One of the worst nights I've ever spent in a motel. The rooms are dark and depressing and the stink is off the charts. On a scale of 1-10 I'd put it at a 10 for chemical odor. When I asked about this at the front desk they said all the rooms are the same and it's due to chemical products used by the cleaning staff. Whatever they're using has a particularly noxious odor that feels like it's stabbing at your lungs, making it difficult to breathe. I woke up multiple times during the night just to open the front door and take some deep breaths of fresh air. It's terrible in this day and age that hotel owners don't realize how many people are chemically sensitive, may have breathing/respiratory issues, or just want to breathe fresh clean air instead of chemical stink. If you're odor-sensitive in any way you'll have an extremely rough time at this motel. I strongly advise finding another place. read more

Unclean, unsafe, unsanitary, absolutely unacceptable conditions. Spent $150 for a night. Got there late, was already running late for a concert, set out stuff down and immediately left for the concert. We come back at 3:30 am and discover the absolutely atrocity of a motel room we were expected to sleep in for the night. We had no time to book a new room and find a different hotel. Once we notified the man running the desk and asked for our money back we were told no, and that he didn't have authority to do so. I showed him the room and he had said it was "his fault he didn't check the room before we came in" this was not a one time mistake. This dust, dirt and grime was a build up overtime, not an "oops I forgot to wipe down a surface once." Black mold, mystery liquid marks on the ceiling and walls, 6 months worth of dust in the ac filter (not to mention the visible dust on the outside of it), dirty sheets, there wasn't even a fitted sheet on the bed only a top sheet, dirt hair and dried up food between the wall and the head of the bed, drool stains on pillows and pillow cases, dust & hair everywhere. I felt like I was staying in someone's personal bedroom, not a clean motel room. Fresh sheets and wiping down surfaces is the BARE MINIMUM expectation and yet there was an envelope from the cleaner in the room asking to "reward for their efforts" asking for a tip. Are you kidding me? What a joke. I should have dusted out the ac filter and left it in the envelope. I could have taken a bottle of windex and a rag and had that place clean in a matter of 10 minutes. It was actually pathetic how neglected this room was. Once we were leaving the parking lot the man came out to our car window and said he could refund me $50 and said to come back next time and he'd give me half off. HA! You really expect me to come stay there again after that? You could not PAY ME to stay in that place ever again. For $150 you could hire someone to detail clean every single room in that place. For that price you can get a nice room at the Hampton. Pathetic and unacceptable. Don't stay here. read more

See all

Gateway Inn is a great find! Super affordable and VERY clean. The owners are so kind and take great care of their property. The motel is close enough to the hospital that you can walk there. There are plenty of restaurants nearby too. Surprisingly, it's also very quiet. I felt safe staying there. Highly recommend. read more

The room is nice and cozy. The clerk was nice about the WiFi and the password questions. We couldn't bring our dog in because they weren't too thrilled about the idea so we left him at my sister and her husband's apartment. We need to know more about how to figure out the TV but it works at least read more

Very quiet, well kept and clean. Our family would definitely stay there again. It is more like staying in a bed and breakfast(but you have to get your own food). read more

My husband, three year old, and I needed a hotel for the week for a family emergency at the children's hospital- Monday/Tuesday we stayed at the Hilton ($150.00/night). Broke and Broken I saw the yelp reviews for The Gateway Motel. We've never stayed at a motel before, so we only requested one night, thinking "for only $70/ night, we can put up with this until we have a new plan" The staff had just finished kicking a women out for screaming all night. That pretty much got my guard up. I was REALLY SURPRISED at how clean and nice the room was! We had a fridge, microwave, Disney channel, comp breakfast and 75¢ soda .... NONE of which were at the Hilton. The beds were clean and as good home. There was a broken lock on a bathroom window that made me nervous but my husband was able to wedge it closed. For what we needed, it was great. We extended until Friday and finished the week there. I give it 5 out of 5 stars for being so nice, comfortable, and $70/night in OAKLAWN. unbeatable! read more

Gateway Inn - 2 double bed room. ... With a mini fridge, microwave, and Disney Channel! ... None of which are at the Hilton! - Hotels Near Me - Oak Lawn, Illinois

See all

We were staying for a few days with a family. The rooms were super cute, felt more like home than a hotel room. Very clean and cozy! Parking was good. The best part is that you are surrounded by dozens of restaurants and shops. There are CVS right at the corner where you can buy Chicago t-shirts and other souvenirs. Try Giordano's famous Chicago-style pizza. Only 15 minutes away and Andy's ice cream of course. ( you can walk there). I give it 5 stars. The only thing is that it takes like 45 minutes to get to downtown and beaches. But it didn't bother us even though we went there every day! I would definitely stay there again! Thank you for a great experience! read more

This place was a great find! The staff was so kind and courteous! The room was very clean, it's apparent they take pride in providing a clean and orderly room for their guests. The rooms are super cute with recently updated decor. This is a hidden gem, I would highly recommend a stay here! read more

Really? You take complaints seriously? And would never want to lose a customer?? Hmm.. had an issue with dried vomit with food chunks in it stuck to the bathroom door upon checking in when I stayed at your motel a week ago. And even though it was cleaned after I made you aware of it. That's where it ended. When I submitted a review about this . The response I got was.."we can't catch everything"... For a family owned business..with so much other competition.. you would think you would try to do a little better than that ... Especially for 150 a night..and no immenities whatsoever. read more

Over the Christmas holiday, with an overloaded house and one too many family members workin' my last nerve my elderly father announced that he would be spending Christmas eve with us. He is 85 and has some "issues" including not driving and living several hours away as well as not being too steady on his feet and waking up at all hours of the night to wander around the house and knock shit over or unknowingly stepping on housepets. Bottom line, I knew he couldn't stay at my house so I needed to put him up somewhere close, decent, safe and small - I had nightmares of him roaming around a Hilton type place getting loaded at the bar, ogling younger (60-ish) women, barging into the wrong room etc.....I knew I had to do something and quick. Called over to the Gateway, they were super pleasant on the phone, they had room and the price was right, problem solved, right? Come Christmas Eve while he was waiting for the designated pickup, I guess he had a dizzy spell and then of course his cell phone ran out of minutes and he could not figure out how to use the room phone (anyone with octogenarian parents knows what I'm talkin' 'bout .) So he wandered over to the office for some help with making a call. "Tina" was working the office and helped him call me and treated him so nicely, I can't say thanks enough, what a sweetheart. It is a pleasure to deal with a family run business that actually cares. After all was said and done, with all the family drama, I wanted to stay in the room at the Gateway - the room was spotless, odorless, had a super nice bed, good TV, clean fridge and was surprisingly large with a nice layout and spacious bathroom with sink on the outside (a feature I always appreciate when traveling.) I was also very impressed that the building was so soundproof - even though it sits on a busy part of 95th street, you really couldn't hear traffic noise. For anyone that needs a place to stay or put relatives in the Oak Lawn-Evergreen area I highly recommend the Gateway, friendly, clean and you can't beat the price!!! read more

Very nice owners. They were very good in the weather situation we had during our stay. I would highly recommend this Inn to stay in. Very clean rooms. read more

Five star for it's category. I'm not comparing this place to the Ritz, but for its "motel" category. Needed a place to stay (three nights) for a memorial service. After countless hours of searching for the right place with a good fit for our needs, we chose Gateway. I was skeptical. It's right on 95th street and has outside entrance doors. Additionally, I get creeped out by hotels very easily. It doesn't take much for me; a stray hair, icky remote, questionable bedspread, hourly patrons in stilettos. Anyway, you get the idea. We were pleasantly surprised. Nice motel guests in for a reunion or something. Business folks. No drama. Rooms are slightly dated but they get an "A" for effort. The window A/C keeps the room very cool. Towels were not see-through, mattress was comfortable and I was OK with the place. It's owned by an English speaking family who truly care about their business. Staff was very pleasant and helpful. Offerings of coffee, tea, donuts are made available to guests. I didn't partake as I was on carb overload from eating at all my favorite hometown haunts. Reasonable rates. Close to hospitals, shopping, pizza, hotdogs. Give it a try. read more

Immaculate!!!!! This is by far the cleanest place i have ever stayed. The same family has owned it since 1954. Wonderful family friendly motel. Each room is decorated differently. Very cozy and quiet. It is such a welcoming litte motel. The owner always walks their 3 corggies around the grounds. They serve free breakfast EVERY morning. PET FRIENDLY motel. Reminded me of a B@ B in Wisconsin. Seriously, the owners and staff went above and beyond to make sure our stay was wonderful. Wish every motel was that clean. read more

I am very impressed with rhe Gateway Motel I wasn't for sure where I was going to stay when I came up from the st louis area to visit a friend so I googled places to stay in the oak lawn area and this was the first on the list so I looked at the yelp reviews and that help make my decision I was glad I did... The staff was very polite and courteous and I was pleasantly surprised by how clean the room was it looked like they remodeled and it showed in the good way and for the price you cant beat it at all it was close by everything I needed for my trip I will be definitely be staying here again when I come back up here read more

Reply to Owner: Yes this is the motel I stayed at in Oak Lawn. Also, where was that nice attitude when I stayed there? It's funny how people pretend to be nice to keep their money coming in after a negative review because all I received during my stay was attitude and a dirty motel. Oops I forgot to mention the bite marks on my back. Luckily, my shots were up to date. My doctor did give me a tetanus booster shot. My review 11/22/2014 Bed bugs! I just left this bed bug city of a motel with bite marks allover my back. I hope that large spider that was on the wall didn't bite me while I slept. Either way, I will see my doctor on Monday. Warning to all, this motel is nasty!!! Do not fall for their fake reviews coming from workers, family, and friends. This motel needs to be shut down right away! read more

Beautiful room. Definitely not an average hotel room...looks like a room out of a Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. Cozy... My only complaint is it's in a high traffic area and I could here all the truck passing by. read more

I so wanted to give Gateway 5 stars. I really did. It's an adorable motel that's family run and run very well for the most part. The room was spotless and the beds were very comfortable. The bathroom was nice and the shower had decent water pressure. You definitely don't have to worry about bugs here. You can tell that they take pride in their rooms. But, the room air conditioners are in the back of the room instead of the front by the door. The room wasn't hot or anything, I just like need the room to be chilly to be able to sleep. And it wasn't. The older units don't really push the air where they need to be. So if you like your room cold to sleep in, this might be an issue. The only other problem I had was with the wifi. They offer free wifi, but I couldn't get it in my room for the life of me. They even gave me a signal booster that didn't help. I had to use my hotspot on my phone if I wanted to go on my laptop. I called the desk a few times and even went to the front desk twice. I was told that the boss was called and the Internet guy was called and that they would change my room. None of which happened. Unless they knocked when I was in the shower. I think they kind of gave up. So while I really want to give them 5 stars, I just can't. But it is a nice motel for the price you pay. Edited to add- The aging air conditioner has frozen over and they have given me a fan. So I don't know if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight. If they fixed the air conditioning, I would definitely come back again. read more

It's a motel. Very clean room, nice people. It felt like this place was too good to be true - only $69 a night plus tax, which came out to $79. Then the surprising big screen TV and nice bright bed linens. Window AC kept the room nice and cool, shower head had decent pressure and everything seemed clean. Flowers hanging out front, parking lot swept clean. Old building but it seems well kept. I would give it 5 stars but our TV was very fuzzy and the front office smelled like cigarette smoke. Other than that, it was great. read more

The Gateway Inn is a bit south and west of all the action in Chicago, but if you need to get to MDW (Midway Airport) early in the a.m. or want a place to crash in the p.m. that is close by MDW, this place is great. Not in any way sleazy or sketchy. Excellent location on corner(-ish) of 95th and Cicero. Quiet even though near busy streets. Nice neighborhood behind it to take walk/run. Safe. Clean. Cute. Modern. Fridge, flat screen t.v. and microwave in each room. Really nice waffle breakfast (free) and loads of hot coffee in morning. Reasonable rates. Super nice people that work there. Lots of normal restaurants within walking distance. I would definitely stay there again. read more

Clean rooms, great price. Friendly staff, very accommodating. Stayed here for 3 night while visiting family. I was traveling with small kids and the staff in the office were very friendly, always smiling. Highly recommended read more

Sparkling clean old school motor hotel. Motel. She has a little age on her, but appears well maintained, Recent updates in all the right places, Super convenient location near Advocate Christ Hospital and good local dining, Friendly helpful staff. Owner/manager handled a little problem with a lot of class. Recommended for a good value. read more

So good for a motel. Clean, updated, no odor, comfortable. Highly recommended.

Because there are Japanese staff in front without worry Even if you can not English. Since the location is good and also good for exploring kickin around out of the hotel. read more

The Gateway Motel was spotlessly clean and even elegant, all at a very reasonable price for rooms in Oak Lawn. It's within walking distance of Oak Lawn, in the heart of Little Tokyo, with excellent choices of restaurants also within walking distance. read more

Great place to stay, great prices. The staff was SUPER friendly. I was always excited to get up and go eat breakfast and chat with them about things to do in Oak Lawn and downtown Chicago. The only thing that keeps me from giving it five stars were the stains on our comforter and the sticky carpet we had the first night. The comforter looked and smelled clean, but it had a stain in the middle that kind of grossed me out. The carpet was sticky in front of the mini fridge. Probably a spilled soda or something the cleaning staff didn't notice since they clean with shoes on. But other than that, absolutely amazing stay. Staff was very responsive and they had THE CUTEST DOG that hangs out up front. Totally will stay here again. read more

I checked in at 4.15pm, the room was not ready. During the check in, I could not hear anything because the owner had 4 barking dogs (I did not mind until I was (ironically) verbally attacked by the owner because my dog had barked). Also, she seemed more concerned about my dog, than with providing me information regarding the Wifi and breakfast. I had to go to the consulate and was travelling abroad the next day, I had no other choice than leaving my dog in the room. When I came back after being stuck in traffic, the owner did not even wait for me to get out of the car and snapped at my 12-year-old because our dog had barked. She then proceeded to verbally assault me in front of my 2 children telling me I should not have brought my dog at all (I had booked a pet friendly hotel knowingly and paid for it). My youngest was terrified and started crying. The icing on the cake: we were kept awake (9pm-1pm) by 2 barking dogs staying in the room next door (while mine was sound asleep) and she never said anything to the other clients. I came to the conclusion that she was racist (my children are mixed-race) and a coward. It is so much easier to lash out at a woman alone with children. Adding to that, we were never given neither the wifi password nor any information about breakfast. The room was barely clean. I opened the drawer and found hair and crumbs all over. The bathtub was nasty. I will never ever return to that place. It is pretty far from downtown Chicago, too expensive for what it is, dirty and unpleasant. read more

Gateway Motel On arrival staff were very friendly and helpful. I was given a room on the 21st floor and the views were amazing. The room was neat and a good size, however the floor needed an obvious vacuum and the bed sheets were stained. I asked (twice) for the sheets to be changed and the new sheets had pen stains. Dirty sheets are not the best look. The location made up for everything! You are right in the middle of the Gateway Motel. A short walk down the street took me to the river where I took the river architecture cruise and also caught the Hop-on/Hop-off buses and trolleys, which is the best way to see the city. read more