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Phil S

OBS Chief
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Aug 20, 2011
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The hotel situation near the Station has been discussed previously, but hotels change. So -- recent experience with hotels near the station?

I had tentatively picked Chicago Loop Hotel but reviews made me hesitate. I don't need/want fancy, though I'd be willing to pay maybe even $60 extra to have a really excellent breakfast. (wishful thinking, I suppose). But I really don't need bedbugs.

Thoughts?

I'll arrive on EB #8, spend the night (whatever's left of it) and head east on #50 the next evening.

Cheers (and thanks), Phil
 
We stay often at the Crowne Plaza in Greektown by Walgreens. Short cab ride from Union Station - rooms are clean - decent but not great restaurant located within hotel - fancy grocery store across the street and other restaurant options.

We have also stayed at the Sheraton & Omni downtown. Most trips it's Crowne Plaza that gets our business - do to location to station and what we want to do while in town.
 
Phil, I would suggest you look at the more recent reviews. Often a hotel has "straightened out" and recent reviews are more accurate for the present time. Hotels near O'Hare Airport are usually less pricey and have shuttles from O'Hare. O'Hare can be reached from Chicago Union Station by walking about 2 blocks to the Blue Line CTA.
 
If you want to spend your time in or around the loop then picking a hotel out at the airport would result in a major time penalty. If you want up to the minute reviews then you may need to consult a resource like the tripadvisor website.
 
"tripadvisor website" = bad advice = almost all well known review sites are full of trash. Yes I'm aware they claim otherwise - but many if not all have played games with reviews for years. Point being you may not get the most honest reviews and advice when using them as your information source.

Personally one hotel stay near O'Hare for a wedding was the worst hotel stay we have ever had in the area.

For those who may not take my comments on review sites as truth - put a search engine to use - plenty of news articles to back my statement up.
 
TripAdvisor is not trash. The reviews are often linked to photos the travelers take, sometimes upwards of 150+ photos of each hotel, and many profiles are linked to the traveler's Facebook page.

Additionally, many of the hotels have over 1000 reviews. It's pretty hard to fake 1000+ reviews, especially when not all of those reviews are favorable. I am a frequent contributor on that site, and I've never had a hotel not live up to the expectations set by other travelers. If anything, using that site has saved us a lot of money, as we were able to find nice, inexpensive hotels we might have skipped over otherwise.

Some of the reviews might be fake, but that's a small percentage compared to the number of actual reviews.
 
iggy said:
"tripadvisor website" = bad advice = almost all well known review sites are full of trash. Yes I'm aware they claim otherwise - but many if not all have played games with reviews for years. Point being you may not get the most honest reviews and advice when using them as your information source. Personally one hotel stay near O'Hare for a wedding was the worst hotel stay we have ever had in the area. For those who may not take my comments on review sites as truth - put a search engine to use - plenty of news articles to back my statement up.
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Trip advisor has helped me find dozens of quality hotels worldwide for nearly a decade now. I trust it enough to advise others to use it and to contribute my own reviews when time permits. That's a pretty substantial track record in my view. Your track record, on the other hand, showed up last week and remains completely devoid of any verifiable history. You don't like Tripadvisor but you think almost every other review site is nothing but trash as well. You provide no specifics, no suggested alternatives, and you expect the rest of us to run off searching for evidence to backup your own claims? Talk about bad advice.
 
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I stayed at the Chicago Loop hotel on Adams last October and found it very comfortable, clean, and the staff was friendly. There are numerous places nearby to get a quick breakfast if you do not want to use their restaurant. A good place and a close walk to CUS. :)

I use TripAdvisor most of the time and found that if you discount a few views on each end of the scale you can come up with a consistent review of each hotel. Usually a few negatives on a nice place are by people with very picky mannerisms or people who have a rough time dealing with people in general. Many have to do with parking problems or issues that could easily be solved with some common sense and a pleasant attitude toward the hotel staff. :)

It doesn't take too long to figure out if a place is good after reading about three or four pages of reviews and especially ones within the last week or so.

The good thing about TripAdvisor is there are so many contributors that you can get several reviews that cover a common time frame.

Beware of "bedbug" complainers. I sometimes believe they are working for the competition... :eek:
 
I always wonder when a hotel has hundreds of 4-5 star reviews and then there are three "terribles". So then I read the "terribles", and sometimes it's stuff like, "They didn't have a towel warmer! And I was charged taxes!!!" It makes me laugh. :) It really pays to read a sample of every rating.
 
SarahZ said:
I always wonder when a hotel has hundreds of 4-5 star reviews and then there are three "terribles". So then I read the "terribles", and sometimes it's stuff like, "They didn't have a towel warmer! And I was charged taxes!!!" It makes me laugh. :) It really pays to read a sample of every rating.
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Or: "The elevator was slow, my pillow was too soft, the hair conditioner in the bathroom was not want I expected :p
 
The only people I know who genuinely hate Tripadvisor are hotel owners. They'd rather we be stuck with pop culture myths, outdated photos, and a bunch of useless sales pitch gibberish when choosing a hotel. Well sorry but that era is finally over. Now when someone gets screwed by a hotel they can warn others quickly and easily. On the other hand if the complaint is erroneous or exaggerated it's usually pretty easy to figure it out. Most of the fake reviews probably come from other hotels in the area trying to attack their competition and undermine the concept of customer reviews.
 
Most of the name hotels in the Loop are going to be good. Prices vary by date alot, so that's where you have to poke around. I'd say a $60 breakfast budget should do you well. Note that most hotels are north of the river, but this is not very convenient, except by cab.

Last time I stayed in the Loop, I rolled the dice for a three-star with Priceline. I got the Palmer House, Which was nice.
 
Check Hotwire too. If you want to be near the station, pick the areas "River North" and "Theatre District". River North is a quick L ride and/or half-mile walk from any hotel to the station, and the Theatre District will put you just as close, if not closer.

I enjoy Club Quarters and the Holiday Inn (Chicago Mart Plaza). Others like the Holiday Inn on Harrison. All three of those are $125-$175, depending on when you book. But, again, check Hotwire. I've been able to get a $200/night hotel for $80. :)
 
SarahZ said:
I always wonder when a hotel has hundreds of 4-5 star reviews and then there are three "terribles". So then I read the "terribles", and sometimes it's stuff like, "They didn't have a towel warmer! And I was charged taxes!!!" It makes me laugh. :) It really pays to read a sample of every rating.
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I see that all of the time.

I read a *great* one about the hotel I just stayed at in NOLA - It was the worst, awful, terrible, horrible people too because they got thrown out and didn't get to stay in the hotel.

The hotel responded to their nasty review with the truth - they were asked to leave because they snuck their barking dog into the hotel and people were in an uproar.
 
iggy said:
"tripadvisor website" = bad advice = almost all well known review sites are full of trash.
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I have to disagree. I have used Trip Advisor for restaurants and hotels world-wide with outstanding results. The only problem I have encountered is that some people just cannot be pleased. Those people would complain if their food and stays were free and they were given the highest levels of service. To the OP, use Trip advisor to find a suitable hotel in the area you desire to stay. Additionally, some member on this forum have good insights about hotels and such because they have use those services, therefore, you can trust their observations.

For myself, I stay at the Hyatt on Wacker or at The Drake.
 
I admit I have never used TripAdvisor, but I agree that you should discount some of the best and some of the bottom reviews. Just like with any other product or store.

You may read one review that says that "this is an excellent (product/hotel/store/etc...)" while another review says that "it's the worst (product/hotel/store/etc...) - stay away"! How can these 2 reviews be so different, with one giving 5 stars and 1 giving 1 star? I'd go with not just the average but what most reviewers say. If there are 7 reviews and 6 are 5 star and 2 are 1 star, but another has 850 reviews where 2 are 5 star and 30 are 4 star and 120 are 3 star and 509 are 2 star and the rest 1 star, I'd consider them differently.
 
I am at this moment staying 4 nights at the Kimpton Hotel Burnham at Washington and State, having arrived yesterday from Flagstaff on the train. Kimptons are often pricy, but at this time of year fairly reasonable for a very attractive place to stay. I will not pay those high rates most of the time, but am really pleased so far with our stay.
 
SarahZ said:
Check Hotwire too. If you want to be near the station, pick the areas "River North" and "Theatre District". River North is a quick L ride and/or half-mile walk from any hotel to the station, and the Theatre District will put you just as close, if not closer.

I enjoy Club Quarters and the Holiday Inn (Chicago Mart Plaza). Others like the Holiday Inn on Harrison. All three of those are $125-$175, depending on when you book. But, again, check Hotwire. I've been able to get a $200/night hotel for $80. :)
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Many River North Hotels are quite a bit farther than a half mile from station, and the El itself is a bit of a walk if you have bags.
 
CoachSlumber said:
SarahZ said:
Check Hotwire too. If you want to be near the station, pick the areas "River North" and "Theatre District". River North is a quick L ride and/or half-mile walk from any hotel to the station, and the Theatre District will put you just as close, if not closer.

I enjoy Club Quarters and the Holiday Inn (Chicago Mart Plaza). Others like the Holiday Inn on Harrison. All three of those are $125-$175, depending on when you book. But, again, check Hotwire. I've been able to get a $200/night hotel for $80. :)
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Many River North Hotels are quite a bit farther than a half mile from station, and the El itself is a bit of a walk if you have bags.
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I said "and/or", meaning that if they take the L to Quincy, it's a half-mile walk to the station. The hotels along the west side of the river, near the L, are the same half-mile walk. Anything farther away is near an L stop within the Loop, which puts them on the way to the Quincy stop. :)

I agree a half-mile can be long if someone has bags, which is why I specified it's a half-mile. I leave it up to the traveler (not Dave ;) ) to decide if that's too long. Luckily, cabs are easy to find in that area, which is another plus for River North.
 
[Rant]

Speaking of the EL and having bags, I don't quite understand why Amtrak says "... 2 blocks to the Blue line at Clinton ..." While true, the stop at Clinton has a long staircase. If you have one bag, maybe but if you have 2 or more bags, probably not. I think most Amtrak passengers have luggage! And if you have a wheelchair, forget it!

Although it is a few blocks further, the stop at Randolph (I think) and State (I'm sure) has an elevator.

After my walk to the Clinton stop last October, I would never have gotten down the steps with my bag and walker were it not for the assistance of Alan and Jim!

[End rant]
 
I hauled my roller bag with a CPAP machine strapped to the handle walking from Union Station to the Hotel Burnham, a distance if .9 miles. Easy as pie. No sweat - it was too cold for that! And my friend walked it with a cane!
 
The stop at Washington/Wells has an elevator as well. From there, one can catch a couple of different buses to Union Station. I forget the numbers, though.
 
WellTrained said:
The hotel situation near the Station has been discussed previously, but hotels change. So -- recent experience with hotels near the station?

I had tentatively picked Chicago Loop Hotel but reviews made me hesitate. I don't need/want fancy, though I'd be willing to pay maybe even $60 extra to have a really excellent breakfast. (wishful thinking, I suppose). But I really don't need bedbugs.

Thoughts?

I'll arrive on EB #8, spend the night (whatever's left of it) and head east on #50 the next evening.

Cheers (and thanks), Phil
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I think you mean the Central Loop Hotel as there is no Chicago Loop Hotel. If that is true, we stayed there last October and found it quite good, no complaints at all. The adjoining restaurant was not bad either.
 
I've visited Chicago a few times with two bags and never had a problem. Just put one in each hand and away I went up/down the stairs. That being said I can see how it would be a problem if you suffered from an ailment or disability. I don't think Amtrak is wrong to include the L, although it would probably make sense to mention that there is no elevator or escalator. One thing Google Maps seems to still be missing is a disabled option for travelers who need easier paths with fewer obstacles and obstructions.
 
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