, it takes 30 min to an hour for one of these truck drivers to move. I've missed multiple important work and personal appointments throughout the year because of this, and I'm currently talking to an attorney because there's just no way this...