burkey

I'll be at the Palmer House in Chicago, Mar 11-14 for a conference. I've got a Tower room booked. Anyone have any comments about the Palmer House?

neyoisles

I've been staying at the Palmer House for about a month. The Hotel itself is not bad. It is known for being the oldest hotel in Chicago. The decor in the lobby is pretty nice. The rooms themselves are pretty standard. Some rooms are rather small. Unfortunately I have not had the pleasure of staying in one of the tower rooms. Every time I check in, they tell me all the Tower rooms are booked. From what I hear though, you will be pretty happy in one of the tower rooms.

jamiel

it is a real landmark in Chicago---a little bit out of the mainstream since it is in the South Loop, but a nice place nonethleless. Go to Pizzeria Uno for me!

vgrove

Stayed there for a 3 months last year. It is a nice hotel. However, the rooms are hit or miss. You might get a room big enough to house a bowling alley with 2 bathrooms or you may get a NYC style tiny room. The towers have a very nice breakfast and they also have a nice workout facility. They are running some special promo there. can't think of it at this point. Upgrading to towers was never a problem for me. I just used my confirmable upgrade certs.

burkey

Thanks for all the comments, and hopefully, I'll be fortunate enough to get the bowling alley sized room! Yep, there was a promo there, anywhere from $89-$149 a night, it can be found on Hilton's web site. (But of course, it's not for the days I'll be there.)
And, I'll try and hit the Pizzeria Uno for ya jamel, you know how those conferences are, one day for the exhibit hall, and 2 days to play!

Catman

I did not get a chance to stay at the Palmer House hotel but it's one of the most beautiful hotels I've seen. The lobby is terrific, classic styling with a great staircase! And it's in the vacinity of Marshall Field's, what the Cat considers the most beautiful (architecture wise) department stores in the world. (Sorry Macy's your Herald Sq. store is simply too crowded for me!)

When you make your reservation, if you are a HHOnors member you are in the right to ask
for a big room (if available) After all if you are a HHonors member they should not stick you in a closet (or NYC styled apartment!)

OMNI: Just a warning on Pizzeria Uno: You'll have a long wait for a table at the original one. It's small and gets packed very often.
My advice: Place your order or name on the list, go somewhere locally and come back about five minutes before they tell you when your table will be ready. But the pizza's worth the wait! CATMAN

burkey

hello... thanks for all the comments again, i'm just getting settled into my towers room, and getting ready to head to the lounge for a drink. i got one of the BIG rooms, and not the nyc closet, staff have been good so far, just a little slow on the check-in....

AnnaS

OMNI on UNO's:

If you are able to go at lunchtime, you can sit at the bar and they have an express lunch for individual-sized pizzas with either minestrone soup (yum!) or salad. Add a soda to that and you've got an absolutely yummy lunch for about $5-7 dollars (was around $5 last time I was there). Have pizza for me too, the only UNO's worth going to is in Chicago. If you want some really good Mexican in that area, Su Casa was founded by the same man (Ike Sewell?) and is around the corner. Enjoy!

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Regards,
- Anna

BBQ_Pork_Sandwich

I know this may spark a major debate among us Chicagoans, but Lou Malnati's downtown has the best Chicago-style pizza in town. Uno's and Gino's East are great, but Lou's is #1.

Also, if you are looking for some good BBQ (kinda my specialty), you will be in for a treat if you can find a Famous Dave's or Red Hot & Blue.

--BBQ

MiaCharlie

I did some searches and haven't seen a post since 1999.

Anyone stayed at the Palmer House in Chicago recently. I'll be there next weekend.
Im hilton gold, hoping for some luck upgrade wise.

Thanks

prncess674

I love the Palmer House Hilton. The tower rooms are really nice and spacious. This is an old hotel but it is beautifully maintained. I have never stayed in anything other than a tower room so I can't compare to a regular room. The tower lounge is quiet in the evening, but the appetizers are pretty good. There is usually a choice of two hot foods and cheese and cracker tray. The continental breakfast is really nice as well. Large assortment of pastries, cereals, fruits, juices etc. I had a corner room which was very quiet. I am not sure if I had a view. I just don't count "a view" as an upgrade when I am on business. I had a desk and a small table with a chair. There was also a small bench as the end of the bed. The bathroom had the biggest collection of amenities I have ever gotten in a hotel. Turndown service was very polite and leaves really good little chocolates. There is also a robe layed out for you. Overall I really like this property. The towers staff are very friendly but tend to let you drink your glass of wine and watch the evening news. Was there something in particular you wanted to know?



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Rachel
CO - Silver
Hilton - Diamond
SPG - Platinum

LAX UA 1K

Glad you asked. This is one of my favorite properties. The rooms vary very widely in size throughout the hotel. We recently stayed with friends who were on the non-towers floors and they reported that the service and room amenties were quite a cut below the towers.

The express elevator to the three towers floors are a major blessing in busy times and they are very elegant conveyances indeed (we love the benches inside, now fully repaired). In addition to the breakfast and hors d'ouvres already mentioned, there is a fridge that they stock all day with soda and juice. You can take these to your room and avoid the dreaded minibar. When the bartender is on duty, he or she will gladly give you whatever canned soft drinks you want to take to your room or enjoy in the lounge.

The property has a policy that you can book the towers for a fixed charge over your basic rate plan, even on cheap rates. I've always booked the tower rates with cheap basic plans. I think it's $35 currently. The towers has a per person charge ($15) if you reserve for two, but they are very good about 'spouse stays free' and will drop the extra person charge.

The 'in-house' reservations (it's in Texas but dedicated for the Chicago Hiltons) has much more access to rates than the national Hilton reservations, including specials and the ability to add towers upgrades to most rates.

You might check the web or in-house reservations to see how booked the towers are for your dates if you are considering paying for the upgrade.

When you check in, I suggest if you are at all unsure, check out the room before you move in and ask what else might be available if you care. As we've stayed there more we have come to know what we like and what to expect

Beware that late night check ins are at the mercy of what's left, even though they do try to block rooms. It's absolutely worth calling during the day to request a blocked room and give an accurate arrival time. If you are staying a while, offer to move the next day if the rooms available aren't what you want.

If you are traveling with others, a particular favorite room is the towers room with two full baths (one at each end). It's not a suite, but there are a number of these large rooms. I don't know if they exist on the lower floors, but I suspect they've chopped the space into two small rooms on the floors below.

Even though I have reserved towers every time, I always feel well treated as a gold member and get the sense that the desk clerks try to find the nicest rooms they can. I have never been offered an upgrade to a true suite even when I have politely asked, but the rooms described above are darn good rooms.

Let us know how you make out.

Miller's Pub, next door to the Wabash entrance, is open very late with a reasonably-priced menu featuring prime rib, ribs, some Greek food and generally friendly (even amusing) service. The Big Downtown (also open quite late) on the ground floor of the hotel is not bad in price or quality for a hotel restaurant. We tend to eat a lot of meals at Miller's, though. :-) I don't know of much else that's open late in the Loop; they roll the sidewalks up early in that part of town.

The Berghoff on Adams is wonderful, but eat early. No late dining there. And we were most impressed with the selection and bargain prices at Under 55 a massive lunch oepration under the office tower next door at 55 Monroe Street.

Charles

Craig6z

A non-Tower room at this property is unacceptable. The room size and quality vary so much it isn't worth playing the lottery. If you don't get an upgrade to the Tower, you will be miserable.

Consequently, I stopped booking the Palmer House.

ILuvParis

Another excellent restaurant nearby is the Atwood Cafe, at the corner of State and Washington in the new Burnham Hotel. Its a very nice room on the ground floor with high ceilings and high windows that look out on the Loop and Marshall Field's. I went for the third time within about a year and the waiter said, when he presented the bill, Mr. _____, as a frequent guest, your first round of drinks is on us. Obviously, I'll be back.

hedoman

The largest suite I've ever occupied was at this hotel in the old section. The second largest (and nicest) was at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco in the old section.

Both secured by luck of a fantastic free upgrade. I agree, the downside is not worth the risk of getting stuck in a closet.