We stayed at the Holiday Inn Chicago - Mart Plaza for two nights at the end of June 2009. It was a little bit nicer than the typical Holiday Inn, especially the lobby. The room was a little small, but fine for 3. The entire hotel was very clean. The beds were okay, but the pillows were great, and we got a "pillow menu" in case we needed different types of pillows. The hotel occupies the top 9 floors above the Chicago Sun Times building, and we were on the 21st floor. We were on the back side of the hotel and had a great view of the Hancock tower just to our right.
The service we received in this hotel was wonderful. James checked us in and he couldn't be nicer. The concierge (Robert? Richard?) was so welcoming. He answered all of our questions and had information about how to get places, what to see and where to eat (we never made it to the restaurants he recommended, though, as there was a McDonald's on almost every block and my husband is not very adventurous when it comes to food).
I did not use the exercise room, but it looked well-appointed. The pool was a little bit chilly, but not too bad.
The hotel is in a great location. We had a 15 minute walk to Michigan Ave. in one direction and a 15 minute walk from the Sears (Willis) tower in another. We walked almost everywhere (we took a water taxi a few times), and didn't fear for our safety (except from the crazy cab drivers that were EVERYWHERE). The hotel is right next to the Merchandise Mart which has a lot of very high end home decorating shops and some restaurants and snack shops.
Parking was $31 a night and although we didn't check in until 5 on Tuesday, we were able to leave the car there for a full 48 hours, which allowed us to do some sight seeing for a few hours after we checked out on Wednesday (Wendella offers a great architectural boat tour). We are priority/preffered members (free to join), so we got a coupon at check-in that gave us the choice of 15% off a meal at the restaurant or $5 a day off of parking. We chose the $$ off of parking.
The only negative thoughts I have about this hotel were 1) it seemed rather small for the price, but I guess that's to be expected in a large city such as Chicago, 2) the hotel restaurant was a bit pricey ($11.95 for a continental breakfast???), and 3) the water temperature in the shower fluctuated so much that I spent more time adjusting the temp than I did actually showering.
I will stay at this hotel again the next time we visit Chicago. Instead of driving, though, I would find a cheap flight. That way we would avoid having to pay to park, and having to drive in city traffic or on any of the freeways near the city. The cabs are so plentiful, and the public transportation there is so great, you wouldn't need a car at all!
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