Hilton HHonors - Chicago Hilton and Towers - Not impressed




pgalore
Jun 27, 04, 1:27 pm
About a month ago, I arrived at this hotel for a 4 night stay. Flight delays prevented me from arriving until around 12 AM.

When I approached the front desk to check in, I saw that there was a long line of people waiting to check in, and only one desk clerk working.

The desk clerk would talk to the person he was checking in, then disappear in the back for several minutes and return.

About 1/2 hour later, I got close enough to hear what was going on. Apparently, the hotel had run out of rooms, and did not have enough rooms for people who had reservations. They were offering: smoking parlors, or free rooms at the adjacent hotel (which is not a 3 star hotel). In the smoking parlor, you would share your hotel room with another person. Is that unbelievable! By the time I got to check in (1 hour after standing in line), I found out that I did in fact have a room reserved (at least Diamond status got me something).

The next day, I went to the concierge level desk to complain about having to wait one hour to check in, and asked for some kind of compensation. The desk clerk there said they would send a certificate for a free night's stay. I have yet to receive anything from this hotel.

Needless to say, I doubt I will be frequenting this hotel anytime soon!

In a similar situation, I recently stayed at the Riverside Marriott in Norfolk VA, and again received a smoking room because of my late arrival (depsite my reservation for non-smoking room). One week later I received a letter from the manager of the hotel, asking what could be done to make up for their not giving me the accomodations I reserved.

Why is customer service so hard to fulfill?


JDiver
Jun 27, 04, 3:19 pm
<snip> Why is customer service so hard to fulfill?

Because of poor management practices and lack of training. :td:

The hotel should have had a HHonors elite placard and taken care of the folks who lined up there first, or had a rapid check-in available. But it sounds like they left a fairly untrained desk clerk to handle all the late folks, the walks (this is pretty standard for a hotel that has overbooked, with compensation as required,) and the crerative way of handling overbooks - shared parlors! What a mess! :eek:

SEA_Tigger
Jun 27, 04, 4:25 pm
I thought this hotel had the new electronic checkin machines Hilton is testing?

I admit the rooms are pretty small and mighty old, but the location was nice for visiting the Field Museum / Shedd Aquarium and I did enjoy both the Saturday brunch (cheese blintzes!) and the Irish Pub next door - tons of food for the price.


choptliva
Jun 27, 04, 9:09 pm
I have not been impressed by Chicago Hilton either, and I've made a point to NOT stay at this hotel when I visit Chicago. It's particularly sad that (I believe) this hotel is actually a Hilton-owned property. There's a total lack of service culture which I can only attribute to management failure.

ssullivan
Jun 28, 04, 10:34 am
My stays at the Chicago Hilton have actually always been very good. Fast check in with prompt, friendly service, upgrades to large, lake-view rooms (even on reward stays), and good service in the conceirge lounge. Maybe I've just had good luck with the property but I've always been pleased with it.

jasfin
Jun 29, 04, 8:00 pm
My stays have always been good and I'm only gold(as is 78.5% of all guests).
They do have an elite checkin on one of the upper floors and the people there seem to be better trained. That said for some reason if it was bad the first time it s tough to turn it around. Many people like the palmer house which is close

pgalore
Jul 4, 04, 9:32 am
I thought this hotel had the new electronic checkin machines Hilton is testing?

I admit the rooms are pretty small and mighty old, but the location was nice for visiting the Field Museum / Shedd Aquarium and I did enjoy both the Saturday brunch (cheese blintzes!) and the Irish Pub next door - tons of food for the price.


The electronic checkins are only usable up until a certain time. After which, you're on your own.

They need to have the self-check in running 24 hours, so you don't have to contend with the Dartmouth chess club front desk staff. Not to be mean, but I value my time, and I will never get that hour of my life back.

paulbarton
Jul 24, 04, 8:43 pm
I have stayed at the chicago hilton and towers about 8 times now. Every time has been excellent. I check in with the concierge in the towers loung and have never had to wait - don't waste time queuing at the main check in desk there are almost always line ups. I have always had an upgrade to a mini suite. I like the hotel for its convenience (especially to Buddy Guys!) and the grandeur. The regular free hotel shuttle around the magnificent mile helps improve accessibility too.

GroupFlyer
Jul 25, 04, 9:35 pm
The next day, I went to the concierge level desk to complain about having to wait one hour to check in, and asked for some kind of compensation. The desk clerk there said they would send a certificate for a free night's stay. I have yet to receive anything from this hotel.

You should not have taken your complaint up with the Concierge albeit a legitimate one. ASk to speak to the Manager on Duty who can arrange compensation or service recovery immediately.

TopGun
Jul 31, 04, 6:41 pm
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. That's why I hate checking in late. I've always had a good experience with Hilton but I haven't always gotten the better accomodations. I had a really good stay in Chicago last year though.

drb671
Aug 3, 04, 1:17 pm
I have not been impressed by Chicago Hilton either, and I've made a point to NOT stay at this hotel when I visit Chicago. It's particularly sad that (I believe) this hotel is actually a Hilton-owned property. There's a total lack of service culture which I can only attribute to management failure.

The hotel is technically owned by Prudential, however it is still managed by Hilton Corporate. It is an old hotel, no matter how much they renovate, there are certain things which will never improve (ie. temp of the rooms is controlled by the hotel)



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