There's nothing like sweeping in the front doors of the Hilton Chicago, a "grand hotel" in the early 20th century tradition. The wide, marble stairways, the high ceilings, the hustle and bustle and delicious smells wafting in from the restaurants -- it's truly like being in a very cool movie, despite the omnipresent conventioneers.
Overall our one-night stay was lovely, but marred by some deferred maintenance issues -- and surprising disinterest from the staff. We had a terrific corner room. Although just two double beds, the room itself was quite spacious, with windows on two sides and a partial Lake Michigan view where we were able to watch the fireworks (from Navy Pier?) that began shortly after we arrived.
The downside: poor lighting by just two dim bedstand/desk lamps , which could have easily been remedied by adding a floor lamp (certainly plenty of room). The desk was sufficient but with a chair so low as to make it unusable. As others have noted the rooms also lack sufficient electrical outlets, which meant the coffee maker had to be plugged in either at the base of the bedstand lamp or in the bathroom (we couldn't reach the outlet behind the TV/minibar console).
The real maintenance issue, though, was the bathroom, with badly peeling paint and some crumbling plaster on the ceiling above the tub, as well as strips of epoxy missing from the tub itself. The drain was also badly clogged -- or simply not up to the task of draining from a high-powered showerhead -- which we didn't discover until in the morning too close to check-out time to call the maintenance staff. (We showered in mid-calf high water; ugh.) When we mentioned this at check-out (the peeling paint , the crumbling plaster, and the nonworking drain), the clerk said simply, "Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that," and proceeded with the check-out transaction. We weren't looking for a discount or a comp, but it's really been on my mind since then that we received such a lackluster response -- perhaps because the staff already knows that the ceilings and the drains need work but can't do anything about it. A gentleman behind on the way said out that this has been a problem in the rooms before when he's stayed there.
The bathroom issue really makes it difficult to recommend another stay, although we otherwise loved this grand old hotel.
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