- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Holiday Inn Willowbrook-Hinsdale
- Price Range:
-
$$$
4 reviews for Holiday Inn Willowbrook-Hinsdale
Just was here for a wedding I was standing up in. The hotel and rooms themselves were a bit outdated, but still clean and adequate enough. My only complaints would be that there is no exhaust fans in the bathrooms (the steam is hell on curly hair!), and the carpets and stuff are kinda run down. We only paid $99 a night with the bridal block so I would say it was a good deal for the price.
We were able to be checked in early on a Thursday at about 1:30 pm which was great , as we were able to relax and get ready before a 5pm rehearsal. No extra charge. We were not able to obtain any late checkout on Saturday after the wedding though, I guess they were really booked.
The wedding was in the Grand Ballroom and it looked great. The Catering/Sales office worked with us to let us bring in our own A/V equipment for the bride and groom's wedding slideshow. We dealt with Earl at first and he seemed very willing to work with us on that. There was an issue that came up the morning of the wedding (friday) regarding parking. There was another huge event going on at the hotel that was open to the public and we had already had trouble getting parking. We were very concerned that our guests would be driving around in circles on the night of the wedding reception looking for a space. We approached sales/catering on Friday morning and spoke with Doug. We wanted to know their plan for our guest and what they were going to do for parking. The initial suggestion made was that we could have guests park in the Target parking lot and they would shuttle guests over. We did not feel this was an acceptable solution as it is across a busy road and we were having over 100 guests coming in their suits and high heels. Also, people come and go at a wedding and we don't want them standing in a parking lot waiting on a shuttle! At first we felt a bit patronized by Doug, that he basically thought the parking wasn't that big of a deal and we would just figure things out as they came. We maintained that we did think it was a big issue and was something that could be better handled if we planned for the worst and hoped for the best. In event planning, risk management plays a huge role and I think Doug could use a couple courses in this and also in customer service as he seemed to get a bit aggravated that we wanted something done about the issue. In his defense there were a number of us and he probably felt like he was being ganged up on by a group that he didn't have any contact with before this. The person who was in charge of the wedding would be in for a few hours. We ended up giving Doug our cell numbers and asking him to keep in contact throughout the day with updates on what was to be done. Doug called a couple hours later with a new and much better attitude and really seemed he wanted to help us out. He arranged for parking at the business next door and said there would be signage to that effect. No one would have to cross a busy road or wait on a shuttle. He assured us he wanted to help make this a great event. I felt much more at ease after this conversation and confident about the problem.
The reception came and everything looked beautiful in the room. We were let into the ballroom early and set up the A/V without a problem. The parking seemed to be good, I did not hear more than 2-3 people say they had an issue finding a spot. We were able to let most know at the ceremony where they should park when the got to the reception at the hotel. Everything ran smooth at the hotel in regards to food service and bartenders. The server for the head table was wonderful and was always refilling our drinks and clearing plates. The bartender was great too. The reception was great and everyone had a wonderful time.
Overall I would the sales/catering department just needs to plan a little better in regards to what can wrong when you have a wedding and another giant event going on. They genuinely seemed to want to make the event a success and cared about the bride having a wonderful reception. I know the bride and groom dealt directly with Henry for the planning and they never had anything but great things to say about him. They should have been told though upfront that there was another huge event going on the same day as their wedding when they picked the date. They could have then made a decision if they felt it was better to move to another date or at least have anticipated things being more crowded. A heads up would have been nice, but the wedding was still great and I would recommend this to a friend. BTW, this was my third wedding at this venue.
WTF happened here? :=O
Sweet Mother of mercy! :=O
This weekend was my third stay in the last nine months, and it was the WORST of the three stays :-(
The staff at the front desk could've been a little more nicer and enthusiastic. No Sunday newspaper? Are you kidding me?
The room I stayed in could have been worse, but it wasn't that great. The electric clock radio was an hour ahead! I guess the staff forgot to turn the clock back one hour. That wasn't a big deal. since I always bring a wind up alarm clock, but still. Then there's the cable TV- there were two channels, one of them being the Weather Channel, which was nothing but one big infomercial about Dish Network! WTF was that all about? Let's see, what else... there was a crumpled, dirty tissue ball along one side of the bed! And the controls for the heater/AC needs to be fixed or better yet replaced, but at least I got the friggin heat turned on!
One good thing was that I still got the breakfast buffet for free on Saturday and Sunday. The food and service was good, as always, though a daffy group of customers on Saturday somehow mixed up the scrambled eggs into the skillet potatoes. Sweet Mother....
This place is good for the location AND the attractive 7% sales tax. The next time I come home, I just may opt paying 12% sales tax at a better hotel.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
5/7/2008
This hotel seems to have it all for a visit to Chicago and the surrounding area- clean rooms with… Read more »
worst. sheets. ever.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
For $17.99, you get the BEST Sunday brunch buffet ever! There is so much food to choose from! They offer the typical breakfast staples, but there is also an omelet station with cooks patiently waiting to cook your eggs to perfection. Lunch flavors also shine with different prepared salads, lasagna, fish, potatoes, ham, etc. And the desserts and fresh fruit?! YUM! It's a bit pricey, I know, but this is a great place to go for a Sunday brunch with the family.
