The Talbott, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Chicago

My wife and I have been coming to the Talbott on and off for the past 10 years. When we first started going the Talbott was rated #1 on TripAdvisor and was considered one of the nicest hotels in Chicago.

Things have changed.

We just completed a visit there. We were there for 5 days. I'll start with the good first...then move on.

First the positives: Location is excellent. Very close to metro line, restaurants, and shopping. The room, for the most part was nice and large. Comfortable bed and roomy.

Now the negatives: My wife made a reservation which included a breakfast plan for 2. It was in the email we got from the hotel. When we arrived they had only a breakfast for one. As I said it was clear in the email that she reserved breakfast for 2 people, not one. We were challenged on that until we showed the desk the email. There was a 44 dollar limit on breakfast. The first day I went down alone for breakfast because my wife was on a business call in her room. She is on a restrictive diet where she has to avoid salt, butter, oil, and greasy foods. When I asked the waiter about substituting fruit for meat he said there would be a 4 dollar uncharge!! As it turned out (And we found out on subsequent days) all he had to do was order fruit and eggs separate and there would be no upcharge. In addition we were charged for beverages. Just about any hotel with a breakfast plan will allow at least ONE beverage. They gave us coupons for beverages...more on that below. Food quality was ok except the toast was ice cold and usually overdone.

The room: While the room was clean the shower hose did not work. We called to get it fixed and they sent someone up. The person changed some parts and told us it was fixed. NOPE! He never bothered to test it. We complained. They sent someone up the next day. Still not fixed. What they finally told us was that they would have to completely dismantle the shower hose to fix it and we would be unable to use the shower. They gave us the option to switch rooms but we were there to enjoy Chicago, not switch rooms which would take a lot of time. The USB port on the lamp where my wife slept didn't work.

Room service: Only thing we asked for was ice. At one point I asked the manager when she was at the front desk for ice. I NEVER got it. Eight hours later I called again and finally got ice. At other times it took a very long time to get ice and I had to call a few times.

On our second day we asked the manager about their "destination charge". It was 17 dollars a day. They gave us drink and dinner coupons which supposedly made up for this. What this meant was that if we were going to take advantage of this we would have to eat at their restaurant EVERY NIGHT for dinner! The problem was the restaurant was being renovated and the menu was extremely limited. The manager told us that she would remove the 17 dollar charge.

We used the drink coupons for coffee since they didn't bother including coffee as part of breakfast.

On the last day we decided to look at our bill. It was sloppily put together and WRONG!. First they never credited us the 44 dollars per day for breakfast. They also never credited us the 17 dollars the female manager promised us. The male manager at the desk explained that if we used the drink coupons then the 17 dollar destination charge could not be removed. NO ONE bothered to tell us this. So, in effect, we paid 17 dollars for 2 cups of coffee each day. The male manager's attitude was terrible. He didn't seem to care that I would be writing a review. The hotel did credit us 100 dollars for the other issues they had but we felt they should not have charged us the 17 dollars a day.

There are LOTS of hotels in Chicago. We visit relatively often. (Once or twice a year) It's sad that the Talbott used to be rated so highly and now it's a shell of its former self. I would strongly recommend that while considering hotels in Chicago that one...

My husband and I spent a weekend in Chicago to attend a Cubs game. As Bonvoy members, we always try to stay at a Marriott / Bonvoy location. Here are the pros and cons:||Pros:|⚾️ Location. Super nice neighborhood and the train is a couple blocks away. We took the redline to Addison for the game and had a blast. Plenty of places to eat nearby and Michigan Ave a block away. ||⚾️ The hotel staff was very kind. Upon check in, my gold elite status was recognized and they honored or asked if we wanted every perk of being a Bonvoy Gold Elite member. Even valet was kind. We appreciated this. ||⚾️ We received two free drinks when we arrived, vouchers for the bar.||⚾️ filtered water dispensers in the hallways||⚾️ the room was gigantic. The bathroom was gigantic. Three large windows, king bed, tv, dresser, good sized closet…..we were in room 1403.||⚾️ exhaust fan in the bathroom. I am always a fan of this. Keeps mirror from getting steamy and the bathroom from being so humid. ||⚾️ the rooms are nice with nice decor. and I am sure that things walk off in people’s suitcases quite often. I thought this was funny, and brilliant. There is a list in the room of how much each thing costs. It says “if you like the items in the room, you can take them with you! And it lists the cost that will be charged to the room. A nice way of saying “take it, fine, you can pay for it!” The radios are really cool. ||⚾️ downstairs off the lobby there are men and women restrooms. But what I find to be a pro is that there was a family bathroom too. As the mother of a 24 year old male living with Angelman Syndrome, I appreciate this more than anyone will ever know unless they walk in similar shoes. Thank you for making this a part of the Talbott. ||⚾️ I love Grown Alchemist products. That’s what they have for toiletries. ||Areas for growth of cons:|🚑 This is downtown Chicago. We have stayed in Chicago more times that I can count…. You’re going to hear sirens. That’s a given. The Talbott, at no fault of its own is right next to one of Chicago’s busiest fire stations. It’s actually one of the most famous fire stations…. But it’s nonstop. Be prepared for this. ||🚿 There is a stand up shower and a lovely bathtub. The stand up shower is itty bitty. I am 5’10 and my husband 6ft 3”. The shower itself was high enough but it was a tight fit. Saturday, I was washing my hair and slammed my elbow down on to the valve where you adjust which shower head you want. It hurt….. bad…. For about 24 hours. At one point I thought I may need to go have it checked out, It’s much better…..Now it’s bruised and swollen. My own fault. But tight fit. I say this but want those reading review to also know that the bathtub has a shower head…. The same one as the stand up shower and it has a lot more space if someone would prefer more space to shower. ||🚿 The body wash was empty day we left. ||🚿 There were only two towels. We had to call down for more. There are nice bathrobes. ||🚿 Valet is $87 a night. That’s about on par with the rest of the hotels in the area…but that stinks. ||📺 The TV was nice, but it kept shutting off and turning back on with Apple TV. Neither of us have Apple TV on our phones or tablet. This was really frustrating for my husband who was watching a much awaited football game. ||All in all, we had an average stay and enjoyed...

I am a world of Hyatt discoverist and am a supporter of the Hyatt brand. However, this stay was definitely not up to par with hyatt’s usual level of customer service. Decided to stay here to try the Joie de Vivre collection of Hyatt. My two stars are for the hotel location and cleanliness of the rooms.

Now let’s get to the cons. I stayed for a total of 4 nights. My husband had some business to attend to so I worked from my room in the hotel. I was constantly disturbed up to 3 times each morning with the doorbell ringing, even with the do not disturb turned on. One ring was for housekeeping asking if we wanted the room cleaned which is totally fine and acceptable. Another ring was for delivery of our daily two bottles of Talbott water. First of all, why is water a “perk”? I consider it a commodity unless you want guests dehydrating...anyway the water bottle delivery could have been handled by leaving it in a bag at the door, allowing guests to pick it up at the front or just leaving it outside instead of ringing the doorbell in the middle of a workday for those of us who stayed in the room. The third ring of the day was the most bizarre. Someone comes to check if you used the minibar everyday. Why can’t the hotel keep an inventory of what’s in the fridge and then just figure it out at the end of the stay? Moreover if a guest wants the bar restocked, I’m sure front desk can be called and a request made as opposed to having a person walk in to check it every day of the stay! I guess it’s fine if you’re not in the room but it’s a bit of a nuisance for those that are staying in. Con 2: the gym is very small...for such a large hotel with so many guests....and the AC pipe leaks water on your head right behind the treadmill. Now for my biggest peeve of the stay and biggest con: handling of a certain situation. During my stay, a group came for a bachelorette party and decided to commandeer the floor and became our surrounding room neighbors. Lots of loud shrieking, yelling, screaming with their hotel room doors open and in hallways. When I asked nicely if they could please keep it down or close their doors, I was met with rude replies. I then called the front desk and explained. They were apologetic and offered me a new room for the night. This is all very much appreciated however the new room I was given was downgraded to a much lower floor, much smaller room, no bathtub, couch etc which I had in my other room. Now, this greatly disappointed me as I am a paying guest and loyal Hyatt member and expected a much better experience in how the situation should have been handled. As it is, I was “punished” and made to move when I wasn’t the one being ridiculously loud and disturbing to other guests, at the very least, an equal room caliber (size, bathtub, couch, etc) would have been nice. All I got was an apology for a day of loud noises which lead to a pounding headache...glad to be heading home tomorrow. With the amount of Hyatt properties available and Marriot properties as well (I also became a high tier member with marriot recently to increase my choices), I personally don’t think I’ll be back at the Talbott.

Did i mention, no coffee in room, and complementary coffee starts at 6.30 am? Here for early business anyone? Starbucks across from the...