The Write Inn, Oak Park

Parking: Garage is a full 3 blocks away and the rules for parking are many and confusing - Checking in/out a problem. You must negotiate 2 sets of doors and a staircase down to the lobby. Using a luggage rack is very difficult and the elevator is all the way to the rear of the lower level. The Room: Too small for even a luggage stand. There is no place to put your suitcase other than the bed or on the floor. No Closet, just a small armoire. The Bathroom: There is a full step up or down - Could be dangerous should one forget its there. There is just a mood light over the sink - Not enough light to shave. Cannot charge food at Hemingway's to your room charges. The only reason I would stay there again is that there is precious little competition in Oak Park for desirable hotel accommodations .

My father and I decided to have a week long July 4th family reunion in Chicago and picked this inn from the Internet reviews. I think we hit spot on, as it was a memorable, enjoyable and affordable experience. Well, bad things first. It's an old inn with an old carpeting in the corridors, which looks worn. Their new elevator is super slow (I think their old elevator - the oldest in Oak Park - is actually faster). Due to the layout, the restauraunt kitchen entrance faces the hallway, so it can get kinda noisy and smelly in the evening on the way to the elevator or to the lobby. The room lightning fixtures are very old and relatively dim, and the rooms themselves could have used a little more plugs. The general feel of the hotel is kinda dated, starting from the plumbing and ending in wall finish and the carpet (although the numbers are clean, and I had no problems whatsoever with the overall cleansiness). OK, now to the good part. It is a genuine hotel from the glorious days of Chicago, complete with the manual sliding door elevator (the oldest elevator in Oak Park!), solid wood furniture that looks like it's hundred years old (but very well maintained), pin-up art on the walls (not the rowdy pin-ups, the good art), posters from the 1920'es celebrating Lindberg's flight, old magazines and brass light fixtures. It stands on a very quiet and very green street, completely covered by the trees, right next to the Hemingway's museum and in the middle of the historic architectural district of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is also a short walk (well... maybe 15 minutes... I'm Torontonian, so I'm used to walking) from a bunch of very nice restauraunts, two food stores, and the subway station is right down the street, not even 5 minutes walk. It is actually a good thing that you have to walk to the parking, since it doesn't create a concrete wasteland next to such a nice inn, and it's right by the said subway station that goes right into the middle of downtown (green line). Practically, we just took subway to downtown on a daily basis, avoided the driving hassle altogether, visit the museums and such. In the evening we could have as much beer as we want there, and just hop back and go to bed in our hotel. Super convenient, if you ask me. It was a relatively short (and, what's more important, a rather stress-free) drive to Chicago Midway (my taxi bill was something like 32$). The hotel itself was really affordable. My extended stay bill for 7 nights for 2 people in a suite with 2 beds (despite being called a family suite, it was a rather small suite, and I would encourage families with kids to look at larger rooms) came to $530 including taxes. The staff was helpful (although they clearly didn't have the training of more expensive hotels - or any formal training - they were very helpful and reasonable), and the wireless Internet was fast and free. All in all, despite certain shortcomings it was an unforgettable experience. I think the decision to stay in a hotel depends on what you want from it. If you're looking for a sqeaky clean white industrial room with spa and vallet parking, I think you should look elsewhere, as probably you will just see an old hotel with oldish rooms and remote parking. If you come to visit old Chicago, all fired up on stories of gangsters and jazz and architecture - this is definitely a place to be, and I can't think of a better place to stay for a purely historic visit. I really like the place because of its wholesomeness and authenticity. The overall experience was clearly better than the sum of its parts.

The room had bedbugs!!!! and they are trying to charge me for the room.

My wife and I spent a week in Chicago at the Write Inn and loved it. The room was fine (not overly big, but clean and decent) and it was a fraction of what anything close to downtown cost. And the location is amazing. Oak Park is beautiful, with several great places to eat and nice shops. It was within easy walking distance of the "El Train" into the city, and had free parking in a nice parking ramp. We will definitely stay there for any future trips to Chicago. The only negative I could find was that the room we stayed in was fairly small. It was the "economy" room, so we excpeted it to be cramped, but it was actually a little roomier than we anticipated. It was cozy for 2 but would have been crowed with too many more.

This hotel is a great value. It is close to restaurants and public transportation. The staff is very helpful and the rooms are nicely furnished. Lastly, the price was certainly right. I will certainly stay there again.

The location is excellent, everything else is definitely mediocre. Carpets are dirty, furnishings sparse and customer service almost nonexistant. TV didn't work and we had to call a couple of times to get a coffee pot. The room did not resemble any in the advertising. It's an old building and you don't get much for your money. D.C

My fiance and I visited Chicago and stayed here for 2 nights. We loved this hotel. It has a great location- quaint neighborhood with great little shops and restaurants (also lots of beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright houses). Plus, it's only 2 blocks from an L station and from there the Loop is about a 30 min. train ride. Parking was not an issue for us because we used public transportation the whole time we were in Chicago.The room was incredibly spacious for the price (we had the Write Inn room). We chose this hotel because the other choices that compared in location and price looked completely trashy. Also, we didn't have any problems with cleanliness- the rooms are noticeably older than those of a hotel chain, but it is also an historic building. There were no problems with water pressure like some other historic hotels that are in Chicago. The only thing I disliked about the room was the fluorescent lighting in the bathroom was very, very dim. I couldn't see very well to put on my makeup. Also, there is no breakfast served here, but we had a coffee maker in the room and there was a Caribou Coffee a block away and there is a restaurant next to the hotel lobby. Other than the bathroom lighting, we loved our stay.

The ONLY plus about The Write Inn is the location. The room was WAY overpriced for what you receive. Parking was free but 3 blocks away and limited load/un-load area. The room was very disappointing. Lighting was terrible and the room smelled. Most of the furniture and walls looked dingy. Stay somewhere else if you have a choice!

We got a suite with a whirlpool. Loved the room, except the maids all kept their carts in the hall by the door. The halls are narrow. I glanced in one of the "cheap" rooms and found a murphy bed. Glad we picked the suite!!! The antique elevator seemed faster than the "new" one.

This hotel has the potential to be nice, but it is run SO poorly run right now, it's better to give it the skip. There was an unprofessional feel to pretty much everything done here. But the kicker was the parking. They have free parking, but its in a garage not owned by the hotel--about three blocks away. While at the inn I got a ticket from the parking lot people. When I brought this up to the person at the front desk I was told that, basically, it was my problem. I'm paying for the ticket, but I'm now challenging the credit card charges for the hotel. There were other problems too. They participated in one of my biggest pet peeves about a hotel, pay per day wireless internet. $10 for 24 hour access. And most of the staff was pretty unprofessional. There are two spots for loading and unloading (that you get to use to bring your luggage in before hiking to their parking lot). When I checked in, both spots were taken by employees, who were out there loitering around and smoking cigarettes. I would stay at the Carleton instead. I moved there after I left the Write Inn. A little more expensive, but indescribably better.