Embassy Suites By Hilton Chicago Downtown River North

“Crowded spring break but nice”

I had a nice stay with my two teenagers for a quick 2-night spring break trip from Milwaukee. Positives: The room was clean, plenty of space for the 3 of us. We got a great low rate. Enjoyed the evening reception and the public gathering spaces to play cards and visit. Location is perfect for a t… more

I had a nice stay with my two teenagers for a quick 2-night spring break trip from Milwaukee. Positives: The room was clean, plenty of space for the 3 of us. We got a great low rate. Enjoyed the evening reception and the public gathering spaces to play cards and visit. Location is perfect for a tourist visit to Chicago. Staff was friendly. Exercise room was well-equipped, albeit a bit small. Really nice bath products and coffee in the room. Negatives: SUPER crowded during spring break, which means elevator rides were always crowded and had to wait. Long lines for breakfast and the evening reception, and not easy to find a place to sit for breakfast. We visited the pool, and despite one of the website pictures showing a hot tub, there is not one. The pool was tepid warm and very crowded with little kids (to be expected). Our shower door did not stay closed and kept sliding open which was an annoying (albeit very first world) problem. I do wish the refrigerator in the room was a bit larger because we had a lot of leftovers from our delicious meals! Paid half the price through SpotHero to self park in the structure behind the hotel. Overall, really nice to get away.

less

“Miss Summer Camp? Relive the experience - great for kids and patient adults”

We were visiting during school vacation week so this may not be the standard experience. But, it was quite the experience to say the least. There were tons of kids everywhere having a marvelous time. The small pool was packed solid with children in the evening, particularly during and after the adu… more

We were visiting during school vacation week so this may not be the standard experience. But, it was quite the experience to say the least. There were tons of kids everywhere having a marvelous time. The small pool was packed solid with children in the evening, particularly during and after the adult happy hour, and subsequently there were "incidents" that caused the pool to have to be closed for maintenance. [during the day the pool only had a few people at a time.] "Hotel friend" kids groups roamed freely throughout the hotel. Breakfast and happy hour were chaotic free-for-alls. Food at the breakfast was limited in variety but sufficient and filling (breakfast: scrambled eggs and made to order eggs, a potato option, a sausage option, a waffle/pancake/french toast option, fruit, cereal, yogurt, hot oatmeal, toast, bagels, and muffins, juices, coffee, and tea/cocoa. Happy hour: Budweiser on tap, Gordons spirits, wine, and alternating snacks - chips/salsa, kettle potato chips, popcorn, snack mix, veggies, etc.). The indoor courtyard and dining areas seemed to be an extension of private rooms as pajamas seemed to be an acceptable outfit for hanging out late night or going to breakfast. One evening a large group of young people and their children were hanging out listening to music and partying in their pajamas in the courtyard (the hotel closes the courtyard area at midnight so it does quiet down). One of the hotel elevators was not working and with so many people and so many strollers, there were long waits for the elevators - one man with a large stroller shared that he had waited 45 minutes for an elevator. We were in one of the non-suite rooms. I didn't realize there were non-suite rooms in the hotel, but there are. I suppose the website said that but I did not really absorb what it meant, since it is Embassy SUITES after all. Anyway, our room was basically a standard, if somewhat on the smaller side, king-size room. The bathroom was small with what a think was a 30"x30" tiny shower with a plastic shower curtain and peeling paint on the ceiling. The water was hot though and the pressure was pretty decent. The bed was extremely comfortable - I had come from another hotel that had an extremely uncomfortable bed so that was nice. The room had a microwave and minifridge that was very cold. It took a long time for the room to heat up but they provided extra blankets. There wasn't a safe that I saw in the room, but there is plenty of storage space and generally the hotel felt safe - I didn't have any concerns with leaving my laptop out on the desk. Our room was very quiet and good for sleeping. Location is good and easy to walk to the Redline metro, shopping, the riverwalk, and around the corner from the Casino. There is a grocery store next to the hotel (Osco Jewel) that had the lowest prices for alcohol that we found in the area. There is also a Whole Foods within walking distance if you want a hot bar. I found the staff to be friendly and helpful with only a couple of exceptions.

less