The Chicago Hotel Collection Magnificent Mile

I am writing this review because of my experience communicating with a General Manager regarding a canceled reservation.

I work as an assistant and made a reservation at this hotel on behalf of a colleague traveling for business.

The issue was not simply that a credit card declined. The problem was that the reservation had been canceled without our knowledge, and my colleague only discovered this upon arriving at the hotel late in the evening. He then had to find alternative accommodations after a long day of travel.

Afterward, I contacted the hotel with a simple question: who was notified and when was the declined credit card notice sent?

Instead of answering that question, I received this response:

> "I guess the first question is why would your credit card be no good?"

I found this response inappropriate and unprofessional. I was not asking for assumptions or opinions about the credit card. I was asking for factual information regarding how the reservation had been handled.

What was even more surprising was being told that I had "never had a reservation" despite already providing the reservation confirmation number and reservation details associated with the booking.

Only after further exchanges was the reservation acknowledged and additional information regarding the notification process provided.

I was also disappointed by the tone of the communication. Portions of the responses were written in CAPITAL LETTERS, including statements such as:

> "WE HAD NO OTHER PHONE NUMBER OR EMAIL..."

and

> "AS WE STATED PREVIOUSLY..."

I found the tone defensive, dismissive, and unnecessarily confrontational in response to a customer inquiry.

After my experience, I searched online and found another review describing a very similar interaction with the same General Manager. While I can only speak for my own experience, it was concerning to see another guest report feeling that the communication was rude and unprofessional.

Mistakes can happen. Reservations can encounter problems. What matters is how those situations are handled and how customers are treated when they ask reasonable questions.

Unfortunately, the communication I received left me with a very negative impression of the management and customer service at this property.

Based on this experience, I would not choose this hotel for either my personal travel or future business reservations.

I booked this hotel on Priceline tonight at the last minute because I have to work in the area early in the AM and I live far from the city. When a customer books a room that’s nonrefundable, late at night, they are expecting to be accommodated even if the fees have to be waived or adjusted—which any hotel can do as I’ve worked in client service for over 20 years. People book at those prices because they’re affordable. I was rudely dismissed by a guy at the front desk after I decided not to ‘ask someone if they can Venmo me the extra cash’, as he suggested. I offered a $100.00 for any accidentals, because that’s all I have left at the last minute of booking this room in the first place, and I would’ve been there maybe four or five hours at the most because of my work day. You mean to tell me the accidental fee couldn’t be deduced from $150.00 to $100.00?!?!?! It is disrespectful and humiliating to be rudely dismissed without any accommodation or possibility of getting my hard earned money refunded. Egregious!

Smoothless check-in and check-out process. The room was clean. Raymond at the front desk is the best! He is very welcoming and accommodating, just the right person the hotel needs to be in the frontline. Very friendly and hospitable! Although we did not get to enjoy much of the hotel amenities but the location is PERFECT!! Right in the heart of downtown but streets are not crazy busy during the day and well lit at night, safe to walk around! Breakfast was good!!

The place is a scam, I was meant to be charged $79.95 per room per night resort fee x 2. Nights $159 should have been the total the hotel then added a $40.00 per night reservation fee on top of this, so for two rooms for 2 nights they charged us $328.60 per room for the two nights so total $657 !!!!!! This is shocking I have spoken with Chase bank and we will be doing a chargeback when we arrive back in the UK tomorrow and will be going after the full amount, we just stayed 3 nights in vegas and the resort fee was $62 per night and we were only charged €186 which is correct. I have reached out to the hotel and they replied once and said they would send me a receipt when I explained that I had spoke to chase bank they have since stopped responding. This hotel is a SCAM, the room was not clean, the safe was missing from our room it had been ripped out and the damaged floor just left, no iron, but there was an iron board, dirty stained carpets and damaged cabinets.

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights from 4th to 6th May before an onward journey to Seattle.
We had encountered the additional charges that other people have reviewed but as we were not told by our booking agent in advance and we had realised we had found out about it advance we accepted it with good grace. Is it value for money. Honestly I feel it could be better packaged and priced. The breakfast part our party agreed was OK and saved us scouting around with our limited time stay in the city. The choice was good and well stocked and replenished. The room itself was functional. The drinks part was overpriced and drinks could have been purchased a lot cheaper at most places in the city. The $10 dining voucher was wasted as it was never explained on check in where when or how to redeem it.
I think all in all the additional package we were required to purchase was over priced and a lazy way for the company to make you spend money in hotel with little effort on their behalf, and money you would not necessarily spend there.
The rooms were a little tired, with no cleaning of the room during our stay which is something I have rarely encountered in all the hotels of have stayed in.
My biggest gripe is the fact I pointed out to reception the poor sleep we had in room 710, due to a large air conditioning cabinet positioned less than 6ft from the bed which kicked in every 20 minutes like clockwork. Came on like a jet engine starting up then shuddering as it stopped. The couple we travelled with had no such problem as no trace of the unit in their room, so must have been part of the whole hotel air conditioning system. I was asked to email Christian with my feedback by the reception, which I duly did as this appeared to be their protocol and again not something I’ve been asked to do anywhere else I have stayed. As he couldn’t be bothered to reply I can only assume this is the attitude of the hotel to customer service and not bothered about any feedback. Total lack of respect shown.
Finally I was told the security deposit of $150 would be returned to my card after 7 days!! Just checked into my latest hotel in Seattle and told my deposit will be refunded immediately on check out!
I have waited to post a review for the response to my email but sadly I have had to resort to this. Hope someone at this company is taking note.

We recently stayed at The Chicago Hotel Collection Magnificent Mile while our grandson was at Lurie Children’s Hospital. A huge thank you to Raymond at the front desk, who handled our check-in; he was fantastic and made the process seamless during a difficult time for our family. The Junior King Suite was spacious and clean, and the dedicated hospital rate they offer is a wonderful service. Excellent hotel and staff. Highly recommended!

I stayed at this hotel for 3 nights. We booked the king room, which has a king size bed. Overall, the hotel is quite nice, very clean, and the rooms are pretty big (compared to other hotels I’ve been to). I enjoyed the atmosphere in the lobby. Checking in was very smooth. I did hear from other guests the common issue of extra fees being charged. Thankfully, I didn’t experience that. The breakfast was actually not as bad as I heard. It was an American style buffet, it was quiet and enjoyable. The room was very spacious, including the bathroom.

The location is around luxury stores, but it’s the start of the iconic Michigan walk. It’s next door to a pizza spot so easy access to a deep dish.

My biggest complaint is the bed. If I’m paying for a king bed, I want a king bed. The first thing we noticed when we came into the room was how small the bed was. I went back to the lobby and asked them about it. The lady rudely cut me off and said “you have a king bed. I can get the engineer to come look because we don’t just go and move beds around”. I have a king bed at home, and I’m sure the pictures speak for themselves- what we slept on was NOT a king size bed. I don’t even think it’s a Queen bed. I just wish the lady at the front desk didn’t come off so snappy, and could’ve been more helpful with our issue. The tv also doesn’t connect to the internet so you have to play around with it until you find the “antenna tv” option.

Would I come back to this hotel? No.. I would definitely take time to look at other places that would make sure my money is well spent.

We recently stayed here while visiting Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, and I cannot recommend this hotel enough for families in similar situations. The location is perfect—just a short, easy walk to the hospital—and they were kind enough to provide us with a hospital rate that made a huge difference.
The rooms are spotless and the beds are incredibly comfortable, which was exactly what we needed to unwind after long days. I had accidentally booked a standard room, but Alex at the front desk was a lifesaver—he switched us to a handicap-accessible room immediately and without any hassle.
A few highlights from our stay:
• The Staff: Everyone we encountered was remarkably friendly and accommodating.
• Fitness & Amenities: My wife used the fitness center daily and noted how clean and well-maintained it was.
• Dining: The breakfast has a fantastic variety to start the day, and the bar is well-stocked with very reasonable prices for a hotel.
A quick tip for future guests: Book directly through the hotel website! I noticed their site is very transparent with pricing, whereas third-party sites often hide the actual total cost. I even saw someone having a difficult check-in because their third-party rate didn't match the hotel's actual opening, so save yourself the headache and go direct.
Overall, this was a perfect place to recharge. We felt genuinely cared for and will definitely be staying here again.

I stayed at The Chicago Hotel Magnificent Mile and checked out on Sunday. After I returned home to Indiana andI was notified by my bank that there were **three separate attempts to charge my debit card on file for $50 in total in unknown fees**. The front desk clerk told me the person processing these charges was a manager named **Michael**, who never spoke to me during my stay, never informed me of any additional fees, and — according to staff — was not even on property at the time the charges were attempted.

I also experienced poor customer service at check-in that felt discriminatory, which I detailed in an email to another manager, **Cristian (Cristian@thechicagohotelcollection.com)**. As of today I have received **ANY response** from anyone at the hotel about either issue.

I’ve called multiple numbers listed for the hotel and the collection’s customer service center, but the hours are 2pm–11pm, so there is no one available to speak with during morning business hours. This makes it impossible to resolve urgent billing issues promptly.

Between the attempted unauthorized charges after checkout and the lack of any follow-up from management, I can’t recommend this hotel. Be careful about leaving a card on file.

---

Checkout: Sunday, April 5, 2026, Confirmation #304-432-813-97

TV only got maybe half of the channels

The placement of the toilet paper holders are ridiculous. Our kids couldn’t reach without assistance.

I just wanted to write this to make everyone aware of unknown fees if you book through a third party. We booked this hotel months ago through Hotels.com. We paid $252 for four nights. We arrived at the hotel and the hotel wanted an extra $145 per day as a form of resort fee. I went back and looked at our confirmation and the only mention of an additional fee was a $120 deposit. When I asked what the fee was for, the response was, "Two free drinks, a voucher for $10 off dinner and a free breakfast". I ended up on the phone with Hotels.com who reviewed their agreement and there wasn't any mention of this either. Hotels.com ended up refunding our $252 and we went around the corner and stayed at the Allerton, which was MUCH nicer.

Great location, breakfast is ok, a bit repetitive if staying for a few nights. Comfy beds, housekeeping every other day unless you pay $35
Great base for exploring … nice staff … water in reception not in rooms, fridge and safe … good base for exploring

Super location for our first visit to Chicago. Very easy to reach tourist areas but also to explore off the Magnificent Mile. Hotel was quiet but warm and friendly.
We were given an upgrade to a junior suite which was lovely. Brilliant view from the 17th floor!
Thanks to Raymond and staff for a great stay.

I only put that we visited this scamming hotel February 2025 because I couldn’t go back to November 2024 when we actually stayed here!! And I lever my first review about bad experience with this hotel.

We stayed at this hotel back in 2024!! HERE IT IS JANUARY 2026 and this hotel has charged my husband’s credit card $150. We will be reported this hotel once again. How they are still in business I don’t know. Unless you want it to be well over a year and still get charges from this hotel don’t stay here at all!!!! You’ve been warned.

In over 47 years of business and leisure travel, I have never encountered a lodging entity with as much lack of transparency as what I encountered during my visit. After booking the room through a third-party travel agency, I checked in - to find out that I was subject to an additional 70% in additional charges for amenities that, were I to take advantage of them, would mean that I would never leave the property to check out the City I came to visit. No amount of explanation would suffice. In addition, when I checked into the room, I discovered that the additional collection at check-in actually included part of the lodging rate (over and above what I thought I had paid for in advance - and which the third-party agency was unable to refund me the difference; which meant I paid double for the lodging). I tried to explain that I had a whole slew of activities with friends and family during my visit, and that I would be spending little time at the hotel, beyond sleeping and changing clothes. But I was informed that there are "no exceptions." I had been traveling all night, so I opted to stay 1 night so I could sleep a bit.

Having decided to stay though, I decided to check whether the "amenities" promised lived up to the expectations. For example, one of the amenities was complimentary drinks at the lounge. Well, to my dismay, I found that there was a limit ($17) on the cost of what guests could drink without having to pay extra for the difference. To add further insult, only 2 of the specialty cocktails met this criteria, the others were only available at extra cost. Frankly, this limit is rather insulting after insisting that guests should avail themselves of it. I did not come to Chicago to stay at a "Club Med." And this place was very very far from being an urban "Club Med."

Just before checking out in the morning, I decided to check on the "complimentary breakfast." I had gone down to Reception to ask where nreakfast was served as it was not indicated on the voucher. By the time the elevator had taken me to the right floor, I found the door was shut - I apprently was 1 minute late (does it remind one of boarding school rules?).

Finally, I was told that my room for the night was an "upgrade." But when I looked at the accommodations, the carpets were scruffed, the WC was not as "spotless" as all other hotels I've stayed at (including "budget-conscious" brands) - perhaps the room had not been inspected thoroughly before being rented.

I chose to only spend 1 night, and promptly found alternative lodging elsewhere. Frankly - as a 30 year veteran of the lodging industry - I have never encountered such lack of transparency on pricing. In hindsight, it was perhaps short-sighted of me to book this property when the brand is totally unknown. Buyer beware!!

One somewhat positive aspect of my visit was how professional and understanding the staff were. But that, quite literally, was the sole good thing about this "hotel." Come to think, there was another positive - the anticipation of checking out, and never coming back here ever again. What a rip-off!

This was once an iconic Chicago hotel -- The Ambassador Hotel---where Alfred Hitchcock filmed scenes for "North by Northwest" w Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. Unfortunately, not so today-- especially for a business traveler who knows a good hotel and who lived in the Chicago" Gold Coast" neighborhood for many years.

Imo, this a sorry imitation of an understaffed, no-frills hotel w limited to non-existent amenities, bugs in the bathroom, no houskeeping services, a door man who is unintelligible, a one person reception staff with bars/restaurants, which provide no services except for limited hours. Can't even get a coke at off hours since no staff and bar is roped off, but do get a bottle of free water at check in!!! The breakfast dining area looks like a college dining hall buffet-- and no hope for a Pump Room Redux for the bar area.

My complaint involves a $100+ check out overcharge which was identified and admitted by the receptionist, when finally got to a live person on phone after saw the online billing. Reception referred me to a billing person w no phone number and a bad email. All literature and telephone queries are explicitly directed to the text number. Surprise, guests are encouraged to use text exclusively -- evidently for better "service"!

I'm contesting this billing w AMEX and will not return to the Ambassador.

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We have stayed at this location several times due to its proximity to activities we are doing during our stay at a reasonible price. I am well aware of the addtional fees which is why I have chosen to book directly through them to not only see that the fees are included with the booking but that we are supposed to receive a $25 discount booking direct after staying previously. Unfortunatley the last 2 years now the booking page tells me the ameninty fees and Recovery fee are included in my price when booking to only be charged for them still after check out. Last year I was able to get them refunded but this year Michael, the manager I spoke to prevoiusly, will not respond to my request for the refund that is owed. We even discussed this in person the day before check out. I have emailed, texted, and called several times and not one response. This is a flat out overccharge on my card and needs refunded.

Raymond was professional and very good Receptionist, He guided us throughout our stay at the host, Really kind and adorable

Although there were a couple problems with check in, the hotel staff, specifically Jermaine and Raymond were so polite and helpful, and without them we probably wouldn’t have been able to stay here. They are the best!

Raymond at Reception was very kind and helpful! He helped with my language and made sure were kept safe. Great service.!