Freehand Chicago

Very good

My third stay, and as always the staff are friendly. I love the comfort of the rooms, they are cozy, with a nice little desk and of course the bar and cafe are great. Toilet was running, maintence couldn't fix it. I had to turn the water off between flushes. Shower drain had someone else's hair in it, took them more than 24 hours to clean it. Nobody ever cleaned the room despite putting out the service sign. Also it got expensive.

Exceptional

The area was was the only good thing about booking here. No AC for the entire stay, our room was 85 degrees inside and felt like a sauna. Our Ac wall unit had blue coolant coming down the wall and the light was red and would not work. They said they sent someone to look at it and couldn't figure it out. I asked to move rooms and they said they were unable to do that due to being fully booked. I asked if we could at least have a fan and they said they were limited on resources. They did say that they would compensate me for my stay, and that I needed to reach out to booking.com to receive my refund. When I reached out to booking.com they said that the hotel denied any compensation. I looked this up on Google reviews, and the no AC, and not compensating people back on their stay is a regular occurrence at this hotel. I am going to report this hotel, for not providing AC in a hotel or apartment building in the summer is illegal in Chicago.

What a sweet surprise! We've never stayed at a hostel before. We had our own room with a queen bed and our own bathroom. It looked just like a hotel room with about 25% percent of the cost of other hotel rooms in Chicago. Very convenient location and a quick 20 minute walk to Navy Pier. Also, it was a quick 12 minute drive to Chicago Union station. The room was quiet and I would highly recommend!

We liked it all!

Only had drying towels and no wash cloths, empty soap bottles.

From the bottles to the tiles in the shower to the phone booth restaurants and overall atmosphere. This place is such a hidden gem in Chicago. Thank you for everything!

To me and my family. It was a OK hotel. Very outdated and we had to asked for towels and there was no shampoo or body wash so we walked next door to Walgreens to buy some. Our light in our room was very dark. I give it a 6/10.

Bad

Great location. Staff was okay, not really that helpful

Exceptional

My A/C was broke (and I was here in June), which I noticed as soon as I entered room. I notified desk on night 1, who said maintenance would address on day 2. Nothing was done day 2, so I went to front desk again. They said to come back day 3 morning and also gave me manager email for any complaints. I emailed manager and also went in day 3 morning to ask again if my A/C could be addressed, which they assured me it would. Yet again, when I came back to hotel day 3 evening it was not working. At this point I have up on the matter as it seemed to be a futile effort. Also, the manager never responded to my email from what is now about 4-5 days ago. No partial refund was given to me either for this issue.

Room was not cleaned. Covered heavily in dust that it made me sick. No working a/c unit, tv, or bedside lamp. Dana was apologetic and helpful during checkout.

Okay ish

The staff and bar were great! Location was nice with plenty of dining options within walking distance.

It’s convenient location

It was good place to stay for the Go Fest Event

I haven't stayed at a hotel/hostel before, so I don't know if my expectations were unreasonable. First, the good. The staff were friendly and helpful. The location was perfect. The hot water and AC were plentiful. I felt safe and wasn't bothered by noise from neighbors. I didn't see any bugs. They even had a live musician during at least one of the evenings I was there. Now the bad. We had a private quad. It was dirty. The walls, some of the bedding, the bunk bed curtains were stained and gross. We found trash from the previous guests. There was so much dust and debris, especially in the part of the bunks that held the mattresses. The shower curtain and tiles were moldy. The room needed a good scrubbing and a fresh coat of paint. I wouldn't stay there again unless they improved their housekeeping.

The property is close to areas you want to be and that was attractive. The entry to the hotel was attractive and the bar was really nice. However, when you got to the elevators and the rest of the hotel, that’s where it felt outdated and done poorly and cheaply. The room was very small, the sewer system smell was strong throughout our room and we couldn’t adjust the AC. I would not stay again as it felt more like a hostel stay than a hotel stay.