Stayed here 8 nights in June/July 2011. Lots going on close by at that time like Taste of Chicago, concerts, fireworks, etc. This hotel dates back to the grand era of urban hotels with its cavernous ballrooms, ornate fixtures, and long list of VIPs who've stayed here over the years. With 2 adults and 2 kids (13,10) we had a room with 2 double beds and 2 bathrooms. The 2-bathroom rooms are a HUGE plus when 4 people are trying to get ready in the morning! The room itself was a roughly 350 sq ft room and a bathroom was on each side of the main room. Beds were very comfortable, climate control was great for cooling, LCD tv had lots of channels, water pressure even at the 18th floor was very good. Getting extra towels each day was no problem. Concierge was good (but personally I thought could have given better deals - i.e. baseball tix with a 50% to 75% mark up???!!!). Check in/out was fast and staff were very knowledgeable. Called ahead a few days to reserve a refrigerator for the room - DO THIS if you can and go to a local food store (we used CVS a few blocks away) and stock your room with cereal, fruit, milk, juice, crackers, etc.- especially for when you're looking for a snack or quick breakfast. Fridge is $40 for length of your stay but we saved some serious $$ eating a quick breakfast in the room each morning as their buffet breakfast is over $20/person. Indoor pool is nice, sundeck is nice, lots of seating and even more towels available. Exercise equipment is not free unless you are a silver or higher HHonors member. Biggest gripe is the wireless internet charge of $40 for 5 days or $18 for 1 day. The Motel 5 at any truck stop provides free internet so being charged so much for wireless after paying nightly room rates of $250+ is pretty greedy in my opinion. But I must admit the wireless speed was fast and reliable. This location is across the street from Grant Park which was a great place to walk and relax - my son and I took our baseball gloves and had some catches relatively close to the hotel when we had some down time. The aquarium, Field museum, and planetarium are a 20 min or so walk from the hotel. Navy pier is a cab/bus ride. The CTA red line is 1 block west and 1 block north - that will take you to wrigley and US Cellular fields among lots of other places. Overall a nice hotel if you're in Chicago for a week or so.
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