If you have business in Hyde Park, or just want to avoid paying the high room and parking rates in…read moredowntown Chicago, you could do worse than this place.
We've stayed here three times in the past year, and we're generally happy with our experiences thus far. This is no Hyatt or Ritz and so we set our expectations appropriately; nevertheless there is some room for improvement.
What's good:
- Free parking! Woo-hoo! I once stayed at the nearby Hyatt Place hotel on 53rd and I think I paid $40 a night to park. There is a small covered parking area, but it fills up by the early evening. There is plenty of outdoor parking.
- Location. It is just off Lake Shore Drive, so getting into the city is pretty easy. Some rooms have a view of the lake, which is nice, but since you're also facing LSD the traffic noise can be bothersome. It's just a short walk to the lakefront and Promontory Point, which makes for a pleasant stroll. It's reasonably close to the University of Chicago, but it's probably farther than most people would prefer to walk. The Museum of Science and Industry is about a mile away and is an easy walk if you're up for it.
- The rooms were fairly bright during the day, thanks for the large windows in our room. At night the lighting was better than average. The beds were comfortable (a little firmer than I'd like) and the pillows were soft, but small. There is a coffee machine and a mini-fridge, but no in-room safe.
- Staff was mostly friendly and accommodating. Housekeeping was efficient and thorough.
- Air conditioning worked well, but was a bit on the noisy side. However, the drone of the AC at night helped drown out the traffic noise too.
- The quality of the free breakfast was pretty decent.
- Self-serve coffee machine in the lobby makes mochas, cappuccinos, lattes, etc. any time of the day.
What could be better:
- The entrance to the hotel isn't actually marked, and since there is another hotel attached to this one, it's confusing as to where to go to check in. The first time I came here I drove right past the entrance because I couldn't tell where to go.
- The breakfast area is small and gets crowded during peak hours. For the number of guests that can be there, especially on weekends, they often had trouble keeping food items in stock, and the line for the pancake machine was long. The one woman who was hustling around was remarkably cheerful though - props to her for keeping her cool while working under such stressful conditions.
- There's not enough seating for breakfast. Many people were awkwardly sitting in the lounge chairs and benches because there were no tables available.
- The alarm is some kind of special hotel clock that doesn't allow anyone to adjust the time, only the alarm time. It supposed to sync with some kind of atomic clock server to display the correct time, but it clearly wasn't working as it was off by over 10 minutes. Kind of annoying, and we eventually unplugged it since it was basically useless.
- The exercise room had a funky odor, almost like burning rubber. Lighting was poor. The water dispenser wasn't working, and the strength training machine did not have several of the attachments necessary to actually use it.
- The bathroom is a little small, and the water pressure through the shower head was somewhat weak. During a heavy rainstorm there was a lot of gurgling coming from the bathtub and toilet, and we worried that something was going to start backing up. This was a little unexpected since we were on the second floor when this happened.
So not spectacular but not bad either. For the value, it is definitely a good place to stay.