Econo Lodge Willowbrook — Hotel in Willowbrook

Where do I even begin?

To be honest, I originally wanted to grant this establishment a five-star rating--purely because of the entertainment value. As young newlyweds two months past our honeymoon, we tend to take things lightly and view life in a humorous manner. For serious travelers who actually want a good night's rest, quality service, and non-moldy showers, this could be a far more serious travesty than a mere joke.

We pulled in weary at 2am from wandering Chicago, looking for a room with reasonable rates for the night. Econo Lodge was the first thing that popped up on my affordable hotel search. We walked into the lobby hand in hand, tired and ready for sleep--

--and noticed that apparently the desk clerk had been feeling the same thing. There she was, snoring softly behind the counter.

It was all we could do to keep from bursting out in laughter. Deciding not to embarrass the poor clerk, we held our breath, went out in the parking lot, and I called the lobby.

A sleepy voice answered my questions about price and available rooms, slightly slurred and repetitive with information inquiries. It was all I could do to keep from dying. My husband couldn't contain himself next to me.

After two minutes, we went into the lobby again to check in.

She was fast asleep in her chair. Snoring once more, dreaming of clerking casinos in the Caribbean instead of this motley joint.

We turned red in the face, trying desperately not to laugh aloud. I sent my husband away to deal with it myself, and marched loudly to the desk, stomping with all my might.

She awoke, eyes bleary. "What."

"...Hotel room?" I mean, what else would I be there for? The amazing customer service?

Somehow, though she drifted off again WHILE telling me where the ice machine was located, I managed to book us a room. I retrieved my husband, we grabbed our light luggage, and returned to the lobby area to go up the elevator.

You could hear the woman's snores. I am not joking...I would love that job.

Upstairs, the long corridor leading to our room reeked of cigarettes. I had asked for non-smoking, but ah well, one night of nicotine saturation wouldn't give us lung cancer, am I right? We got into our room and it didn't smell as bad as the hall anyway.

I checked the sheets at once for bloodstains. It was just that kind of room. The floor felt sticky. And the bathroom...

Could it even qualify as a bathroom? Tiny. So tiny that I felt claustrophobic at 5'8", and I'm certain my 6'4" husband didn't feel much better. When sitting on the toilet, your knees hit your forehead and the toilet paper is lodged against your hip so tightly it's hardly worth the effort.

The shower was rimmed with mildew and mold. The shower curtain was the same.

Altogether, however, we slept. Pure exhaustion and lack of endless funds alone kept us at this place. And I mean, it was just so funny to catch that clerk asleep. I hope she got her rest, because I'm probably going to have to call back in a few days with a bedbug infestation. I feel itchy. I really do.

So. If you loathe quality, despise cleanliness, and can't abide awake and attentive hotel employees, this is definitely your stop.

If not, for GOODNESS' SAKE read this review to your husband. Perhaps he will be inspired to take you to the Hilton.

Or even this level's next upgrade, Motel...

When I walked in I was interrogated by the lady at the front desk basically telling me there’s this fee and that fee for smoking as if I even smoke in the first place then she kept mentioning there is no parties and asks me how many people are staying because I was with 1 friend at the time. My reservation was already made for a no smoking room and for just me as the guest I’m not sure what all the additional comments were for but likely because I look like previous offenders but that doesn’t mean I want to be suspected of wrongdoing

Additionally there was multiple power outages while I was working so I was unable to finish due to the issue

The second day just as I was falling asleep a fire alarm turns on then goes off and repeats this multiple times I got to the desk to ask about the issue or if there is a fire and am received with an attitude when I told them about the issues I had had in just my two days of staying there which was my entire trip thankfully because after sitting at the desk trying to come up with a solution the manager says hello give me 25 dollars back on my reservation which wasn’t anywhere near satisfying seeing that I was unable to sleep for the rest of the night due to the constant alarm I missed my flight and had to reschedule it was the most inconvenient experience I’ve ever had at a hotel and I will in fact be staying further away from where I need to be just to prevent another repeat at this hotel room was also dirty along with the mattress being yellow and not...

This hotel isn't just great for an "Econo Lodge", it is simply a great hotel!

We were in town for a long 4th of July weekend, and had booked this room through Choice Hotel's web site for 5 nights. Well, there must have been a glitch in Choice's system because all of the rooms had previously been blocked by management several months prior to our booking (over two weeks before our arrival). Shelley at the front desk, the owner and another staff member bent over backwards changing things around and get us into a room!

For us to have found another room so close to downtown Chicago on 4th of July weekend...With the Grateful Dead in town, would have been impossible.

The room was very clean, spacious and quiet. The bed was comfy, the AC worked great, the pool looked fantastic (we didn't use it though), and breakfast was standard continental ( Denny's around the corner). There is always hot coffee in the hotel lobby!

We can not thank the staff of the Willowbrook, Il Econo Lodge enough. You saved our weekend! I would and will recommend this hotel to anyone.

Thanks again for everything guys....You are all true professionals. When we are in the area we know where we will be staying. You have earned...