I'm doing my first mileage run to obtain Silver Medallion status with Delta. I realized I was approximately 3,000 miles short of reaching silver status for 2007 and could do a mileage run and achieve it! I just booked my hotel room at Homewood Suites Chicago Downtown. Can any fellow posters comment on this property? I was able to get a good rate so I booked it. I'm excited about finally achieving "status" on an airline, for what it's worth these days! Thanks!

I have a pending reservation for this Prop. in Dec. Have'nt stayed there yet but it is a GREAT location. Michigan Ave. (Miracle Mile) a few blocks to the east, theater district to the south and just about anything else you might want to do close by. Check out the Weber BBQ in the HGI just to the west, Awesome food. Even the breakfast is cooked on Weber BBQ's.

I stayed here for one night after spending approximately 10 weeks in Chicago on business. During that time, I typically stayed at the W Lakeshore, the Embassy Suites Downtown or the Hilton Garden Inn. The ES and HGI are all very close to the Homewood Suites, and I agree it is a great location.

After my one night stay at the Homewood, I was pretty upset with myself for not having tried it out sooner. I definitely prefer it to both the ES and the HGI. And there's no doubt that the location is better than the W, unless you really want a view of Lake Michigan for some reason.

So, I'd say you can't go wrong with the Homewood Suites. They offer a free breakfast and a manager's reception with a decent selection of free food, beer and wine. Not gourmet by any means, but passable -- and free is always good.

The full kitchen in the suite was a nice plus and definitely would have been great for my Sunday - Thursday schedule. Didn't notice the bed being any worse than either of the other two Hilton properties.

Earlier in the year, I used my 3 free night certs for a 3 night leisure stay at the Conrad Chicago. I was not terribly impressed with the Conrad. If I had to do it over, knowing what I know now, I would have chosen to stay at the Homewood Suites (which is basically right across the street from the Conrad), paid for the 3 nights, and saved my free night certs for a different property. Live and learn, I guess, but what I'm trying to stay is, you made a solid choice. I doubt you'll be disappointed if you are familiar with the Homewood brand. The ONLY drawback I can see is that Homewood only offers 250 My Way points instead of the HGI 750 or the ES 1000. Even so, I would still choose the Homewood in the future.

I stayed there a few years ago over the 4th of July weekend. I agree it is in a terrific location and there is a subway stop only about one block away.

When the place is busy, the elevators are inadequate and the breakfast/evening reception is a mob scene. Again, I was there over a holiday weekend that included a lot of families.

I'd stay there again. I think you will like it.

Thanks everyone for your follow up! I've stayed at Homewood Suites before and really appreciate all the room and good price. I've found weekend rates as low as $59!!! There are a couple HWS in the Portland, OR metro area that I've used for weekend stays, and feel "almost home".

I'm anxious to try the Weber BBQ!!! I've seen that place featured on the Travel Channel. As I said, this is a mileage run, so I'll have a full day in Chicago, have been there before so I can find new places this trip!

We stayed there this last June. It was great. The location is wonderful but additonally the staff is very friendly, very helpful and they make you feel very welcome. It was one of the few times I felt like someone was happy to have my business.
The suite was a decent size and the breakfast was more than expected and provided a nice selection with variances in the menu each morning. They also serve free wine with the manager's buffet in the evening.
This place turned me on to Homewood Suites and I am staying at one in DC next May.

Marysunshie - isn't this brand wonderful! They are great when you don't want to do the "eat out every meal" and stay in. I wish these hotels were around about 20 years ago when I relocated and my townhome wasn't ready to move into! Thanks for your info!! I can't wait to get away!!

I noted in my review what room number configuration gives you the bigger suites (yes...all HS Chicago suites aren't created equally).

HS Chicago is a great value during the Fall and Winter seasons. Good prices...I stayed for 2 weeks last Xmas...$99/night! During the summer...it gets crazy at $400/night!

have fun!

I have stayed twice and liked it both times. The subway from Midway is convienent and the breakfast and manager's reception was great. Very short walk to Michigan Ave.
Eric

I stayed there in April when my niece and nephew came to visit me for their spring break. The location was excellent and around the corner is the ESPN which my nephew liked. The front desk staff was fantastic. My only complaint was that when you open the sofa bed you cannot watch the T.V. there because the bed was too high and close to the T.V. Now that I know that there are different room configurations, I'll try it again.

My daughter is staying there now. Yesterday she woke up to
a fantastic view near the beginning of the Chicago Marathon.

I stayed there 4th of July week (7 days). This hotel wa the best location for seeing all of the sights of Chicago.The red line was only 1 short block away. The Jewel store for your grocies was less then 2 blocks away, great food at the Weber Grill, a short walk to Michigan Ave. and allof its great stores and sights.

Any input on the bed and bath?

Is the bed super-comfortable? How large/small is the bath? And is the ac/heat system one of the dreaded nosiy wall units or central ac/heat?

This is Mrs JJ's favorite hotel in Chicago (unless its a special occasion or someone else's dollar -then its the Park Hyatt or Four Seasons). We've seen the same staff on many visits and it's nice to recognize them - and be recognized. They also have free use of computers in their business center for those of us that refuse to take lap tops on trips. As I remember, there is nothing very special or bad about the beds, the baths might be a bit small, I believe there is a wall AC/heat control but do not remember about any abnormal noise levels (after living in Chicago for 20+ years noise levels become quite subjective). We'll be back starting 12/19.

Happy New Year All,

Earlier in the week, I was at the Homewood Suites in Downtown Chicago. Overall, the hotel was very nice although the breakfast was really crowded and we couldn't take advantage of it. The room was nice with a good view.

The one big problem that I had was with the valet service. They asked us to give them 20 minutes to get the car. Well, we gave them our ticket and asked them to deliver the car in 40 minutes (it was pretty slow at the time.) We were going to drive over to the museum area. After a walk and a little shopping, we returned 38 minutes later and the car was not there. No big deal I thought and talked to the valet and he assured me that it was coming. (probably stuck in traffic)

25 minutes later and no car in sight, I started getting suspicious and started questioning the valet. Well, it turned out that they forgot to get my car and the keys were still in the key closet. I was pretty livid and gave them a piece of my mind. I told them to forget it and we took a cab.

The next day, they ended up losing the car and I had to find the keys on the rack.

On the plus side, they did end up comping our parking (at $35.00/day, one would expect better service) which was fair. They were also very apologetic about the whole issue.

Anyway, if you go to this hotel, demand your car as quickly as possible and don't give them time. (my mistake.)