Hampton Inn & Suites Chicago/Mt. Prospect — Hotel in Wheeling Township

Sometimes the actions of one person can tip the scales between an Overall Good Experience, and a Bad One. In this case, the actions of the Property Manager (I believe her name is Nicoleta) made my stay quite enjoyable instead of frustrating. I chose this property for a 2-nite stay because I was attending a concert nearby in Des Plaines, and I thought I was getting a great rate on-line, even more so as a Hilton Honors Member and when I paid in advance. However, when I checked in, I discovered that the rate wasn’t as great as I had thought, because there is an $8.50 per nite Parking Fee for the Basement Garage. In a Downtown City Location, I would think to check for Parking availability and options. But this is a Suburban Hotel and (as it turns out) in the middle of an Outdoor Shopping Mall surrounded by thousands of empty parking spaces at nite. I never gave it a 2nd thought, having never in my life paid for Hotel/Motel Parking in a suburban or rural location. Though I tried to find an alternative, there were no realistic options other than the garage. One block away is a multi-deck Parking Garage and adjacent Outside Lot for the Randhurst Mall, mostly for the AMC Theater. However, the signs say “No Overnight Parking” there, and on the Mall Avenue Parking Spaces around the hotel. There are no Towing Signs, but one likely would incur a more expensive Parking Ticket if you risk it, because Mount Prospect prohibits Overnight Parking from 2am-6am. Though the Mall is technically open 24/7, I imagine that Mall Security (and I did see an SUV Cruiser around 3am) would alert the Local Police to all vehicles parked during these hours. Some of the other nearby outdoor lots (like the Jewel/Osco) have the Towing Signs, so it’s not worth the risk.

I think what upset me most is that this Parking Fee is basically “hidden” on the Website. On Trip Advisor, it is only listed that Parking is an Amenity, nothing about the Fee. Going in to the Hotel’s Website off the Internet, one has to scroll all the way to the bottom of a long page AND click on the Parking Icon to see that Self-Parking is an $8.50 Fee per day. Similarly, on the Hilton App, Parking is listed as an Amenity, and one has to click on the Parking line to get a Drop Down Menu to see that there is an $8.50 per night fee. Who would think to do that at a Suburban Hotel? I feel like I was a victim of a “Bait and Switch,” with a great price being dangled, only to find out it wasn’t as great as I thought. I hate the feeling of being manipulated. Fortunately, when I was ready to check out, the Property Manager (Nicoleta, I believe) was at the Front Desk. She was very pleasant and asked me about my stay. I told her there was Bad and Good, and went over how I felt about the parking situation. Without much hesitation, she agreed to waive the Parking Fee for my two nites there. I can not express how good I immediately felt about my stay…, I mean this changed Overall Bad to Overall Good. Just the fact that she took the time to listen, was very pleasant, and responded as quick as she did, made me feel like a very important Hilton Honors guest. Based on this interaction, I would definitely recommend this property if you are staying in the area…, with the disclaimer of course to be aware of the Parking Fee. I would definitely consider staying here again, and would not ask for the Parking Fee to be waived again. However, as I mentioned to Nicoleta, as what appears to be an Anchor Property at the new Randhurst Mall, I wish Mall Management and Hilton/Hampton Inn representatives could get together and investigate some further Parking options. As I said, there have to be a thousand empty spaces within a short walking distance of the Hotel. Why can’t guests who would be willing to walk one block and get a little exercise be allowed to utilize the Mall’s Parking Garage or adjacent Outside Lot? It seems like it would be a reasonable option, that would not infringe on the other nearby Mall Businesses. Or maybe just add it to the price of a nite’s...

I regret using this hotel for our wedding block. To start off, the keys to both of my rooms never worked. Luckily they had an option to use the app on your phone to open the rooms, but the keys themselves never actually worked and had to keep being replaced. This was a problem for myself and all my guests. The rooms themselves are spacious which is probably one of the few benefits of this hotel as well as its location. Another instance that was frustrating for me was that I left my allergy face wash in my fiancées room. We decided to spend the night before our wedding separately so I moved into my wedding suite. He gave me a key to the room to get in because when he falls asleep, it’s difficult to wake him up. I went to go use the room key to get my allergy face wash and unfortunately it didn’t work. Shouldn’t have been surprised because this happened our whole stay. After knocking and calling for several minutes, I went down to the front desk to get a new key. They refused to give it to me because my name was not on the reservation. I even showed the front desk person my fiancées passport which was in my bag as well as our marriage license with both names on there. Still would not give me the room key due to policy. If this is truly your policy that those getting married the next day cannot get into the others room despite proof being provided, then at least make sure your keys work. This whole event almost ruined our entire wedding. Since there is no face wash in the hotel store and my car keys were also in the room, I had to use the hotel soap. The morning of my wedding, my face was so puffy and red that my makeup artists had to wait 3 hours to do my makeup in order for my face to heal and I had to have my doctor call me in an emergency prescription. All of this never would have happened had they just made me a new key when I provided them with the actual marriage license to my fiancées room. While my makeup ended up looking great the day of - I am still having issues with my face from the incident. Also the staff at the front desk were utterly incompetent when any issue arose. Were they nice? Sure. But they had no idea how to fix any...

I found this hotel on one of the booking apps. I always read the Google reviews in addition to the reviews on the app. Can really make a difference imo. BTW this hotel has only 2 rooms with balconies and no lock boxes in the rooms (though there is one at the front desk), contrary to what the app claims. I have mostly good things to say about this Hotel: The location for me was great. About 20 miles northwest of Chicago in a nice suburban neighborhood with plenty of restaurants, shopping (grocery, laundry mat, movie theater, etc) and very walkable. Affordable, less congested and safer than Chicago but only an hour’s drive (if you’re lucky lol). The parking is excellent, underground, enclosed and attached to the hotel. The staff were friendly, accessible and accommodating. The room was acceptable and had all the basic amenities. I would bring my own pillows and sheets but that’s the case with most hotels these days. Nothing like your own bed! The breakfast was as expected to anyone who has stayed in a comparable hotel with free breakfast. They are mostly the same. Stop complaining in the reviews or stay at a luxury hotel and pay for your Eggs-Benny. I would recommend 24 hour coffee in the lobby which is common in many hotels. Or at least upgrade the in room coffee machines (think Keurig). I gave 3 stars rather than 4 or 5 because of one major issue - prepare for soapbox speech. There needs to be a Zero Tolerance policy for pot smoking with appropriate signage. “Smoke and you’re out with no refund”. I’m fine with people smoking pot, just don’t make me part of it. It stinks like skunk. Even if it’s for medical purposes, there are edibles. Or smoke in your car or outside. Don’t let smelly pot smoke be the end of your fine hotel/other nice establishment. End of...