Crossland Economy Studios Chicago-Waukegan, Waukegan

When I checked in, hotel staff was very pleasant. When I needed directions, they were helpful and competent. And when I needed towels, they swapped my moldy ones for fresh. The first day I couldn't get the phone to work for an outside line. It was a local call, supposedly free, and I don't know why they had to 'turn on' the phone, but it wasn't until they did I could make a call. Well, they were friendly about it. The second day I was there, the computer locked me out of my room for non-payment -- but I'd paid for the full 5 days in advance! Again, friendly service, but not what you'd call competent. But you don't stay at the reception desk. They let me request a non-smoking room, but couldn't provide it. The room was not clean when I moved in, and except for the cleaning I did, none was done during my 5-day stay. The exhaust fan in the bathroom was the loudest I have ever heard. The bathroom had a pronounced mildew problem. The A/C was noisy -- had a bad fan rattle -- but not too effective (90 degree weather, I really needed it). And both Friday and Saturday nights, some of the semi-permanent residents stayed out in the parking lot past midnight playing with barking dogs, playing boom boxes, and revving extremely loud car engines. Being right on a highway, normally the road noise would have been the worst problem -- not here!