The Palmer House Hilton, Chicago

It was my first time in Chicago. Im not a big city girl and obviously that was written all over my face. I was caught in the spinning door of a shopping store where 2 men held me inside by not letting the door continue to move and robbed me. I felt so helpless and my fabulous Chicago trip went right down the drain. After getting back to the Hotel I decided to go grab some soup at the Lockwood Restaurant as I did the night before. I was so happy with my waiter Javier that I went back night after night durning my stay. That night however, since I was broke I told Javier I would not be eating as well as I had the last few days ( THE FOOD IS FABULOUS) He asked me why and I told him my story of being robbed just a few hours before. To my surprise Javier filled my glass up with wine and said dinner is on the house! I didnt want to take advantage of the situation (the food isnt super cheap...) but Javier didnt care. He brought me a huge salad that I didnt even order. My faboulous dinner with delicious mashed potatoes, bread, butter and made sure my wine glass was never empty. They brought me a fantastic molten chocolate cake and spiced hot wine for dessert. I know this meal was not cheap but according to Javier, they wanted to give back to me what I had taken away that night. NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS DID I EXPECT SUCH FANTASTIC SERVICE and it was so nice to get back that positive feeling towards a stranger and realize there is so much more good in this world then bad. I went to bed that night thankful to be safe and more then happy with my stay at the Palmer House. I have to go back to Chicago again Tuesday for business (ugh) and you can bet I will be staying at the Palmer house again with a fat tip for Javier and a little bit more self awareness! THANK YOU PALMER HOUSE!

The hotel has a beautiful lobby. Very large. I think the ceilings in the lobby were at least 3 stories tall. Wonderful architecture. Very classy. Now to the rooms. I had a King room that I booked on Priceline. You don't get to select the type of room on priceline like you do on expedia, orbiz, or any other travel site, so I had to call to make sure I had a King room. I was also told by a friend to ask for the more renevated room, which I was able to get, (I guess). The room was very very small. the bed was about 6 or 7 feet from the door. The room had a desk and a chair, but no extra comfy chair. No dresser to store my clothing. The ice bucket and two glasses were stored in the closet because there was no room to put it. The flat screen tv was mounted on the wall but a whole in the wall where the cable comes from was right in the middle of the wall (tacky) including all the wires to the tv halfway hanging down from the tv. (tacky again). The bathroom was ok, small but ok. I order room service, a $12 cheeseburger and soda turned out to be $32 after state tax, city tax, room service fee, 18% gratuity for room service orders. And the guy acted like he wanted a tip when he brought in the tray. Seriously?? A soda in the vending machine was $2.50 and so was bottled water. Luckily there was a 7-elevan down the street for my late night cravings. I put the do not disturb sign on the door because I wanted to sleep in late that next saturday morning. At 8am I am waken up by vacuuming by my door. Mind you the bed is close to the door. I felt like I was being punked. I guess do not disturb in only to keep the maids from knocking on your door. They didnt finish vacuuming the long azz hallway til and hour and a half later. There was no view from my window, only the back fire escape and the building next to me. I would never stay at this hotel or suggest anyone stay here.

I was on the 'Executive Level', Room 23-278. The room itself was very nice. The staff that cleaned and serviced the room were exceptional. The issue was the location of the room. There seemed to be a storage room next door. Every time the staff went in or out, which was all day, they 'slammed' the door. The walls of my room would vibrate. Also, the hall in front of my room seemed to be a staff lounging area. They were very loud and there most of the day. I had to work at night a couple of days and wanted to rest during the afternoon. This was impossible because of the two reasons stated. I chose not to report these issues to the management until I left because I did not want to have any staff retalliation. I would have moved to another hotel if I were there for personal reasons. My office wanted me to stay at the Palmer and I am a Hilton Honors member, thus I did not leave. Based on this experience, it will be hard for me to book another night at the Palmer House.

From the moment you arrived the staff made you feel special. The room was one of best I have ever stayed in, large, furnished beautifully, had two full bath's. The staff greeted you each and every time, visited with you, asked what they could do for you, over the top. It was a warm, wonderful experience, can not wait to return. Thank you Palmer House for making my stay in Chicago the best.

We used Priceline to get a room in Chicago. After negotiations, we got a room at the Palmer for $92 a night. From all the other reviews, I was expecting a dirty, rundown place, but that was not the case. We got a renovated room, I guess, since the room was clean and looked new. Yes, the bathroom is a bit small and the view from our room was bad, but overall it was a pleasant stay. The staff was helpful, especially when we asked about how to get to a certain place. The lobby's ceiling is AMAZING!

Could someone PLEASE wash the windows this century? I was there for 5 days on business. I 'upgraded" to the executive level. Not sure what I got. The minibar didn't unlock, I had to pay EXTRA for the fitness center, the internet, etc. etc. etc. The complimentary breakfast was cold coffee, warm milk, stale breads. The executive elevator didn't even go to the fitness center level.! The concierge could use some polite lessons from the housekeeping staff! The housekeepers were all fantastic ( and a better resource for things to do the the concierge!). The furniture was broke, the rooms tiny. I couldn't unpack my luggage. No room for clothes except a TINY closet.

I was SO happy with this hotel! My husband and I went for a weekend getaway and couldn't have been more pleased with every aspect of our accomodations. The hotel was immaculate, beautiful, historic, and was within walking distance of great places in the loop. We didn't have ANY of the problems that other reviewers had. When the windows were closed, you couldn't even hear the L and it ran right beneath our window (we were on the 15th floor). We only paid $78 a night through hotwire.com but I would have paid well over $100 a night for this hotel. The no coffee pot thing was wierd...but who cares! The decor was GORGEOUS. The place was SO clean. The room wasn't "tiny" like other people said. We had a king bed and it was the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in. We are DEFINITELY going back to this hotel the next time we're in Chicago!!!

Horrible experience. The place is a dump. There is vermin everywhere. The staff is unfriendly and ugly. I've had a better time at Motel 6.

The Palmer House Hilton, located centrally in Chicago's Loop area, has a beautiful lobby and public space. However, that's where the fun stops and the pain starts. The Palmer is by far the worst Hilton I ever stayed in. The service is nowhere near the supposed 4 star rating of this hotel. What we have here is a 4 star hotel with 1 star service (there are no 0 star hotels, btw). If you must stay here, come prepared for absolutely NO service. I tried to call guest services and the front desk from 4:30 - 5 PM for over 10 min each on 2 occasions to order breakfast for the next morning and nobody picked up. If you need something, be preapred to venture to the lobby and try to get it yourself. Forget breakfast. Another example of the "amenities" include the absence of a coffee machine in the rooms, and upon asking for one, they wanted $ 16.65 to rent me one plus two single-serve coffee bags for one night! I suggest to bring a little water heater and instant coffee or tea bags if you want something hot to drink, or stay somewhere else if you'd actually want room service and amentities commonly found even in 2 star hotels. I guess if you treat it more like a camping trip, it'll be more realistic. My advice: Stay here ONLY if you get a true steal of a deal, i.e.below motel 6 prices. Otherwise, do your homework, and book a room at one of the many good hotels the city of Chicago has to offer, and often at better rates than the Palmer House Hilton. I will also contact the Hilton group and ask them how the Palmer House ever got to be part of their chain.

After booking our anniversary trip on cheap tickets.com a month in advance, we arrived to find that they had no rooms. Then after a few minutes of waiting we were given the smallest room I've ever seen! Only one of us could be in the bathroom at the same time, seriously. It was terribly over-priced. This was the only time we've ever tried an expensive hotel, and we will never do it again. The lobby was beautiful, but I don't think it was worth it.