Travelodge by Wyndham Downtown Chicago — Hotel in Chicago

Synopsis: The hotel staff was very friendly, courteous, and knowledgeable. The location is excellent and close to Millennium park. The hotel is a 17 min brisk walk to the Skydeck, 30 min walk to the Shedd Aquarium and Fields Museum, and the Planetarium is 5min further east than the aquarium. The location has a downside though, many special events require that cars be moved off the street.

Sound Issues: Neighbors fighting and stomping could be clearly heard next door. Party going on too. I could hear it muffled. It's an old hotel, the sound carries. It's not a bug, it's a feature. It just wasn't I feature I was asking for though. Still this a normal hotel problem that could happen anywhere.

Entertainment Issues: The TV is broadcast, not anything special. They seem to expect you to bring your own devices that will stream your own selected content. That said, the wifi is decent.

Temperature Issues: It was March, with the winter lake effect, my room was very drafty. Even with the heat on maximum, and piling all the extra pillows in front of the AC to block as much of the draft as I could, it still felt like the window was open all night, both nights. I couldn't see Lake Michigan, but boy was I feeling the effects... I figure that means that the summer heat will blow in too when you don't want it, so get a room, in winter, opposite the direction of the prevailing winds, and a north facing room in the summer.

Parking Issues: The description of the hotel included parking. That was not true, there is no parking within the building, there's no hotel parking at all, with a bit of an exception. While there's no parking garage, there are however, three nearby ground level lots. For overnight parking in the nearest lot, the sign says it cost $63 a night. The exception I mentioned, is that there are around 3 spaces right in front of the hotel for street-side parking. There are about 6 more on the other side of the street, so about 9 parking spaces on the street total, not including the loading/unloading spaces, and also not included in the price of the hotel stay. Yes, that's about 9 spaces for the entire hotel. I was able to get one of those spaces when I first arrived, so I downloaded the app. The app loads a minimum of $20 at a time. I figured I'd need $40. Done, or so I thought. Later, signs appeared saying that there is no street parking, they were on both sides of the street. So despite having paid for the street parking, it was useless to me. I had to park on the State Street Lot, and I paid an additional $65 for two nights. Good-bye $105 plus whatever taxes and fees the...

Based on reviews, we came in expecting a "mid" experience in an older hotel. We were so pleasantly surprised! This is a hidden gem in the South Loop!

Upon arrival we were greeted by a doorman and efficient, friendly front desk staff. The lobby was clean and welcoming; we saw several small groups relaxing on the comfy furniture. Lobby has big bright windows with street level views.

We took the elevator up to our 9th floor room. Speedy smooth ride. The hotel is clearly older and they are in the midst of updates. Little things show age. But it felt more like older hotel charm and was not a barrier, especially considering the price value. Plus, visiting Chicago is not about hanging out all day in the hotel!

A couple things to note about the rooms: 1) We booked directly on their site a 2 Queens room, but when we arrived, they said it was double beds instead, and all they had was doubles. They should update the website to accurately reflect what they have. It wasn't an issue as there were only 2 of us, but larger families should note. 2) Room was large for a downtown Chicago hotel. It looked like they remodeled 2 smaller rooms, knocking out the wall between. The new layout had separate bathroom and kitchen nooks - fridge, microwave, sink, counter - which was great. 3) Housekeeping service was excellent - beds made crisply each day, cups replenished by the coffee station, and room trash bins emptied. Overall we were comfortable and it met our needs perfectly.

Location is fantastic. You just don't get better than walking distance to Grant/Milennium Park, major bus routes half a block on either side, a quick walk to the red line, and paid parking within a couple blocks. Plus, being in the middle of the Wabash Arts Corridor meant every walk we took in the neighborhood, we were delighted with gorgeous street murals. Easy walk to a Jewel and Trader Joe's, Dunkin Doughnuts and Stan's Donut's, Lou Malnatti's, a nice range of local restaurants and even Buddy Guy's. We tried the Thai restaurant attached to the hotel. Food was fresh and great, service was excellent.

On the day we checked out, they held our luggage with a tip to the doorman so that we could continue exploring the city until our train departure.

Overall, this is a great value in the city, a place that I would not hesitate to visit again and wholeheartedly recommend. My only hesitation is that word gets out and they are solidly booked before our next trip! (which is not a bad problem for the hotel to have!)

Best wishes and thanks, Travelodge Downtown, for giving us a solid launching pad to...

We stayed here during marathon week, after franticly looking for a place after the place I originally booked though a third party (expidia) canceled my reservation. I wanted something close to the start line & This place was less than a quarter mile, so perfect. There is also a lot to do in the area that is easily in walking distance. For the weekend the location could not have been better. However, we booked though bookings and the photos were likely not from this hotel. We paid $400 a night, which was about a $100 than some of the other places we looked at, but were not as close but I wish we would have stayed elsewhere. The service to check in was slow. The hallways smelled of mildew and there were cracker droppings from day one that were never vacuumed up the entire time I was there (4days). The bed was super uncomfortable and I didn’t get a good nights sleep any night I was there. The pillows were flat and the comforter was itchy. We had trouble with controlling the temp. The radiator turned on and you couldn’t turn it off. Thankfully our AC worked well enough, so we were able to crank that to make the room a bearable temp. The hot water in the shower didn’t always work and the water pressure was awful. The towels were a bit itchy and thin, but no stains. We got a suite so the room was big enough and came with a microwave and fridge. There was also a coffee maker but it coffee. I would not say it’s suite size or had suite amenities for $400 a night. There is not breakfast, but we did know that, but thought there was coffee in the lobby. There wasn’t. The cafe/dinner on the hotel was decent! The staff we ran into were friendly enough, but the cleaning staff definitely misses a lot. Thankfully no bed bugs or cockroaches. We definitely paid for location, and the hotel owner made a pretty penny off of marathoners this weekend. Would I stay here again? Definitely not if I need to spend a lot of time in the hotel (I did spend more time than I usually spend in one because I needed to rest up the day before the race) and definitely not if it’s a night I have to sleep. I also wouldn’t stay here in a weekend where there is an event where hotel prices are inflated, because although this place was cheaper than most, spending an extra $100 a night would have been worth a more comfortable bed, hot shower, temp control, and coffee/breakfast. Would I stay here if I wasn’t planning on being here a lot, on a non inflated weekend with regular pricing? Probably not in my current situation, but if my income situation...