The Palmer House Hilton

We stayed at the Palmer House for a week on our most recent stay. It is one of the older hotels in Chicago and has a wonderfully vintage lobby. Many visitors to the city stop by the lobby bar for a drink or just to admire the decor.

We had a smaller room - only one double bed. The room also squeezed in a sitting chair and a small desk. Despite the size we found the room quite comfortable. It was clean, all of the furnishings were newer and the bed was comfortable.

We chose the Palmer primarily due to its location - it is right in the heart of the Loop area of Chicago. It is just a few blocks from the Art Institute and is walking distance to Navy Pier and the other museums off of Grant Park (Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, and Adler Planetarium). Which also makes it a popular hotel. There was a longish wait at check-in time and for the elevators at peak times.

The popularity also means that there aren't a lot of free amenities: no free internet in the rooms or usage of the fitness facility. The pool is free if somewhat small.

Overall I was quite satisfied with our stay. If you're going to be spending lots of time in the Loop it is one of your best options.

There is nothing for which I could say about my stay which was negative where this hotel was concerned. I was, obviously, a member of the International TV Media staying at the hotel to cover the election victory of President Obama. It was also my first visit to the United States of America. The hotel, it's staff and citizen's of Chicago did your country proud where I was dealing with any of you. I was afforded the warn and helpful welcome I hope Ireland will afford American tourists and workers! Thank you.

Unique Quality: Location, Friendly Check-In, Great rooms, Internet services, quality local restaurants.

Directions: Near the bean!

There is nothing for which I could say about my stay which was negative where this hotel was concerned. I was, obviously, a member of the International TV Media staying at the hotel to cover the election victory of President Obama. It was also my first visit to the United States of America. The hotel, it's staff and citizen's of Chicago did your country proud where I was dealing with any of you. I was afforded the warn and helpful welcome I hope Ireland will afford American tourists and workers! Thank you.

Unique Quality: Location, Friendly Check-In, Great rooms, Internet services, quality local restaurants.

Directions: Near the bean!

Promised a king bed and when I arrived (at 5 p.m.) I was tod they we "gone". Had to sleep on a "roll a way" for two nights and then had to call three times to get it delivered to my romm. Never again!

It was a beautiful hotel, however our room was tiny. The room was not like the pictures on their website. We weren't in the room that often so it was okay. Their was a lot of construction going on around the hotel when we were there, I would like to try again without the construction. It was an okay stay, however I was bigger fan of the Sheraton.

Paying full fare and getting what one is paying for is the way to go if you ask me. Unfortunately, that may not be the best approach with the PHH as their disorganization, understaffing and poor management did not allow for that. Let me start this review by saying that Palmer House did a lot to try to make up for our disappointing stay there this past weekend. Let me say further to this that I would have gladly forgone the room credits and free drinks to have what I had reserved with them in the first place. . . happy to bypass the hassles and loss of sleep.
I will abbreviate the issues but . . . where to begin?

The good things:
It was pretty clean (upholstery in all three of our rooms needed cleaning but the bathrooms were spotless) and despite other opinions, not expensive for the area. I book hotels a lot and found their price reasonable. The beds were very comfortable, nice bedding. The lobby is beautiful - though inconvenient as you enter and exit through a lower level. They have an airport check in kiosk that is a plus.

The not good things:
Reservations were made months in advance with needed room configurations and a special request that two of the rooms connect. They advised me - gave a special number - to call the day prior to check in and make my requests again, which I did. I received an email comfirming my room needs and that we were guaranteed a connecting room for our 80 year old mother. After we traveled much of the day - from Colorado, Louisiana, Idaho and New York - we all arrived at PHH (40 minutes after their 3 PM check-in time) and met with a 55 minute wait in the long long check in line. When we finally got to the desk, they didn’t have the rooms available that they had confirmed by email the day before - AND what rooms they had were not ready. "We're really busy" I am told. Mind you it's now after 4:30 PM. We are told that we'll have three rooms - each two beds- on the same floor and are given keys to two of them. We are leaving soon for early dinner and theatre plans and are promised that the keys to the third room will be waiting upstairs in our room upon our return. 10:45 PM - we're back - no keys. I go downstairs, wait in another line at the front desk and finally get the keys. Back on the 10th floor, my brothers head to the third room - which turns out to be a KING bed, not two beds. I call back downstairs, they have no other room for them and offer to send up a rollaway bed saying that it will take 15-30 minutes to get there. It takes one hour and by now, it's just before midnight. My brothers head off to their room again - but something has changed and their keys no longer work. This time I ask that someone from the staff come up and bring new keys. He does and promises that FIRST THING in the morning housekeeping will come and change the bed in the king room so we can switch and put Mom in there instead and get my brother off the rollaway. "We've been really busy," he says. Just then, a single gal checks into the room next to ours - she's alone but she gets a room with two double beds. I was supposed to have a king room she tells me. We both stare at a pizza box that's been there since we arrived.

The next morning, off we go for the day at 8 AM - returning at 4:30pm to find that King room has not been cleaned yet!! Pizza box is still out in the hall too. I call downstairs, 45 minutes later the room is finally made up and Mom gets her nap. I call management and they nicely comp us for the first night in two of the three rooms. That was the right thing for them to do. "We've been really busy," he says - but agrees that that's a lousy excuse to offer someone paying for their services.

My opinion: While I woulld recommend this hotel, don’t go there with expectations and don’t believe that they will do what they say they will. Communication and organization there are nearly non-existent. . . and "they're very busy."

Unique Quality: Pool and spa "not part of hotel" - $15. service charge for use. Pool closed anyay.

Directions: downtown - near Art Institute and park

The Palmer House Hilton is a historic hotel in the heart of Chicago's Loop. Currently undergoing renovations, the Hotel was owned and owned and operated by Hilton International from 1945 to 2005, but it is now no longer part of the Hilton family. however, the current owners (an international investment group) have retained the rights to use the Hilton in the name. (Is that weird or what?)

The Lobby is the big attraction here. It was originally built in the 1870s, after the terrible Chicago fire, and it certainly earns its keep as an opulent and grand public space. When I stayed in the Palmer House in March 2008, the lobby was more chaotic and confused than normal - due to the ongoing renovations underway at the property. The lobby bar was operating in the lobby itself - peculiar, but (I hope) just a temporary expedient until the renovations are completed.

The guest rooms of the hotel date from the 1920s, when the present structure of the hotel was created by the architectural firm of Holabird and Roche. It's one of the largest hotels in the city - around 1600 rooms - and their quality varies: some of them are quite small, and very few of the rooms have interesting views. On the other hand, with Priceline I've been able to stay here for around $80 a night, and you can't beat that!

Just going into the lobby to register when you arrive is an eye-opener. The decor is just tremendous and reflects the wealth of the man who built it in the late 19th century - even if you don't stay here it's worth visiting the bar to have a look! Our bedroom was more in keeping with the 21st century. The bed was very comfortable and the room was spotless. The bathroom was small but fine for our needs, and the room was supplied with a coffee maker and TV. We didn't experience any street noise and slept like logs during our visit.

The hotel is well situated - a short walk from the Art Institute and not too far from the other sights of the city. We stayed on a room only basis so I can't comment on the breakfasts, but the hotel is close to plenty of restaurants where you can fuel up for a day of exploring.

The staff were very friendly and helpful and have great suggestions for places to visit and where to eat.

Unique Quality: This hotel has such character! It has undergone some very sympathetic restoration recently and it's not difficult to imagine yourself staying here in the days of Potter Palmer himself. The corridors are lined with pictures of some of the stars who entertained guests in the Empire Room in the 1940s and 1950s. This was fun, if not a little spooky - my husband said it reminded him of the wall of photographs at the end of "The Shining"!

You can get a very reasonable rate for this hotel by looking on the web. It has a parking garage next door (quite expensive though). It has a beautiful lobby area with huge paintings on the high vaulted ceiling. Subway station just a short walk out the door.

The Palmer House Hilton is the oldest continuously operated hotel in "...." (I have forgotten what goes in the blanks. Chicago? North America?) It definitely is a fun place to arrive. We drove up and the valet quickly took over the car. A bellman whisks away your bags after asking your name and tells you they will be in your room later.

The lobby is grand with a bar, lovely comfortable seating areas, and well dressed people milling about. Check in was relatively smooth and Lorna schmoozed the check in girl getting us an upgrade to a room with two bathrooms; not a bad deal when there are three women. Because we had two double beds she also offered to include a rollaway.

We got to the door just as the bellman was arriving with our luggage. "Welcome to the Palmer House Hilton. We've been expecting you." We heard that several times over the next 3 days! he insisted on showing us all the amenities of our room; "This is your light switch. There is your TV. There is your coffee maker. There are the bathrooms. There is no longer a minibar but there is a bar in the lobby. The fire escape is there. The bottled water is $3.95. Internet access is $17.95." And here is my hand, waiting for a tip for showing you all these important things.

Now why is it that the priciest hotels always make you pay extra for anything beyond a bed? There were three of us, myself and my two daughters. The extra person was $25 per night. For what? towels? We didn't get extra soap or shampoo. And then when we called down to ask about the rollaway we were told that would be $30 extra. (They waived the fee when we told them that Lorna had been promised one at check in.) Parking was $40/day. The thing is, I can stay at a Super 8 for $69.00 and get free wifi, free breakfast and free parking. But pay $350 for a nice hotel and everything is extra. Something doesn't make sense.

Unique Quality: The Palmer House has some excellent appointments and feels very much like a piece of history. There are lots of reminders that it's currently owned by the Hiltons, including a little book in the room about the Hilton family. There are places where things are worn and could use repair, but for the most part it was very nice. The beds were extremely comfy with pillowtop mattresses and plush comforters.

The location is also great. It's only 3 blocks to the Lake, a couple to the "Bean". And close to shopping.