The Palmer House Hilton is like everyone says, a grand looking hotel located conviently in The Loop and close to almost everything. Situated along Whabash and Monroe, it's within a block from the Art Institute of Chicago and Millenium Park. Walking distance from Target and CVS is right across the street. State street is next to the hotel so you're walking distance from the Redline train. Not to mention that if you're coming from O'Hare airport you can take the Blue Line train for about $2 all the way to Dearborn/Monroe and walk 5 minutes to the hotel. A bit of advice: take the train everywhere instead of a Taxi. It will save you tons of money during your trip and help you bypass all the traffic that everyone else and taxis are all stuck in.
Now back to the review of the hotel. Great place for conferences and meetings with a business area for guests and lost of lounge areas and tables. The entrance and lobby really is grand, but like the other guests mentioned were a bit dated. The hallways are like a maze and easy to get lost in. The walls are pretty thin so expect to hear people next door if you are in the bathroom or if they are talking loud. If you get a room on the Whabash side of the roadm expect to hear the rumble of the train passing by every hour or so. The staff and maintenance crew were friendly, sincere, and great. The only issue I had were with the front desk people, whom I felt were a bit incompetent. I caught one girl at the front desk in a lie when she told me that all their non-smoking rooms were booked as we checked in. However, when I told her that I had a respiratory problem with cigarette smoke, a non-smoking room magically appeared on their computer screen. The front desk also gave someone else our room key, and those people almost entered our room while we were still in there. The people would have barged into our room if it weren't for us having the deadbolt on.
I did like how there were two bathrooms in the room with our two queen size beds. Very convenient for those travelling in groups of 2-4. Roomy and lots of space. Would recommend just for the convenience and location, but the hotel could use an update on the room decor.
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