Hampton Inn Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile

it was quiet in the rooms, breakfast hours were good, and breakfast was fine

Breakfast lines were too long. Initial check in line was slow. Elevators were also slow and crowded on arrival.

Hampton Inn Downtown/Magnificent Mile
There is absolutely NO WAY this is a 4**** hotel!!! No Way!
We have stayed at numerous Hampton Inns and other Hilton products. We have always received a nice welcome as HH members, bottles of fresh water either from the desk or in the room. Front desk clerks have always been congenial and professional.

Issues:
Check in offers only 2 and sometimes just 1 employee to check in. From 4-6 PM on at least two nights we were there over 12 people were in line to check in. On Monday night, there were over 20 people waiting at 5:00. This is a management problem where there should be more employees available.
During our check in, the clerk seemed harried and unfamiliar with her job. She stared at the screen for the longest time when we gave her our names…like she was searching and not finding anything. Finally, when she found what she was looking for, she got us check in, gave us verbal details for breakfast (included) told us what elevators to use, and we were sent on our way.

The “promised every time and included” water was not available for Hilton Honors guests at any time during our 3 night stay. The “pantry” was nearly empty most of the time.
3) We were given a king bedded room where the A/C did not cool the room. Only the fan worked. Because the hotel was “fully booked” we had no other options until the next day.

4) The room itself appeared in serious need of a deep clean. The mattress was too soft, the lighting incredibly poor. The shower had a cloth curtain (ick!). The hairdryer was difficult to start…as if it was on its last use.

5) On our second day we went to the front desk to move rooms or move out after a horrible night’s sleep in a warm room. We left our bags with them for the day returning at 3 PM to move to another room where the A/C did work (thankfully).

6) However, the drain in the shower/tub did not work well so showering included standing in 2 or 3 inches of water then waiting 30 minutes or so for the tub to drain so the next person could use the shower.

7) There was no housekeeping service while we were there. No one said it would be like that or that we had to request it but we did not get housekeeping after our move to the 2nd room.

I would not recommend this hotel to anyone, at any time. Our price for 3 nights was over $1000 and we were miserable on one of those nights.

It was a great location, with several attractions, shops, and other sights within walking distance.

She was fabulous..perfect. Lynette

Wonderful hotel and Lynette at the front desk is amazing! Thank you.

Lynette was amazing woman that made us feel so welcomed and we would definitely come back in the future

To clarify, I’m giving **myself** one star for failing to rise to the extraordinary personal-growth challenge offered by the Hampton Inn Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile.

You see, we live in a world that has become far too focused on comfort: showers with hot water, phones that connect to businesses, accessible entrances that remain accessible, and hotel rooms that do not smell like cigarettes. As a society, we have lost our capacity for resilience.

Fortunately, this Magnificent establishment is doing its part to correct that.

**1. Cold-water immersion—at no additional charge**

Your shower may or may not produce hot water, and no one may come to fix it after you report the problem. At first, I mistakenly interpreted this as a maintenance issue. I now understand that it was a complimentary wellness experience.

Cold exposure can be invigorating, and several consecutive cold showers teach gratitude. Specifically, gratitude for every other building you have ever entered where turning the faucet toward “hot” results in hot water.

I regret that I lacked the discipline to appreciate this gift.

**2. Immersive smoking-room nostalgia**

Although my room was designated non-smoking, it intermittently smelled as though someone were actively smoking inside it.

When I reported this, I was informed that guests sometimes smoke in their bathrooms and that the odor can travel between rooms. This was helpful because it confirmed that the smell was not merely a hallucination brought on by the cold showers.

A staff member eventually came upstairs and sprayed air freshener, an innovative approach that combined cigarette smoke with artificial fragrance rather than addressing the source. I spent portions of my stay leaving the room door open to air it out, allowing me to bond with the hallway and reflect on the impermanence of indoor air quality.

**3. Breakfast must be earned**

During breakfast hours, the elevators repeatedly skipped downward requests to the Mezzanine level from the upper floors.

Some guests might consider this an elevator malfunction. Those guests lack vision.

Breakfast should not simply be available. It should be pursued. The Hampton Inn transforms an ordinary trip downstairs into a strategic puzzle: Which elevator will stop? Will any elevator stop? Should you travel upward first in the hope that one day you may be permitted to descend?

Nothing sharpens the appetite like being trapped in a vertical transportation riddle before coffee.

**4. Radical administrative mindfulness**

When contacting the front desk, I discovered that staff sometimes needed to place me on hold in order to locate a pen and paper before writing down what I was saying.

Again, I initially failed to recognize the lesson.

In our digital age, we expect hotel employees to possess extravagant luxuries such as readily available writing instruments. Hampton Inn asks us to slow down. To breathe. To remain on hold. To contemplate whether a pen will be found and, if found, whether the information written with it will lead to anything.

This is mindfulness in its purest form: speaking without attachment to results.

**5. Accessibility, but with obstacles for character development**

A colleague with a physical disability was repeatedly unable to enter because the button for the accessible entrance had been disabled. We were told this was done “to keep the homeless people out,” even though the revolving doors remained open.

Some less enlightened establishments might prioritize ensuring that guests with disabilities can reliably enter the building. Here, accessibility apparently came with an advanced problem-solving component.

Would the door open? Would someone notice? Would assistance arrive? These are the kinds of suspenseful questions that make travel memorable.

My colleague’s mistake was assuming that an accessibility button would remain functional merely because it existed.

**6. A hotel liberated from the tyranny of telephone communication**

After my stay, I needed an itemized receipt. This presented another carefully designed growth opportunity: the hotel’s listed phone number did not appear to function normally.

Calls would sit in silence for an extended period and then produce a busy signal. Even Hilton customer-service representatives reportedly had difficulty reaching the property. After more than an hour of waiting through customer-service channels, I was told the receipt had been emailed. It never arrived. I said so. I was told it would be sent again. It still did not arrive, and the conversation eventually stopped.

This taught me an important lesson about detachment from material possessions—particularly documents required for reimbursement.

A receipt is only a social construct. Perhaps the real itemization was the frustration we accumulated along the way.

In conclusion, the Hampton Inn Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile offered far more than lodging. It offered cold exposure, secondhand-smoke aromatherapy, elevator-based endurance training, administrative uncertainty, an accessibility obstacle course, and a post-stay scavenger hunt for basic documentation.

Sadly, I was not spiritually advanced enough to appreciate the program.

I remain embarrassingly attached to hot water, breathable rooms, functioning elevators, dependable accessibility, reachable staff, and receipts that exist.

**One star—for me. The hotel clearly believed I could grow. I disappointed us both.**

Best place and best custom service ever!!!!!

Room clean. Bed/pillows comfortable
Slight noise in hallway
Atmosphere- relaxing

Lynette she did a wonderful job. It was me and 40 to 50 people that was here and we will be back because of Lynette she did outstanding. She helped us with directions places to eat things to do. She is a keeper. We will be back to spend more money just so we can have fellowship with Annette.

Lynette is such a great and informative person she was so very helpful and answered any and all our questions. We are so thankful to have met her and look forward to visiting again.

lynette was super helpful with everything, made things super easy for us when checking in. will come back again when i’m back in the city

Lynette was very polite and insightful. She recommended eating venues and my wife and I felt very accommodated.

Great stay with wonderful service especially from Ms.Lynette, I originally assumed she was management. That would be a great move for the company to make her such! Thank you for such good hospitality

The staff are AMAZINGLY NICE, the Lobby greeter Lynette was VERY HELPFUL and NICE! I recommend that you choose this hotel for ALL your needs!! The housekeeper Ajsa was EXTREMELY FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL!! I am glad we stayed here, we will be back!!