Wrigley Hostel - Chicago — Hotel in Lake View Township

Booked a room 2/22/25 through Expedia following a vehicular emergency. Was driving on Lake shore drive and the muffler detached from the bottom of my vehicle and was dragging. Sat for multiple hrs waiting for AAA. 1st mistake was they dispatched a truck somewhere to North Chicago (the city/town) instead of the North side of Chicago. Then was ultimately told that they could not tow my vehicle from that location (on the highway). Was able to manage to safely drive to the next exit (Belmont) and parked.. Walked 20 minutes From where I parked to get to this hostel to be told that I could not stay there.... The reason given was because I'm an Illinois resident. This information was not listed anywhere on the Expedia website. I specifically looked for this because I recall seeing a similar policy at hostels that I have stayed at when traveling. The person at the desk could not say where this information was listed. She then proceeded to tell me that I was sent a "welcome" email which states this information. I pulled up the email and read it to her. She pulled it up on her computer and reread it and saw for herself that this "policy" was not listed there either.... Her response was that she would reach out to management to tell them that it needed to be updated... But that I could not stay the night. I asked for contact information for management so that I could speak to them directly about the circumstances and was told that I could not be given anyone's "personal" information and that if I sent an email to the email on the business card on the desk that it would just go to her.... Again it's Saturday night and 20 degrees outside. She canceled my reservation and then told me it may take up to 21 business days for my money to be refunded because only a manager can do that..... I'm including photos of the info listed on Expedia, the "welcome email", and the check in policy on the wall at the checkin desk none of which mention that residents will not be allowed to check in. I was sent a cancellation email with that information conveniently added... Your public relations could use a LOT of work. The response to my initial review was absolutely unnecessary considering again that that information was NOT listed anywhere on the Expedia site nor was it in the email, which was confirmed by the worker at the desk after reading it. The attached screenshot that mentioned the Chicago zip code was in the cancellation email that was sent as I was standing in the office, NOT the welcome email. My external circumstances have nothing to do with you, however my time was wasted during the most inconvenient time dealing with an establishment that keeps quoting "rules" that were not stated prior to my booking. Being honest costs you nothing, but the lies come with karma. Refund...

I had a trade show in Chicago to attend and most of the hotels were sold out. I rented a full private room which included 4 bunk beds. When I entered the room I noticed that all of the legs of the bed are sitting in a plastic saucer filled with a white powder that is apparently bug poison to prevent bugs from getting into the bed! This was my first warning that something was wrong here. The temp had dropped to 52 outside and the room which is in an old building was getting quite cold. The header consists of an antique radiator heater in each room that is controlled by the staff. There is also a window unit in the side window which is used for cooling. Since the room only has bunk beds and is so small there is no chair to sit in, unless you journey down to the continuity room with the television which was crowded. After laying in the bunk for an hour, I had gotten so cold I couldn't take it anymore and went to the front desk. I spoke to Otez who told me the heater had been shut off since it was so close to summer. He said that I was welcome to close a window if one was open but that the heat was off. He also said the window unit could be used if I got hot (What???) and that was all he could do for me. I went back to the room and laid down for another hour and finally upon my wife's advice made a reservation at a different hotel. When I went to Otez to turn in the key, which happened as two new victims were being checked in, Otez suddenly was willing to find me a space heater. I should not have to freeze and look at roach poison in a room that I am paying $200 dollars a night for. If you look at the good reviews they are from international travelers that dont realize that this hostel is garbage and a nightmare to stay at. What a horrible experience for a first...

Wrigley Hostel is a great hostel with very friendly and helpful staff (ready to answer all your silly questions). Once I couldn't handle with a lock for my luggage and they didn't know how to deal with it either, they just gave me another lock for free (the one they knew how to deal with). That was really nice of the Wrigley staff!

The included breakfast is tasty and nourishing, it doesn't have a wide choice of meals though. Also, the big kitchen is a perfect place to make new friends and have nice conversations with people from all over! The big living room in the basement with a TV and a pool table are also good places to meet people.

The rooms and bathrooms are clean and there are enough of the restrooms for everyone. No queues were noticed! However my last day in the hostel there were some problems with water in the showers...

I stayed in a female room for 4 women and I was very lucky to have friendly and outgoing girls living together with me. The only thing that I didn't like about the rooms are beds that squeak. And those awful noises were not the greatest thing to hear at night...

What I really liked and appreciated about the hostel is that after 11 p.m. people are not allowed to make noise staying in the living room or in the kitchen. So you can go to sleep without worries! It is also should be noticed that the Hostel is situated not far from the city center and it's very easy to get to the Chicago Loop in 20 minutes. I was new to the city but thanks to the good location of the hostel it was easy to get there even on my own. It was my very first time staying alone in the hostel abroad and thanks to the Wrigley Hostel I had a good "hostel experience", so one day I will probably be back to Wrigley. I also will definitely recommend this hostel...