Chicago's Essex Inn - Chicago

The hotel staff was cold and uninterested. Rico at the check-in was wonderful, perhaps the only good thing about the stay. The area is in need of closer restaurants and the Columbia college students really bring the area down.

Booked this much more affordable hotel just a block away from a higher-end hotel while traveling for a conference and was happily surprised. Amazing location - right on S. Michigan Ave. across from Grant Park and within walking distance of the Field Museum, The Art Institute, Millennium Park and 2 CTA stops. I even walked to Willis Tower one evening […] but that was further away. Staff was extremely friendly, concierge staff was very helpful. You can grab an airport shuttle next door at the higher priced hotel. Lovely French brasserie attached to hotel offers a nice menu. Very happy with my stay & would definitely stay there again on a return visit - great value for what you get! Lisateave

Old building, but has been updated and is very clean. Only drawbacks were very thin walls (we could hear everything going on around us), and the 4th floor rooms off the pool deck open into a smoking area...probably not a big deal unless your neighbors get up at 6am to smoke (and laugh, and talk).

Great proximity to museums. Wish the room would have had a reading chair because other than a desk chair, there was no where to sit. Very small bathroom sink, no tub, but adequate.

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I wanted to take my daughter to the Shedd Aquarium. The Essex was in the perfect location. We were definitely within walking distance from the Museum Campus, most of the walk is through parks. There are pleanty of restaraunts within eight blocks of the hotel and a small convenience store just a block away. The hotel just needs a little bit better maintenance. […] The bath fan vents look like they haven't been cleaned since the hotel was built, there were lights burned out in the room and the pool was closed down for the first day of our stay, when it opened on the second day it was supposed to close from 7-7:30pm and re-open from 7:30 to 10 but it never re-opened leaving my daughter greatly dissapointed. Lisateave

The hotel location was really great and our kids loved the pool. It was nice they had a lifeguard on duty. We had to wait for our room past check in time because it wasn't ready and parking prices were outrageous. We weren't impressed with the restaurant in the hotel and they don't offer room service. But for the discount price it was nice. I'd recommend […] it! Lisateave

We were so pleased with this hotel! Perfect location for museums and within walking distance for our family of four to shopping and other sight seeing. I read the reviews before settling on this one and I really am delighted to say that all the positive comments that others made about their experience proved to absolutely true. Pool is awesome, service […] awesome, very affordable, clean, comfortable...you wont be dissapointed in the Essex if your looking for an affordable and enjoyable chicago experience! Lisateave

The pool at the Essex Inn is fabulous. It is a big indoor pool, and the water is nice and warm. The lifeguard is great. He rescued a little girl while we were there.

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I recently stayed at the Essex Inn Chicago and do NOT recommend this hotel! The location was great but beyond that I do not have many positive comments about the actual hotel. Needless to say I will NOT be staying here again. The professional photographs on the hotels website are beyond decieving. They give false advertisement. Very disappointed. The […] bathroom in the room was flat out disgusting. The shower floor was literally filthy and had hair in it, so obviously never cleaned after the last guest. Also, there were red ants on the bathroom floor. I addressed these issues to the front desk. They assured me that they would be taken care of & never were. On top of these bathroom issues, it is beyond small. You can barely use the sink to brush your teeth, the water in the shower is not that hot, and hope you are not a very big person or you flat out won't fit in the shower. The only window in the room was eye level with the pool and tables directed outside the window. So if I opened the curtains to let light in my room guests at the pool, tables, or walking by could see directly in my room. So I obviously kept the curtains closed to keep privacy which allowed no light in the room. My room was also right beside the elevator so I could not sleep at night because the walks are paper thing and could hear the elevator running all night as well as conversations in neighboring rooms. The hotel is out of date and you can not even regulate the temperature in your own room. I thought staying in the city I would have heard outside noises but all of the noises were inside the hotel not allowing me to sleep! Ridiculous! The only positive remarks that I can give is that the staff was very polite. However, do not waste your money staying here. Even though the hotel was less than adequate, I enjoyed the city! Lisateave

The hotel was out of the way. It did not surround a lot of the popular attractions . The pool with the lifeguard was an extra plus.

Just returned from a 3 night stay at this hotel over spring break and enjoyed our stay. The staff was helpful, rooms small but comfortable, shuttle was a nice touch, and the pool area was nice. We didn't eat at the restaurant because the menu was not food that a family would enjoy. Being further south on Michigan Ave, there was not a lot of restaurant […] or shopping choices. The musuem campus is within walking distance and has a good proximity for buses. I would recommend this hotel. Lisateave

This was my second time staying in an older hotel in Chicago and it was a very pleasant experience. I booked a standard room with two doubles, which was just enough room for my family of four. The room was very clean and simply decorated. There wasn't a whole lot of space around the room, but I don't expect lots of room when staying in older, inner […] city hotels. My husband took the kids to the pool and they loved it. There was a lifeguard on duty, which is rare in my hotel experiences. There is a deck outside of the pool which faces towards the lake for a lovely view. With small children, it was important to get a hotel within walking distance of some of the sights we wanted to see. We were near the museum campus and right across the street from Grant Park. The neighborhood felt very safe and we opted to pay for parking in an overnight lot, rather than using the hotel's valet, saving 10 dollars that way. Overall, I was very happy with my stay and would use this hotel again. Lisateave

Great location! Close to Subway and bus, to the aquarium and field museum. Great friendly service and Free Wifi!

I chose this hotel for proximity to a conference - pricing was better than conference venue. Would definitely stay there again. Small rooms, but clean and up-to-date. Easy walking distance to family-friendly venues, restaurants, and public transportation. Valet parking wasn't cheap, but offered option of in and out so overall was a good deal. Hotel's […] internet was free, but small band width unless you paid the additional fee. Several hot spots around the hotel, though, so could get free access if you looked. Desk, concierge and valet were all courteous, prompt & professional. Very good service experience. Lisateave

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Travelers: 2 adults, 2 children (boys ages 8, 6) Reason for Travel: Husband: business, Family: Vacation (Spring Break) My husband works in Chicago a lot and we previously have stayed near the airport and have taken the train in to the city. However, on this adventure, we wanted to stay within walking distance of Navy Pier and the Field Museum. Because […] we arrived during the Spring Break week, there was no deal to be had on this hotel, but we have always wanted to stay here because of its location. I drove in by myself with the kids and it was easy to find. I parked in the open parking behind the hotel which was the cheapest option available. We immediately made a bee-line for the pool, which was warm! Unfortunately, there was no hot tub which my sons always look forward to, but there was a lifeguard. There was a table set up with giant checkers and one with chess which they played in the evening. According to the booking site, I booked the last available room so our room was small - reminded me of Europe. There was no microwave, but there was a refrigerator. Since breakfast was not available, I was hoping to have that meal in the room. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. When the drink machine "ate" my son's quarters, they immediately helped us out (big things in a small world). We were able to run across the street to the ball diamonds to play catch while we waited for Daddy to finish work. *As a note, the free shuttle is available to drive to the museums (Shedd's, Field) and to Navy Pier and Magnificent Mile. Lisateave

The location was great! The pool was impressive! And so was the finding of another guests forgotten underware in the room. The sauna was pobably set at 100 F and not C - if the remembered to turn it on... The rates are variating significantly - if one manage to get the cheap rates - this is a great choise - if not I would go for another hotel (and so […] I did)... Lisateave

We were very pleased with our stay.

I was disappointed in the hotel during our visit to Chicago. There wasn't a lot to do right around where we were on Michigan Avenue. The beds were very uncomfortable and the pool temperature was too cold for our liking. We will choose a different hotel to stay in on our next trip to Chicago.

The lobby was very trendy & clean, staff nice enough, pool great and local even better! Our only complaint was that our room was SO warm! They have their heat/AC on season control, which basically means we had no control over the temp in our room.

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Spent two days here during Spring Break, perfect location to visit Shedd's Aquarium and Grant Park waterfront. Shuttle was very convenient for drop off to local attractions. Staff was outstanding! Had a problem with the mini fridge in our room and the housekeeping staff had it fixed in a matter of minutes. The pool is huge, a great activity for my toddler. […] Will stay again. Lisateave

I could not have asked for a better hotel for such a great price! Rooms are very nice and clean. Location is within walking distance of the museum campus and many other attractions. The pool and fitness area are also wonderful...but not hot tub. Staff is very friendly. Would definitely consider staying here again!

I really liked this hotel the location was awesome the staff was very friendly the only down side was the rooms are very small and if you are in an upper level room it will take at least 6 hours to cool your room down.

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I would stay here again if I go to Chicago. You don't have control over the temperature of the heater/air conditioner in the room, but you do get to choose if it is on or off (something I didn't figure out until the final night). The pool was wonderful! You have to pay for parking; the parking ramp connected to the hotel is $41 a night, but it's alright. […] The people working there are great. They are within easy walking distance of most of Chicago's major sites to see. It was really wonderful, and we got lucky and got the top floor. I'd always wanted to stay on the top floor. Our mattress was too firm for our taste, but for all we know, it was just in that room. We were still able to sleep soundly. I recommend staying here. Lisateave

My husband wanted to see the river dyed green and we figured no better place than Chicago. We decided to take our 2 boys, ages 11 & 16. The room was a little snug, but we really weren't in it much. The bathroom/shower were a little small also, but we manager. The room was clean. The heating/cooling was not the greatest. Was a little down Michigan Ave […] but still very short walk to all the attractions. The pool/sauna were nice, unfortunately no hot tub. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Parking was a bit steep, but cheaper than some of the hotels I noticed. My only real complaint was that we asked for a non-smoking room, which we got, but the smoking area was directly 1 floor below our room, so we could not have the window open and enjoy the fresh air if people were using the smoking area. And when I first called the front desk they told me it was a no smoking area, and the next day they told me it was the designated smoking area. Lisateave

I picked the Essex as one of the less expensive downtown hotels on Michigan Avenue within walking distance of the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute, and Cloud Gate. My room was clean and attractive and appeared to have been recently refurbished. The not quite perfect part comes from the heating and air conditioning system. The whole building […] must be on one mode or the other, so when the temperature changes suddenly (as when it went up into the 70's in March), there is no way to cool a very warm south-facing room, because the building is still in heating mode. My other complaint is that I sent them a couple of emails with questions before I went and received no replies Lisateave

The hotel was nice, room was sufficient in size, bath had to be recleaned when we got there but service was quick and efficient. Shuttle they offer to Museums and Michigan avenue is a great help. Restaurants are about 2 block away for breakfast or dinner.

We stated at the essex inn just 3 nights and everything was great. We were aware of the $41.00 valet parking so that was not a surprise for us. There are other options close to the hotel but we choose to let the car in the hotel for security reasons. The location is fantastic. Right in front of the lake and just few blocks from the center. Lots of places […] to eat around. The pool is one the best I've being to. Lisateave

Really bummed out was there for international home show went to Essex because they had a restaurant and bar we were very busy and last thing we wanted to do was go out to eat .they were closed did not know.last time

Close to most tourist attractions. Air conditioning not running the first night and there were no fans available - room was extremely hot. Swimming pool was closed for a repair for a day and a half.

The only thing I didn't like was the expensive parking. It was my first time to Chicago and didn't realize the availability of alternative parking.

This hotel was in a great location Within walking distance to MANY sightseeing areas. Restaurants where great and so were all the locals!!! The beds were small compared to other hotels we've stayed at, but overall worth the amount paid. Parking was a rip off when right down the road was so much cheaper. Just search out parking garages before going.

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First of all we asked and were told we would have a top level floor and when we got there we got floor 4...really thats not the top! Then for our family of 4 we got 2 doubles and they looked more like twin beds.The heat never was at a good temp either hot or cold.Then to top it off guest service was horrible.Only plus was the location was great for […] where we needed to go. I don't recommend this hotel and will not stay there again. Lisateave

(I posted this review with pictures on TripAdvisor, as well.) I stayed at the Essex Inn for a week while in Chicago for business and enjoyed my stay. The hotel is well located on South Michigan within a few blocks of an El stop and the subway. The hotel is within walking distance of Millennium Park and the Art Institute. There is a park across the […] street where many people jog and walk their dogs- it seems to be a very nice neighborhood and I always felt safe walking back from the train or museum, even later at night. The rooms are small but nicely updated. There is a mini-fridge in a cabinet under the TV. However, there was no microwave in the room or available to guests in the lobby area. There were plenty of TV channel selections. The heating system did not have thermostat control- it was either heat is on or off- but I learned to turn off the heat at night since I like it cooler to sleep. The windows open if only a tiny bit- that is a little perk that I always look for because it is nice to hear the street noise and get some fresh air. The bathroom was small but fine for just me- it would be hard for a couple to get ready in the same small space, though. There was not a full-length mirror in the room or the bath. The hotel had one of the nicest pool, sauna and fitness areas I’ve ever seen! There was always a friendly lifeguard on duty. The pool area has a bin full of pool toys like kick boards, balls and rings to toss as well as games like checkers and chess on the tables that surround the pool. The gym has plenty of cardio and strength equipment. Parking on site was slightly more expensive than surrounding public lots but included in/out privileges and was much more secure. For the difference of about $15/day it was worth it to me to know my car was in a supervised area. By far the best thing about the hotel was the service- from the front desk to the valet staff to the lifeguards to maintenance. I checked with the front desk every time I took the train to b Lisateave

Comfy, clean with a helpful staff. The kids loved the huge pool. Lifeguard was on duty as well.

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Booked a room here as an alternative to the "special rates" at the Hilton right next door for a professional conference. Room was totally adequate, considering we were hardly in it all day. We had to take shuttle buses to the convention center for meetings, and we picked them up just across the street. Wish I had more time to explore the downtown, museums, […] parks that were all within walking distance. Great location at a very good price! Lisateave

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My daughter was performing at the Merle Reskin Theatre (a venue for DePaul University's Theatre School.) The Essex is a block from the theatre, so that was perfect. It's a no frills hotel with comfy beds and a great pool. Loved the location.