Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 12:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
90 reviews
Neighborhood: Bucktown
"Took my Dinner Club here on Tuesday night for the $30 prix fixe, and we had an excellent time. VERY small space, so definitely make…" read more »
12 Reviews for Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront
We had our wedding here and it was perfect. For a downtown location, it is very reasonable. We worked with Thelma and she was so wonderful. The room is a little narrow and long, but that is my only issue. The staff was so nice and they dealt with many of our annoying family members with tons of grace. They did have a light malfunction that no one could fix, but our dj set up a make shift lighting arrangement with his equipment. It actually looked pretty cool! Overall, our wedding was wonderful and The Embassy Suites had a lot to do with that!
For the amount of money we paid, this was a great hotel. The hotel is located only a couple of blocks from Navy Pier and the Magnificent Mile. Our suite had a queen size bed in the bedroom, as well as a convertable sofa in the living room. The living room also had a flat-screen tv. While all of these amenities were nice, in my opininon, the hotel's best feature is the complimentary manager's reception from 5:30 to 7:30 each night. For two hours, they offer their guests free well drinks and free domestic draft beer, as well as free chips and salsa to snack on. Needless to say, we took full advantage of the hotel's generosity during our three night stay. Depending on what night of the week you are there, there may be a bit of a line for the drinks. This was the case on a Saturday evening. We quickly learned that the best way to deal with this was to get our drinks and then get back in line. By the time we finished our drinks, we were at the front of the line and could order more. The hotel also offers a complimentary breakfast from 6:30 to 9:30 on weekdays and from 7:00 to 10:30 on weekends. We never woke up in time to make it to breakfast, but apparently they offer made to order omelettes. Ironically, I think our taking advantage of the complimentary evening reception may have in part contributed to our inability to make it to the complimentary breakfast.
For an old building, this Embassy Suites is very well maintained and has been remodeled well. If you ever want to see how old the hotel is...go down the stairs and check out what that's like...they never repaint or remodel stairwells.
The rooms are spacious (another clue that it is an older building) and laid out well....your standard ES....but still excellent. The open atrium Embassy Suite trademark...makes it noisy at times in the living room...especially during happy hour or during a party.....but the bedroom in the back of the suite with it's locked door...takes the edge off the noise. Four people can stay in this suite and not feel cramped at all...plenty of room for even 6 people.....if they let that many stay in the room.
The included breakfast and happy hour...wine. beer and snacks...is very welcomed if you are on a per diem or budget. One dinner downtown can set you WAY back......That takes the edge off staying downtown and its high prices.
Breakfast is the best of any of the suites hotels around the country. The highlight is the omlette station. A chef prepares a custom omlette for you . You pick out all the ingredients like peppers, onions, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, ham, cheeses, etc. With that you also get fried potatoes or pancakes. Quite a wide range of selection. There is also a large fruit area to get all your standard fruits...melons, apples, oranges, bananas, etc. There is a danish/donut/pastry tray as well as cereals and oatmeal. Apple, cranberry and orange juices are available as well as all the coffee. In downtown Chicago, this would easily be a $25 to $30 breakfast if you eat alot. Everyone in your room gets this breakfast as part of your room rate.
In addition to the breakfast is the free happy hour as well. All the wine, beer and sodas you can drink in 2 hours as well as appetizers. The wine is one grade above screwcap bottled wine. Beer is standard Miller quality. One night was puff pastry mini hot dogs and cheese balls. The next night was buffalo wings and meatballs. Again, in downtown Chicago, you drinking a few beers or glasses of wine plus these appetizers could easily set you back $20 to $30 per person. However the quality was not good for the appetizers....2 stars....most of the dishes were way too salty.
My only complaint here is that many times no one answers the phone ...either the operator, concierge, front desk. They get overwhelmed frequently. I just hope an emergency doesn't happen here and I can only call out to get help
For downtown Chicago at the lakefront area, Embassy Suites is an excellent place to stay, especially if you are travelling with a family. I like this place much better than the Sheraton up the block.
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I stayed here in one of their suites. It was my birthday and my bf at the time had arranged it so that when we were out to dinner, the hotel staff came into the room and sprinkled rose petals on the bed and floor. They also turned the stereo on to some smoooooth jazz and put a dozen roses in a vase on the table and a stuffed animal teddy bear on the bed that he bought for me. There was a bottle of champagne(that he brought) displayed with glasses next to the vase.
When we got back after dinner and dancing, the room was dark and I was like WHAT IS ALL THIS SHIT ON THE FLOOR?! Then when he turned on the lights I almost cried.
It was obvious that the staff went out of their way to make everything special for us.
Too bad a night I will remember forever happened to be with a guy I'd like to forget.
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I'm usually not a fan of the big conglomerate hotel chains and much prefer the smaller local places... but when i looked it seemed that this was the most bang for the buck. I was pleasantly surprised. The hotel has an updated style and a modern feel. The check in was a little confusing to me, but that's probably b/c i live in a place that doesn't normally have basements and such.
The hotel lobby has a modern water - statue thing that was pretty neat looking till my bf said that it resembled an urinal... uhm, there goes that modern feel! lol. nevertheless, my initial take was that the lobby was clean and comfortable.
The suites are well maintained and clean. The bathroom was updated with granite counters; unfortunately, they didn't update the whole thing and the wall paper was peeling a little, but it wasn't a huge deal. Otherwise, the bathroom was fine.
Love that they had a microwave in the room, esp. with all those HUGE Chicagan portions!
Really loved that they have a managers reception with free drinks and snacks at 5:30 - 7:30. Helped me finish some reports before i starved to death before dinner!
The gym was ok, on the small side, but it had most of the equipment one needs. The pool was a lap pool, but there were kids in the pool that didn't treat it as such, so i didn't try it out.
Breakfast was fast, lots of choices. Overall, a great location, great price and good service. Only thing keeping from the 5 star rating was that the business center was incredibly small (3 computers, one printer) and they charge for internet which i think is ludicrous in any hotel!
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Shatangi had a blast at Embassy Suites. From day one, the staff went above and beyond to accommodate even the smallest request. The suites are well maintained and very clean. The breakfast is outstanding. I am amazed at the efficiency of the breakfast staff. In the PM, the bar staff that run the manger's special take the time to get to know you and always remember your order (remember to tip them well) even if the snacks are kind of costcoesque. It was a great opportunity to touch base with my colleagues and see them well liquored. Overall, a great stay in a well-run and well-located hotel.
Shatangi told you...
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Very modern hotel, beautiful sky ceiling to look up to from the lobby. Looks nice inside and out. The lobby bar has free drinks from 5 to 7pm, which would have been nice, had I not been working until 8:00 most nights I was there! The free breakfast is made to order omeletes with sausage, hash browns, bacon; other dishes include hot oatmeal, fresh fruit, bagels, toast, and yogurt choices. Starts at 6:30a.m.
Rooms are all suites, which makes it nice and roomy for two, and decent for a third or fourth person. Plenty of closet space and an extra sink in the master bedroom. Two tv's make it nice when sharing or if entertaining.
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By far, one of the best deals on a nice hotel in Chicago. My mom stays here when she comes to visit, and after seeing some of the other hotels she has stayed ta in the city this is by far my favorite. The rooms are two room suites, which give you tons of space. Free breakfast with made to order omlettes, yum- I tried them and they get 5 stars for sure! Free open bar from 5 to 7 I think. This hotel is blocks away from Navy Pier and blocks away from Michigan Ave. I think the average price for a night is about $115, which is super cheap for downtown. Very clean and all of the staff seemed very pleasant. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a nice hotel on a budget right downtown.
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I really like this place. I went here with 11 of my friends last weekend and we reserved three rooms. These rooms are suites so they are much bigger than regular hotel room! Pluses included that there was a sitting area (plus a pull out bed in case), plenty of sinks (one in the bedroom, one in the sitting room, and one in the bathroom), fridge, good breakfast, and free drinks in the evening. And we also hd a party in one of the rooms after we came back from going out...and it fit everybody.
The location is also pretty good.. two blocks from Navy Pier and two blocks from Michigan Avenue. And it's much bigger than the other Embassy Suites in downtown.
The biggest thing I didn't like was the check out time was 11 am. Way too early in my opinion. Also, the check in time was 4 pm.. a little too late. But they have a great concierge service to leave your luggage with them.
As a loyal Hilton traveller, I would rate this the better of the two Embassy Suites in Chicago. Still, I guess I have a thing with them because I feel like there's a cost you pay for having a suite and having free breakfast.
The workout room is slightly above average, the breakfast is pretty good and the staff is quite friendly. Big negative in getting a smoking room, though I didn't mind that much since it didn't smell. Also, negatives for not recognizing my status (yeah, I have it so I'm officially that guy) and for making me pay for the internet.
The manager's special is a nice touch, though you only get well drinks and draft beers. The food is slightly edible.
I guess I'd come back here, but still want to try other hotels in town first.
This modern Embassy Suites features very fast glass elevators, so just riding up to your room is cool. Look down upon the atrium space to the main floor below. The rooms are all mini-suites, and the buffet breakfast is a big spread. The hotel is connected to a large movie theater complex and is not too far from many of Chicago's attractions, though it not really next to any of them.
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I was offered a free room for a night by someone who could not use it so who am I to say no to a free suite just 2 blocks from my office?!? I got there just a few minutes before the cocktail hour was ending so I had time to get a drink, go upstairs to my room and go back down for 1 more before they closed for the night. Cocktail hour(s) also includes some goodies to snack on. The suite I had was okay, it looked out at the Sheridan and NBC Towers. The sitting room had a chair and couch that were not all that comfortable and seemed old to me. The bed was really comfy but I can't stand feather pillows so fortunately there were about 20 pillows on the bed. The bathroom was an average size, towels were thick but not soft or large and the shower itself was pretty big. Breakfast is really good. There is everything from made to order omelets to a hot buffet consisting of eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, potatoes but also the cold stuff like bagels, cereal, yogurt, donuts, muffins, etc. The lobby is really quite big seeing that they have 2 events for guests that require use of the lobby, plenty of tables, chairs, and couches but seemed "cold". I did not get a chance to use the fitness room or indoor pool (which is actually quite small). Overall, I could not beat the price!
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