The Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center — Hotel in Chicago

This hotel really needs to be purchased by a major chain as it is in need a major,. major renovation plus it needs new management. We live locally in the Chicago area and this was our 3rd stay here. Our other 2 stays here a number of years ago were satisfactory and the location is great. |This time we were spending one night here as we were doing a 20 mile training run the next morning along the lakefront with our training group in preparation to run the Chicago Marathon in 3 weeks. Every year our running club reserves one of the banquet rooms at the hotel for the runners to use as a staging area before and after the Chicago Marathon. This year it was going to be the Shelby Room on the 3rd floor. Once my husband and I got checked into our room prior to dinner we decided to stop down on the 3rd floor to see where the Shelby Room was located so we would not need to search for the location in 3 weeks on race morning. We made it to the 3rd floor and located the room. We did not enter room (it was locked). We then proceeded to walk to the opposite end of the floor to locate the stairs to exit. As we were walking down the stairs a security guard appeared and began shouting at us. He said he wanted to show us a sign that said the 3rd floor was closed. We did not see a sign when we entered the floor. I can think of countless times I've stayed at a hotel looking for a pool or fitness center and have freely walked through a hotel's open spaces where meeting or banquet rooms are. The security guard then berated us for not following the rules. He said we were making his job more difficult and that he could have us arrested for trespassing. We told him the reason we were there (just to locate the room our club would be using in 3 weeks) and that we were guests staying at the hotel. He continued to yell at us and insisted on showing us where the sign was that said the floor was closed. He went on to say there was a right way of doing things and we did things the wrong way. He also said we were making is job more difficult. We really felt like he was treating us like criminals and was making way more out of the situation than was necessary. After we politely apologized and tried to defuse the situation he continued to follow us down the stairs to the lobby. He was still yelling at us once we made it to the lobby. When then ended up speaking with the manager on duty named Nicole. She was apologetic for him coming on "too strong". I suggested to her that if they wanted to close off a section of the hotel why not put up stanchions and rope so it is clear an area is clearly meant to be closed off instead of hoping people happen to notice a sign. Also when you enter the elevator you do not need your room key to access the floors. So there is all this focus about people not going on a floor with meeting rooms yet anyone can just walk in off the street and access all of the guest floors at any point in time! |Upon check-in we let the front desk person know that we would need to check out at 5am and check our bags since we were doing the early morning run even the next morning. She said to go to the bell desk in the morning and they could check our bags. The next morning there was no one at the bell desk. The front desk person then said to go down the hall to the security office. When we got there the security office the guy tried to unsucessfully page a bellman for several minutes. He then in frustration took our bags himself and gave us claim checks. What a waste of time when we were also in a hurry. | We had a lakefront suite. The only complaints about our room were was there was no way to control the temperature of the room, only a dial to control fan speed or fan on and off. Also our room was right next to the elevator and in the bathroom you could hear the elevator running. The hotel overall is very run down with some holes in the walls and old carpeting that is worn and ripped in spots. |Definitely do not stay at this hotel unless they get bought out, get new management and an...

If I could give negative stars, I would give it -20. The only thing people who was a positive experience during my trip was Security (Jay, Roger, Steve (don’t remember his name, but he is always out in the morning giving the best directions) the Valet (Otis) and the ONE front desk Jasmin. When I arrived at the hotel at 3:30 to check in, when I was next in line, there was two females (Angie and Maria) I got Angie. She asked for my id and I asked if there was a shuttle to McCormick place, her response in an agitated voice was “no”, I said is there a shuttle to the airport, her response in the same voice was “no”. She proceeded to say, you have a deposit of $175. I said my room is paid for in full, she said, “we don’t collect the deposit until you arrive. She stated I would need a card, so I said, “I would need an authorization form to be sent”, in which she said to write down the email address it should go to, I did. Angie went to the back, while in the back, a young girl came in, at this time I was on the phone with my assistant. I asked the young girl if there was a manager on duty, she said that Adema would be in at 6. All of the front desk people went to the back, the young girl came back and asked if she could help me, I said no, the woman went to send the form. She told me, “you can go wait in the lobby until it’s received, in which I replied, “I am not moving until she comes back. Angie came back, 20 minutes later, stated that the email was wrong and asked me was it an “a”, was this an “o” and I told her what the email address was but she stood there so I rewrote the email address and then spelled it for her. She replied, “you don’t have to be sassy”, I said you were the one who has been rude. Still on the phone with my assistant. I was telling my assistant to call the booking company, Maria said “just leave”, I responded and told her my room is fully paid for, in which she responded, “yea, your job paid for it”. Now during this whole time, I was the ONLY black person who checked in, there was a bunch of white people standing in front of Maria and she told them, “she can leave”. About 10 more minutes passed, Maria came back to the front and said, “they received the form and entered it in the back”, she repeated it 3 times while asking me did I understand her. I just looked at her, she turned around and yelled to the back, “I told her, but she is just standing looking at me, so I don’t know”. The young girl came back and was finishing putting in the information. A lady named Wanda came up and asked for me, I said yes, she said I am on the phone with your assistant. She asked me what was going on, I said “a lot” are you a manager? She said she was in reservations. As I am explaining everything, Maria stated that was a lie, to which I responded, you did in fact state my job paid for my room. Then Maria responded, “I don’t give a F**K” in front of the guest! She was rambling she wasn’t going to let anyone talk to her any kind of way, “she has been there 11 years, she knows wassup”. Wanda had to tell her to be quiet. This was unacceptable behavior and terrible customer service. After sending in my complaint, Adema contacted me and stated that the General Manager was handling the issue and I was upgraded to an ocean view room and that’s all they were going to do about the situation. I guess they figured my looking at Lake Michigan through the trees was going to fix or soothe the frustration, embarrassment that Maria caused.

I do not recommend staying at this hotel but would recommend stopping to chat with security and the valet as they were the only ones who had sense and treated the guest with respect and dignity. If you have already booked your room, please see Jazmin at the front desk, she was the ONLY one who had customer service as she is the only woman of color at that location. Also, if you are a person of color, do NOT stay there, we are only allowed to be security and valet to them but not have money to afford the luxury of staying...

I booked a Queen Room, Interior View for one night at the Congress Plaza Hotel — but what I got was far beyond what I expected: a spacious room with a King-size bed and a stunning view of Grant Park and the skyline. As a solo traveler, I don’t really care about bed size, but it was still a delightful surprise. The high ceilings and huge windows (that actually opened — rare in the U.S.) gave the room a classic, airy feel. Despite facing Michigan Avenue, it was perfectly quiet.||At about $138 a night, it honestly felt like a steal. The hotel itself is a late-19th-century time capsule: walk into the lobby or the ballrooms and it feels like you’ve stepped into a Kubrick movie (The Shining immediately came to mind, elevators included). Yet the place isn’t just frozen in time — there was even an in-room tablet for hotel info and room service, a quirky modern touch. And while the hotel has a reputation for being haunted, the only spirits I encountered were those of a great night’s sleep on a very comfortable bed.||The location is unbeatable. Step outside and you’re in the heart of Chicago: Grant Park and Millennium Park right across the street, Buckingham Fountain just a short walk away (a must for Married with Children fans), and the Art Institute of Chicago practically around the corner — one of the most impressive museums in the world. From there you can stroll to the river and the Magnificent Mile, or, if you’d rather rest your legs, hop on one of the many buses that stop right under the hotel (some even start and end at “Hotel Congress Plaza” itself).||Getting here from O’Hare was also a breeze. I took the Blue Line to Jackson Station, and from there it’s only a short, straightforward walk along well-lit, wide avenues — no need for a taxi or rideshare, even at night. With a Ventra pass, the whole trip was simple and cheap. One of the best things about Ventra is that your pass runs for the full time you purchase (24, 48, 72 hours, etc.) from the moment you first validate it — not until midnight like in many other cities. That meant my 24-hour pass covered both my airport transfer and all my rides around the city, including my trip back the next morning. Even going out to the United Center for a concert was effortless. Chicago’s public transit genuinely reminded me more of a modern European city than of a typical American metropolis — efficient, accessible, and perfectly connected to this hotel.||If Lollapalooza had been happening, I probably could have heard Billie Eilish or Chappell Roan from my room. Maybe not for everyone, but it just shows how central this hotel really is.||The rooms are obviously very old and would certainly benefit from renovation. There’s even a door chain that looks like it belongs to the 1890s — I personally haven’t seen one like it in over forty years. The paint chips on the carpet also show the building’s age. But here’s the thing: the moment these rooms are fully renovated, the price will probably double or triple. Personally, I’d much rather sleep in an old (but not rotten) room like this, at this price, in this location.||I came here looking for a room for one night, but I left wishing I’d stayed longer — both at the hotel and in Chicago.||Bottom line: The Congress Plaza isn’t glossy modern luxury — it’s history, character, space, comfort, and a location that puts Chicago right at your doorstep. For me, it was five stars...