PremEx

Found a couple of minor reviews mixed in with some other general ORD hotel threads, but no thread dedicated to this one, so I'm starting this here.

I recently spent two nights here. I had arrived ORD at about 5am off of a redeye, and called the hotel from the airport to see if they might have a room available for a very early check-in. The hotel was 100% sold out which I knew from checking the day before on the web site, but the Front Desk clerk I spoke with said they had one room available....a Standard Double and it was mine if I wanted it, or I could wait for a better upgraded room which would likely be available starting around 11am. I opted for the Standard Double, which she then said she had blocked for me.

Walked to the shuttle stop and the shuttle arrived right on time. Shuttle runs every 20 minutes starting on the hour...24 hours.

Arrived front desk and check-in was friendly and smooth, and I was very glad to have a room to go to sleep in now at 6am after the sleepless redeye from HNL. This is a very old but large Four Points, but I rather liked it. The decor of my Standard Double was rather old and tired, but not too bad. It was very clean. Here's some photos:

http://members.aol.com/premexfiles/4pointORD618.jpg

I had noticed new furniture, beds and carpeting being staged down the hall and I later confirmed that the hotel is in the process of a major renovation.

Went to sleep and awoke around 11am and headed down to the restaurant to grab a bite. As I walked past the Front Desk the clerk who had checked me in waved me over and told me they had a better Executive King available if I wanted to move. I thought that was extremely nice as they had given me early check-in to begin with, but I guess they had no problem with cleaning and turning after I had used it for a few hours.

So I moved up to the 7th floor and an Executive King. This hallway was packed with new and old beds, recliner chairs, and other new and old furniture. I could tell the new hallway carpet had already been installed. I was a bit concerned about refurb noise, but I never heard a sound.

My Executive King was very nice. Everything from carpet to wallcoverings to furniture was new. Much of the bathroom was new as well. Very nice room, although this King room was smaller in total sq. ft. than my old Double room had been. Here's some photos of that one:

http://members.aol.com/premexfiles/4pointORD740.jpg

The hotel has free Wi-Fi throughout the property in both guestrooms and public spaces. And coverage was very good. I couldn't find any spot in the entire hotel that didn't have a good signal. The hotel also has a nice unattended Business Center with a couple of computers, Hi-Speed internet, printers and copy machine...all complimentary. This hotel has a lot of airline crew staying there and I saw many of them taking advantage of the Business Center to check their email. The Business Center also has a small Conference Room that is also gratis and is first come, first served.

The hotel is in the middle of nowhere location-wise. You could walk quite a ways to the nearby town, but I doubt many would attempt that. So you're pretty much locked into their restaurant if you don't have a car.

Overall, very pleased with my stay and for those that have stayed here in the past, you should notice quite a difference, especially once the refurb is complete.

techgirl

This is my most frequent ORD-area hotel. I've been very pleased with my stays there.

I've been upgraded twice to hot-tub suites... very nice!

One word of warning - this hotel is very spread out... you can potentially walk several minutes to get to your room.

PremEx

Now that you mention tubs...it dawned on me while I was there how rare it is these days to get a tub/shower combo with sliding glass doors, like this Four Points has. Most Starwoods these days have shower curtains.

tormapleaf

Stayed here this week after my flight was cancelled. Received a "Deluxe" King room on the 6th Floor. It was a real far walk from the elevators. In my opinion, the room was nothing special. Of course, the best feature was the bed. The wallpaper was stained with moisture and the TV was one of those old funky Zeniths. The bathroom had that 50s/60s decor with the tile and sliding glass doors. My luggage didn't make it and there were no robes which they could loan me.

TWA Guy

Any recent stays at the ORD Four Points? Considering a stay here in early May and have never stayed at a Four Points before. I have stayed at the ORD Gateway Suites and I will be staying at the Westin in two weeks. Need to keep the rate real low on the May trip. Thanks!

mcgahat

Staying at this hotel tonight and my room on the 6th floor is identical to the exec king in PremEx's pic. I also agree with his post even 2 years later. I think it is good for a 4 points but obviously not as nice as the Hilton ORD. I got a rate of $95 per night and probably wouldnt pay much more than that.

If jet noise bothers you.....this hotel isnt the best in sound proofing so if that bothers you then may not be the best place. I sleep well to the sound of the jets going by but it may bother some.

Bulldog King

I stayed at this hotel for the first time in July.

I was given an Exec King room....which was quite nice indeed.

There were 4 small (10oz) glass bottles of soda (2 Coke and 2 Diet Coke) in my refrigerator.

While the hotel itself was fine.......I can't say the same about the hotel's restaurant where I had my "free" breakfast (well...I was given a $12 voucher at check-in....).

Among other things, I was served "spoiled" juice.

I've stayed at all 3 SPG hotels at O'Hare this year.....and IMO, the Westin is definitely the best of the bunch.

A.J.

MapleLeaf

I was there recently and had no problems with food, the restaurant or spoiled juice. Sometimes things just happen.

If having to do a quick overnight in Chicago and need to fly early the next day, I would not hesitate to stay here again.

Vader

Agreed, had a decent room when I stayed here in May, although there was a big black stain on the carpet in the room. The bathroom was nice and new, but I had a hard time getting the free wireless internet connection as I was at a room in the end of the hotel.

wth

I'm curious since I stay in the ORD area 2-3 times/year. Was the breakfast voucher part of a promotional room rate, or was it provided recognizing your SPG elite status?

I also am slightly amused (or is it slightly miffed?) when a free breakfast has a dollar limit on it -- one that is difficult not to exceed. It's esp. vexing when a free American/full breakfast is promoted in a special rate and you only discover at check-in or later that there is a cap.

Bulldog King

It was part of a package rate offered at SPG.com.

FWIW, I was only a lowly SPG Gold at the time that I stayed there last month.

Heh....I felt the same way.

Normally, when I get breakfast included as part of a package rate plan.....there's no specified amount.

Case in point.....my recent stay at the Westin Embassy Row on a Travelzoo rate plan that included "full breakfast for 2":

My friend and I simply ordered breakfast entrees and drinks (i.e. coffee and juice) off the menu. FWIW, the food was good.

The only 2 times that I can remember a specific limit being imposed were during stays at 4pts........the other being the 4pts Portland Downtown in late 2005.

However, the limit on the voucher in Portland was just enough to cover the hot/cold breakfast buffet that they offered at the time......which was fine by me.

A.J.

wth

Thanks for the info.

Interestingly, the Four Points Portland Downtown was one of the places I had in mind when I made my statement. I wasn't too thrilled with their buffet so I ordered off the menu. I was charged a couple of bucks as I went over the limit. The front desk reversed it when I complained.

If not specifically defined, I expect free full/American breakfast to include the choice of any breakfast entree (incl. sides that may come with it) and at least one beverage -- juice, coffee, tea, etc.

kathnunley

I stayed at the 4 PTS - ORD last night and will add to what others have posted. As a platinum I received nothing special other than my "points". (No breakfast coupons, etc). Was given a SPG room on the 5th floor - LONG walk again. My biggest complaint with this hotel is the long walk to the SPG rooms. Why can't they put some close to the lobby?

The business center had just one computer in it but I was able to print off my boarding pass.

My room was nice - didn't care much for the glass sliding doors in the shower - kinda hard to get into the shower. There was a complimentary bottle of water in my room. The WiFi was not good down at my end of the property, but when I took my computer to the lounge the reception was excellent. The lounge is nice - they have complimentary hot snacks in the evening there. Also the bar has a full menu and the food is decent. The shuttle leaves every 20 minutes round the clock. No bill under my door - so required a few extra minutes when checking out. My rate was $120 - a bit higher than I wanted to pay for this property but that was the lowest I could get - and I checked back frequently. No AAA discount offered.

I'd rate the property as "fair". I figure I'm paying for the convenience.

mcgahat

That reminded me of the fact that the shower head was pretty low in the shower. I am not tall (5'8'") and I hit my head on the shower and would say it came down to about my forehead. Dont know if it is like that in all rooms.

redraiderkcc

I know the review is long, I wanted to go into full detail what you should expect. My wife and I stayed at this hotel for 1 night. As a Starwood Preferred Guest Member at the Gold level, I expected something far better from Starwood. I can’t believe they allow there name to this hotel.

Because we were making a quick trip to the O’Hare area, I decided to just cash in some points for the stay. Our flight was delayed, so we didn’t arrive to the hotel until after midnight. Upon arrival, I hand the clerk my credit card and told him I had a reservation. He handed me some room keys and we were on our way.

Upon arrival to our room, we were completely disgusted. The room was terribly gross and nasty. You could just see filth everywhere: on the walls, in the carpet, in the shower, on the furniture, I mean everywhere. The room was a hodge podge of furniture. There was no headboard, no artwork, all the walls were painted a different color, the carpet was badly soiled and stained which matched the drapes and comforter. What furniture was there, looked like rats had been chewing on, it was so scratched up and just had chunks removed. Neither lamps matched each other, much less everything else in the room.

I have no idea what was going on with the shower. Several tiles were moldy and the contraption they used for the shower curtain looked like something out of this world. Needless to say, we spent the entire time in our shoes and clothes.

The following morning, we were awoken by some sort of drilling, jacking, and hammering. The clerk failed to mention this the night before. I have stayed in countless hotels doing construction but have never heard anything like this before. We showered and dressed quickly wanting to get the hell out of there. When leaving, we noticed several rooms marked “Starwood Preferred Guest Room”. It seems odd; we were not assigned one of these rooms as they were clearly vacant. No newspaper was left outside the room. I know I am only a gold member, but normally I am assigned to some sort small upgrade.

Upon checkout, I asked to speak to the manager. Two come forward and I began to tell them how disappointed I was in the hotel. It was not only by far the most disgusting place I had seen, but definitely the filthiest Starwood.

I still feel dirty and gross!