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Orrington Hotel
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
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Davis (Purple, Evanston Express)
- Price Range:
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$$$
19 reviews for Orrington Hotel
I spent time reading some of the other reviews before I made my reservations and I could not disagree with some of the other reviews more strongly! I had a great stay, the staff were wonderful. and the place was spotless. Yes the rooms are small, but the building is like 100 years old and they can't rebuild all the rooms because some guests want to perform ballets in their sleeping rooms. Also the wooden shutter are a wonderful addition, to the reviewer that wrote it was either total darkness or having to rearrange furniture...might need lessons on how shutters work. here's a hint pull down on rod! I found the staff to be VERY attentive and everyone was very nice.
I stayed there to visit my son, and could not say enough nice things about how I was treated, great food, great location and it is in every sense of the word a luxury hotel! after reading the reviews I was worried about my stay, but by the time I left I had stopped looking for things that were wrong and enjoyed my stay. I would recommend this hotel if you are ever in the Evanston area, but if you want a sterile soundproof cookie cutter hotel room, with no style stay at a best western.
I attended a wedding at the Orrington Hotel this past weekend. Everything was just lovely! The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was very elegant. The staff working the wedding were very friendly and accommodating. This is a pet friendly hotel and they have a water bowl and a dish of treats at the door!
The food was fantastic and everything arrived warm. This is a great hotel to have a wedding if you are in the city or surrounding suburbs.
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Like another reviewer said...this place is all surface level stuff and has some problems in the building that need to be addressed (peeling paint, thin walls) ASAP. It is a fake "luxury" hotel. I'd rather stay at a more modest, well-maintained property with a lower level flag than somewhere with little more than expensive interior decorating in a aged property. I don't know much about Evanston hotels, but I probably wouldn't stay here again.
On the positive side...it is a great location and walkable to a Whole Foods, Evanston Public Library, and a slew of restaurants and shops as well as the shore and Northwestern University. It also looked to a have a pretty nice hotel bar.
A beautiful place on the surface, but the experience was so poor that I would not stay again.
The walls are paper-thin, and there seem to be a lot of visitors for the nearby university, so forget about getting a good night's sleep.
The rooms do come with a nice desk to work at, and a keyboard and mouse for your laptop, but it's important to point out that there is no WiFi in the hotel at all.
I was particularly shocked on my first day of a two-day stay when, after being out of my room since 8:30am, I returned at 10:30pm to find the room had NOT BEEN CLEANED.
I dealt with a marginally helpful staff who, although they moved me to another room, initially tried to make me wait for housekeeping to come and clean the one I was in. When I made it clear that I wasn't ready to spend 30 minutes waiting in the lobby just to be able to go to bed, they relented and moved me.
No apologies for the state of the room, or for the fact that I had to pack all my things and unpack again in the middle of the night, rather than relaxing in my (expensive) room.
The rooms themselves are pleasant, though one bizarre quirk is that they have wood shutters on the inside, and no curtains or drapes. To get any light, you have to rearrange the furniture in order to open the large wooden shutters, and then it's an all or nothing choice of a pitch dark room or a curtainless, privacy-free view.
There are clearly much better places to stay in the area. I'd highly recommend going elsewhere.
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Having grown up in Evanston, the Orrington holds a special place in my heart. (Holiday dance, anyone?) So imagine my disappointment when I stayed here for a wedding.
My king "suite" was TINY. Not worth the price. At. All.
*Insert sad face here*
My dad visited a couple of weeks ago and I got a good deal on this place from http://hotels.com to put him up while he was here. It was hard to find where to check in at, which involved going down some stairs and finding the front desk off the beaten path. The room he was in looked amazing and I was pretty jealous that I had to go back to my apartment in Rogers Park instead of staying there myself. The only downside to the room was that there was pretty much no natural sunlight for it, so it was really dark if the lights were not on during the day. The staff was friendly and my dad said he had a great experience and would love to stay there again.
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I've never stayed at the hotel, but met someone at the Indigo Lounge tonight and wanted to share my impressions.
$6 for a Goose Island at the empty bar became a deal when the bartender set a bowl of cajun mix (almonds, pretzels, etc) in front of me - although I think it was a bit stale.
I ordered the seared Ahi Tuna salad from the restaurant - plenty of food, although the fist was more like half-cooked than seared.
their website boasts "luxury doesn't get any better than this." hmmm..really?! the only reason i gave the hotel orrington 2 stars is because of the fantastic bartender who made me the best martini i've had in a long time. the hotel had a very surface feel, at first the room seemed really nice and then we woke up and discovered ants all over the floor! ants! i think the breakfast buffet was the nail in the coffin...i wish i could get that money back.
I really loved my week long stay at the Orrington. I also was the point person for the conference I was attending so can also attest to the service standards of the conference services, F&B, Tech Support and everything in between.
First off, my dog got sick and couldn't be boarded...THANK GOD the Orrington is a pet friendly hotel! Coco was the star of the Orrington that week...everyone was so amazingly friendly and she got so much attention she didn't want to leave! (It was actually kinda embarrassing...she took to rolling over onto her back to get a belly rub whenever she spotted an employee) Oh, and there is a dog beach about 4 blocks away and lots of grassy space for walks.
My room was nice-- i was on the "Pet Friendly" floor but didn't hear any other pets event tho i knew they were there. Good shower, clean room, nice sheets and bed.
The hotel itself is cozy even tho it is pretty large. The location is just unbeatable with all Evanston has to offer at your fingertips. The food thru room service and the conference package was good.
The staff at the hotel was amazing and went above and beyond on a regular basis. They helped me get high quality emergency dog walkers, dealt with my boss's ever changing demands, and took care of last minute details and requests. They also seem to all really enjoy their jobs- the staff was always jovial (I even had a little dance party with some of the engineering folks while hanging banners in the conference room on set up day). I also had a great experience with the AV/Tech support.
In the end anyplace that succeeds in taking care of my picky guests so that I had not a single complaint about my hotel choice is 5 star in my book! A lot of that had to do with my amazing experience working with Alyson Jack - her attention to detail and can do attitude made my whole planning process a breeze.
My only single suggestion is to re-work the gym... I'm 6'1 so low ceilings and working out don't mix. I don't mind so much that there aren't windows or anything...but i don't want to feel like I'm going to bump my head when I'm rocking out on the elliptical.
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Easily the best hotel in Evanston. Got an important guest coming into town? Put him/her here. The rooms (at least the ones I've seen) are slightly smaller than the Hilton on Maple Street, but they're clean, modern and beautifully decorated. Our parents stayed here during the NU graduation week, and we were generally satisfied with the over all service, including the free water bottles at the door and the polite valet attendants.
Conveniently located, too. You can walk to downtown Evanston within minutes and to NU campus in approx. 10 minutes.
Note: reserve early if you need a room during a busy week, such as graduation. We booked 6 months in advance, and the rate was already over $300 per night.
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I held a small meeting here at the Orrington. the price for the day was very reasonable and included some snacks and drinks for the day. All was great except for the difficulties we ended up having with the staff. I tried to resolve this with my CSM but it was to no avail.
Went to a banquet/formal here a couple years back and everything was very tastefully done. Service is impeccable - valet was affordable and very quick and friendly. Food was fantastic and from what I heard from the organizers of the event - the staff was easy to work with and everything was set up at a steal of a price.
Had a colleague stay here while interviewing for graduate school at Northwestern and I came out for dinner and drinks at the Indigo Bar & Lounge. They had live music and little appetizers. He told me that I had to try Narra - their latest addition to the hotel - which is a new swanky steak joint.
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I only stayed here one night when my grandparents came to visit and they booked me a room as well, but this place is swanky. Large rooms, clean of course, and yes, the valet service is quite nice. Not for the bargain-hunters, but I imagine that would be apparent upon first visit to their website or the hotel itself.
The Globe cafe is attached and their food is quite good - it does live up to its price, in my opinion.
Just watch out for the $8 tin of cashew nuts in the room. They're good, but they're not that good.
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Mostly great but I have heard a thing or two on the event organizing side that I have to take into account, for your information. But mostly a lovely hotel.
The one thing I will remember about this hotel was the horrible gal working at the front desk who clearly did not belong in the hospitality business. Not a hint of concern, care, or interest in my request for a room. I won't go into details, but the fact is that nothing else about this place was remarkable enough to make me remember anything but the low quality of service I got when I first stepped in.
As I struggled to reason with the person I was unfortunate enough to get behind the desk, I looked at the guy working next to her and his response to my pleading for help look, was to shrug with a "don't look at me" touch and walked away. Not to mention a guy who looked to be a doorman in appearance, but was too busy chatting with his buddy to acknowledge me and my struggle with luggage or perform any duties that you might expect a doorman to do. You'd just expect better from a place like this.
I personally would never want to return because it didn't live up to expectations, and didn't deliver what it aspires to be. Wouldn't recommend it, but realistically, if you have money and are lazy enough that you have to stay at the closest hotel to the Northwestern campus, this is your choice. They seem to recognize that and treat customers accordingly. I'm not even going to do my standard pros and cons on this one - just thinking about this place again got me agitated.
Oh yeah - just thought of a positive thing - I ate at the bar/lounge area downstairs, and the staff there were warm and accommodating. It may have been because I was the only person there at 5:30 on a monday, but I'd like to think it was because they actually liked their jobs and really cared that I was fed. There, I feel better now.
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visited northwestern university and stayed here. thought the room was great and was walking distance to the school, restaurants, etc.
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Orrington redid the whole building, and it looks great. They basically did it to cater to rich parents who come to visit their children...expensive restaurant (Narra), expensive rates, expensive drinks, expensive taste. It's still lovely inside, with large rooms for events and nice decor, but if your trip is dependent on price, just look at the Hilton Garden Inn or the Best Western.
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This is a first rate hotel with a lot of class. If you're staying here from out of town and want the deluxe treatment, I highly recommend the Hotel Orrington. If you live in the area like I do, come here for dinner and drinks. You'll see what I mean.
This hotel is mostly occupied by people coming to Evanston for events on Northwestern's campus and students waiting for their dorm and apartment leases to begin. Some people leave disappointed, but one thing they can't complain about is valet service. It's excellent.
