We got a great price through Travelocity, bundled in with airfare, and wound up paying about $115 a night for two people. For that price, this is a steal! It's a mid range hotel that gets bumped up a category for a few things: location, amenities and staff.
Yes, the front desk staff (and the doormen) were gracious and helpful. We are low-key people and don't place many demands, but these folks were great.
Next - The room was clean; the beds and pillows were good. There were two double beds, and a sofa bed. Good size room. We were there during the Olympics so did in fact use the TV every night (yup, every night). No probs with the TV / channels or reception. The air conditioning was fine. Coffee pot, microwave, fridge were all clean and functioned well. On our way in one evening, we asked for more coffee at the front desk (no decaf for us - who needs to sleep on vacation?!) and they immediately handed some over.
Trader Joes - turn right out the front door. Go to corner and turn right again and go half-way down block. (We live near a Trader Joe's in Philadelphia so were thrilled to be near one.) Pack your own bottle opener or corkscrew - we forgot and paid 5 bucks for a corkscrew (considering how much we saved, not a biggie...) I also packed my own plastic ware and cereal bowls - stuff like that is not Trader Joe's strong point.
Because of the great location, if you like to walk, I would not recommend buying a multi-day CTA pass. From O'Hare, we took the blue line into Clark/Lake and took a taxi (less than $10). Didn't take a taxi again! If you are walkers, this is a very walkable area - over to the river for the boat tour, down into the loop for plays; up to North Shore, over to Navy Pier.
I'd stay here again, and I'd recommend it to my friends and family. Chicago is a fabulous city to visit and this hotel definitely helped make the trip as great as it was.










