My family and I always try to stay at another nearby hotel but we've seen how nice this one looked and wanted to give it a try, you know "grass is always greener" situation.
To begin, we pulled up on Columbus Ave. to check in because we didn't see the valet and self park were on Illinois. No big deal, still had to figure out how to get to the check in desk which is on another floor, so I had to ask to find out how to get there.
When I got to the registration desk there was one employee checking in a guest. I was next in line and even though I walked up at the contract printout time still stood there over 8 minutes before a second employee showed up from the back. Even when she did come up, she fiddled around by the first employee for a minute or two then seemed like she decided she could check me in. She didn't greet me, no "Hello", and no conversation. I had booked a more expensive rate so that my kids would each get an Olympic panda bear, but because she didn't give them to me I figured they were in the room. I honestly thought she would snap at me if I asked about them. The bears weren't in the room and I had to go back down and get in line, again over five minutes, to let them know I never received my bears.
Found valet and checked our luggage pointing out that we had already checked in. (I figured it worked out well because our luggage would get delivered that much faster, so I was doing a little better after check in.) After an HOUR AND A HALF I called down to the bellman's desk to see where our luggage was. There was no answer, so I left a message. Never was replied to. My husband had to go back down to the ground level to find our luggage and have it brought up. All said and done, it took TWO hours before we got our luggage.
I booked one of the over sized corner suites and the room was very clean. There was plenty of room for us but the views were nothing to write home about. We had no problem with housekeeping and any time we had any needs or questions they were very friendly.
My husband went out to check out the facility and stopped by the concierge desk to ask a couple of questions about dinner reservations. After waiting over five minutes he stepped over to registration and asked when someone would be back. That's when we found out they send their concierge home before 6PM! And they don't even put a sign up saying they are gone and to go to registration, which again you'll probably have a wait for because they seem to only let one employee out at a time even though they are now handling check in and concierge questions.
Their pool is really narrow and every time we tried to go swimming there were a ton of kids running, splashing everyone, even those on deck, and some even unsupervised. The employees don't seem to check the area at all except for towels. The pool hours are great but the really need to add an adults only time before and after their normal hours so the adults can get in laps or enjoy a peaceful hot tub. Our kids our nine and ten, and even they didn't enjoy how unruly the pool was, they didn't even get in the first time we went to the pool.
Everyone we dealt with in room service was super friendly and helpful, which was a blessing because we didn't want to leave the room. It actually changed our mood to have to do something on the Sky Level.
When we would go out to dinner or shopping we didn't want to come back to the hotel. We would have just moved to our normal hotel, but the Embassy was going to charge us for the whole stay, so it wasn't worth it.
We love Chicago and try to go a couple of times a year but this was the first time we ever wanted to go home and not stay longer.

I stayed at this hotel for a conference. I had no idea what to expect, so I really went with an open mind. It is located a few blocks from the lake and is right downtown, so the location was GREAT!

I found the service to be consistently very good at this hotel. From the valets to the front desk to the housekeeping staff. Everyone was friendly and approachable. The lobby is not on the ground level, it is on the sky level, so this was a bit odd. And you had to go to a separate set of elevators to get to your room (which was a pain when you entered and exited the hotel, but it was a minor inconvenience, plus, it added a layer of security which is important in a place like Chicago.

The rooms are all suites, so you have a living room, a tiny "kitchenette" area with a fridge, sink and microwave, and a bedroom. The room was pretty clean. No major complaints. The bath was nice. The bed was comfy. The towels had that "fresh scent" smell like when they come out of the dryer...Mmmmm. We had a lakeview room, but the view isn't great. There are several other buildings blocking your view, but a partial view is better than no view.

All guests are treated to a full breakfast and nightly cocktails (free). They have a "cook to order" counter where they make your eggs fresh, and they dole out goodies like bacon, sausage or biscuits and gravy. They also have a buffet-style breakfast in the dining area, if you are in a hurry. I found the breakfast to be a great added value. This hotel is pricey, and if you bring your whole family (which lots of people did), this can cut costs dramatically on trying to eat out downtown Chicago. The evening cocktails session was nice for adults to relax in the lobby and have snack and mingle. It was well attended each night I was there.

The area around the hotel is great, and relatively safe for Chicago. We walked to Navy Pier and took taxis to Water Tower Place and the John Hancock Building for under $10 (with 2 people). There is a Dominick's grocery chain right across the street (full size) and a high-end grocery on the back side of the building (FABULOUS deli!). Also, a Walgreen's attached to the backside. We were there for almost four days, so we bought a few groceries for the room fridge.

The only complaints I had were that the air conditioning did not cool the bedroom, as well as I would have liked at night. And the internet service was not very fast.

All-in-all, we had a GREAT time, and I would definitely stay at this hotel again in the future. It was really nice to have room to spread out for a few days.

Just returned from our trip to Chicago, my family and I stayed at this hotel for 3 nights. We typically stay at Embassy Suite hotels because it always meets or exceeds our expectations, this hotel did just that. The hotel meet was very clean, staff was approachable, plenty of room for 5 of us, and a nice breakfast.

The hotel was in a great location!! We never used a taxi, we walked to the following attractions Navy Pier, Wendella Boat tour, Bobbys Bike Hike, and Double Decker tour. On the same block of the hotel is an AMC theater and a couple of restaurants. Their is a market right across the street from the hotel with a Starbucks stand inside.

The down side to the hotel is the crowd for the elevators and breakfast after 8:30am. We had to wait 15 minutes for an elevator the morning we checked out, they have 4 of them. If you want an omelete you can wait in line a very long time, we chose to skip it.

Overall it was a great stay!!

Stayed three nights, July 24 - July 27, with three teenage boys. Road Amtrak to Union Station and grabbed a cab to Embassy Suites. Were able to walk to almost all the things we wanted to do. Walked to: Navy Pier 10 minutes, Water Tower Place for double-decker bus 10 minutes, Boat tour of the buildings on the river 5 minutes. Michigan Avenue to shop 5 minutes. We did take the train to Wrigley Field, but the walk to station was only 10 minutes.

Rooms were perfect for us and the boys. Good size. Used the pull-out couch each night. Used the fridge and microwave to heat up pizza the next day.

There's a Dominik's across the street that we used to buy snacks and drinks for the room.

They could use another person at the check in desk. Only had one or two working there at any time. We were able to check in at 11:00 a.m., which was a pleasant surprise. We had to settle for a different room view, which wasn't a big deal, because we use the room to basically sleep in.

We had an excellent stay, and highly recommend this hotel for families.