More about Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro
Super service, Super friendly
by TripAdvisor Member Jack1940
In October my wife and I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro. The service was outstanding. Everyone in the hotel from the bellman to the bartender was extremely friendly and helpful. Our room was a delight. The ultra modern decor was a welcome change from the typical Holdiay Inn, Crowne Plaza type hotel. There is a well-equipped exercise room. We enjoyed talking with David, the bartender at the evening cocktail hour. Try one of David's blue cheese stuffed olives. We ate breakfast at the hotel buffet. Good way to start the day. Dinner in the hotel was very good. A little expensive, but by Chicago standards, reasonable. Another night we ate at Pegasus, a greek restaurant two blocks from the hotel. We had an assortment of appetizers and they were all good. It is causal and reservations not required. Probably the only downside is the distance of the hotel from Michigan Avenue. However, I am 71 and my wife is 66 and we walked from the hotel to the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue in less than 30 minutesand enjoyed every minute of the walk. . Other reviewers of this hotel have outlined ways to get around by cab, bus and subway. Overall, a great stay.
Great, new hotel close to restaurant strip
by TripAdvisor Member KristaInLondon
I was pleasantly surprised by the Crowne Plaza. Firstly, note that this is probably not the hotel to pick if you are in town to shop Michigan Avenue. It's definitely a 30+ minute walk, and about a $7 cab ride to Michigan. However, if you're in town for business (or a Bulls game) and need to be close to the West Loop/Sears Tower/United Center/Greektown, this is a great spot for you.
The rooms are decorated in pale green and brown. Very hotel-chic. The beds were extremely comforable--feather pillows! And lots of them. When we first checked in, there was a bag on the bed filled with lavender spray, an eyemask, and ear plugs, which I thought was a nice touch. The bathroom was really clean and tea/coffee making facilities were provided.
Note that the hotel does somewhat overlook the expressway, so if you're a light sleeper, be prepared for the dull hum of traffic noise. Thank goodness for those earplugs.
There's a business center in the hotel with 4 or 5 PCs and a printer. You can use the room for $5. There's a 24-hour gym, but I didn't check that out. There are no mini-bars in the room, which saved us money, but was bad when we came home thirsty late one evening and the soda machine on our floor wouldn't take bills.
I was in town for a wedding, and the rehearsal dinner was in Greektown (three block walk) and the wedding was at the top of the Sears Tower, so the location was perfect. Also note that there is a huge Dominick's (Grocery store) and a Walgreen's (Drugstore) right nearby. PLUS--you are just two blocks from all the awesome restaurants on Randolph Street so there is no excuse for eating in the hotel by yourself.
Solid Hotel Choice
by TripAdvisor Member LawTraveler
This is a completely renovated hotel with brand new facilities and rooms. The location is a little out of the way for downtown, but close enough to get there quickly by transit and taxi. I was there for an event we were hosting and was pleased by the overall experience.
The room was comfortable and nicely decorated. The bed was very comfortable and the work space was quite large and well laid out. I found the highway noise from 90/94 to be a bit annoying at night and would recommend the ear plugs for the truly noise sensitive. (Unfortunately, that may make hearing wake up alarms difficult.)
I ordered breakfast food from room service and was pleased with both the quantity and quality. Meeting facilities were clean, efficient and well-handled by the staff.
Overall, I was very pleased with my stay. I would recommend this place for folks who do not need to be right next to the Michigan Ave./Millenium Park strip, but want a reasonable close place to stay. The Greektown/Randolph Street areas are very nearby and the Dominicks and Walgreens are helpful conveniences.
A great stay
by TripAdvisor Member lam44
My husband and I stayed here while he was on business. The service was wonderful and the rooms were quite clean and updated. The bed is amazing and I hardly wanted to get out of it. The location is very near Greektown with several tasty restaurants - Pegasus and we highly recommend a trip to the Pan Hellenic Bakery. I walked from the hotel all over the city, straight down Madison. It might be a bit of a walk for some, but the walk to Millennium Park is about 15-20 minutes. Despite the front desk staff who told us it would be too long of a walk, we walked to Little Italy but after a huge dinner, we took a taxi back. The area seemed very safe and staying at the Crowne Plaza Metro is a good opportunity to check out some of the neighborhoods.
Not if you want to do business!
by TripAdvisor Member BeverlyGuy
This hotel is a mixed bag. As a former Rodeway Inn, it is located away from the central business district and right on the expressways. It's typically the last stop on the airport shuttles, making for a very long drive to numerous other central hotels before you reach your destination. On the positive side, it is still very quiet, and it is in easy walk to numerous restaurants in the Greektown area, all quite reasonably priced. The rooms are modestly appointed, with the biggest problem being overhead spotlights instead of night tables and lamps--meaning that once you are in bed the unadjustable and un-dimmable spots are either in your face or no light at all.
The biggest problem here is the so-called High Speed Internet service, which operates properly during the day, but come nightime, it is like a slow trickle. Two calls to the provider on my first night--when single e-mails were taking 30-60 seconds to open--resulted in a report that indeed something was wrong with the server. Promises to correct it "in ten minutes" were unfulfilled an hour later--while my business needs waited. A second call did no better. An effort then to go directly to hotel management was a disaster. The female night manager paid no attention whatsoever to my explanation that I had already spoken to the their provider (via 800 number in the room) and insisted that she would send a technician up to my room to "get you connected." IThat conversation only got more heated and less productive, and no other manager was on duty. Finally giving up to go to bed--without completing my planned work assignments--, I went to turn on the TV only to find it not working! That required getting dressed again for a technician to come and solve the problem (which was quickly done, but greatly annoying after hours ot tech problems and totally inadequate management response).
To give credit, my e-mails reporting the problems directly to Crowne Plaza corporate were answered in a few hours via e-mail (once it was working properly again the next day), and that prompted a note from a different manager left under my door (with a breakfast voucher that went unused, as my group had breakfast scheduled outside the hotel). Apparently this hotel is privately owned, operating under the Crowne Plaza banner.
If you want a quiet location, a $7-10 taxi ride from most desired Chicago business or tourist locations and a medium quality of room...this is your place. If you need to do business using the Internet, look elsewhere. If you expect hotel management to listen and be responsive, run elsewhere!
lovely hotel, but not downtown.
by TripAdvisor Member greeny_4
The hotel itself is brand new with nice public areas, tasteful rooms and great beds. The bar/restaurant is nice and all the staff were great. 2 minutes walk from Greektown with loads of good restaurants and an Irish pub with $3 Cosmos!
To get downtown you need to walk 4 blocks to the subway, or get the no 20 bus from accross the road with gets you into the loop where you can walk to the mag. Mile or change to the El. At night, we used taxis to and from the hotel and never paid more than $9.
Great if you don't mind this, but it is certainly not near the Magnificant mile or the lake
Cool Rehab, Strange Location
by TripAdvisor Member Brian Thomas
This freeway-side hotel had once been a Rodeway Inn and had since been transformed to a boutique-quality property. The location is either great or horrible depending on your interests. It IS right next to some interesting Greektown restaurants and bars, but it is also in the middle of a windy flat parking lot hard by the freeway. The rooms have been slicked-up with flat screen TV and trendy lighting, and mine had a nifty balcony, albeit overlooking directly the freeway.
The staff was helpful and the bar and restaurant in the hotel are nicely hip, offering some quite good seating set-ups for singles and groups. If you don't mind walking a bit, you can get to decent attractions or take a cab. You can't believe from the location and outside of the hotel how nicely they have "W"-ed it up.
Nice hotel but beds aren't comfortable
by TripAdvisor Member jpro1312
The rooms have a great modern decor and I love Crowne Plaza hotels but the beds aren't comfortable. They have all the new bedding but not a new mattress. I stayed the weekend with a friend and we both woke up with lower back pain in the morning. I know some people wrote the beds are comfortable so maybe they didn't update all the mattresses. I stayed in room 318. The room was nice and quiet. Couldn't hear neighbor rooms or hallway noise. This room rate is around $300/night on weekends but luckily I used my points otherwise I'd be pretty ticked about the price with the lack of bed comfort.
Everyone at the hotel was very nice but I wouldn't recommend the Dine restaurant that's attached - very pricey and slow service. The food was good but 1 little piece of chicken and 4 tiny potatoes was not worth $16...not to mention $2.50 for a glass of coke. If you want a really good steak ask the front desk for directions to Carmichaels. Excellent steak and service and only about 4 blocks from the hotel.
You're not in the heart of the city but you can get an all day bus pass from Dominick's grocery store (right across the street for $5). Bus #20 stops right in front of Dominick's and comes every 5 - 10 minutes. #20 will drop you off on Wabash (1 block from Michigan Ave) so definitely worth $5 in cold weather like we had. When we were ready to head back there was a bus stop showing #20 on the bus stop sign right on Michigan (across from Mill. park) but after waiting 15 min asked someone and was told the bus doesn't stop there on weekends...nice to know and isn't stated anywhere on the bus sign so we had to walk up a block to catch the bus back.
Great place, not so great housekeeping
by TripAdvisor Member KS_TravelingGirl
My mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and I stayed at this hotel during our visit to Chicago in mid June, 2006. The rooms are fabulous. The bed was one of the most comfortable I have ever slept on. The view is fantastic. It is located right by Greek town, with plenty of good food. Every afternoon and early evening you could smell fresh baked chocolate chip cookies from Dominick's, the grocery store across the street. It is a short walk to Giordanno's, the BEST pizza place in Chicago. There is a bus stop just across the street with regular stops. However, the housekeeping left quite a bit to be desired. We stayed for 3 nights, 4 days. Our trash was NEVER emptied. We had ordered in Chinese the first night we were there, and the bags continued to sit there until we left. We had to ask for fresh towels. They at least made the beds everyday. Other than that, the service was great, very helpful, and friendly. The bellman always made sure we knew where we were going when we left in the mornings. What a nice man!!
Very good service, nice atmosphere
by TripAdvisor Member LLindaC
We stayed here with friends for a recent business/pleasure trip. The location worked well for the men, the interstate is right by the hotel. For the ladies, we had the option of taking cabs or buses to various sights, but ended up getting several miles of fun walking exercise instead. We loved the Greek Town locale; there was a plethora of interesting Greek restaurants in a row all with Zagat ratings, plus a few carryout places and the token pizza spots as well. We chose to eat at the Greek Islands, which was excellent. The aromas around the area invite a stroll around there.We didn't dine in the hotel, but did go for after dinner drinks and it was quite pleasant, though a bit smoky in the bar.
We paid $110 for our room bidding on Priceline. Our room was on the 8th floor. You can hear a bit of traffic noise, but it's not bad; more like a hum. They have a dream machine by the bed with a CD which has soft sounds and they provide ear plugs, sleeping masks and lavender sheet spray. Nice touch. Bed linens were very nice and the mattress was comfortable.There was an iron, hair dryer, makeup mirror, modern shower head, large corner desk, flat screen TV,safe and a 4 cup coffee maker with ceramic mugs. Room movies are available, classic cable channels are free. A daily newspaper is provided. The room was spacious and decorated in earth tones. Each room has a balcony with sliding doors. The lobby was modern with oversized furniture decorated in browns, blacks and reds. There is a business center off the lobby with several computers and printers. There is a small fee per hour, but the hotel clerk gave us free access to print boarding passes. This friendly service was another perk here. The hotel offers an airport shuttle for $25. On site parking, whether self or valet, is $35 day.
There is a small exercise room on the second floor with 3 Precor treadmills, ellipticals and 4 Cycle Ops bike trainers. There are balance disks and exercise balls in two sizes, plus a whole wall of free weights. The hotel advertises an outdoor pool however it was covered for the winter.
Photos
to adler planetarium
menus
hungry
tollway tickets
Forum Posts
Allerton Crowne Plaza - Chicago
by lemonpie
Has anyone ever stayed here? What did you like or dislike about it? I am thinking of booking this over Thanksgiving. I want to be able to walk everywhere.
Any comments would be helpful. Thanks! :)
Congress Hotel At The Crowne Plaza Hotel
by annord
Why is vtanonymoutips review which is a labor news flash about the Congress Hotel at the reviews for the Crowne Plaza Chicago The Silversmith????
Sign in with Facebook
