We went bananas at the Holiday Inn Convention Center Tinley Park.
Written: Sep 18 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clean rooms, good place for a large group to congregate.
Cons: Outdated rooms and amenities.
The Bottom Line: Certainly don't go out of your way to stay here - it's pretty average.
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| chelledun's Full Review: Holiday Inn Select CHICAGO-TINLEY PARK-CONV CTR |
We recently spent a sweltering summer weekend at the Holiday Inn Convention Center Tinley Park. You probably won't be lodging in this neck of the woods unless you have specific business there (in our case, a wedding). The hotel was definitely better than expected, as online reviews are generally horrendous. Our low expectations probably didn't hurt either.
Know Before You Go
We originally agreed to pay a "low block rate" of around $119.00 due to our affiliation with a wedding party. About a week before our stay, I double-checked the hotel's website and found an AAA rate and a no-refunds internet rate of $105.00. Disgruntled, I called the hotel and was told it would be "surprising" if there was a lower rate available than the block rate. I informed the employee that there were actually at least two lower rates and my rate was promptly changed.
Tons of free parking is available on-site. There is a large convention center and a restaurant in the hotel, so you may be forced to park quite remotely. The surrounding area offers quite a few restaurants and retail opportunities, mostly of the chain variety. We ended up at a nearby Cracker Barrel the morning after our stay.
Room
Our room was unexpectedly and unnecessarily large. The layout was a little odd, but no matter. Décor was the traditionally dated Holiday Inn style with a maroon and green color palette. Fortunately, everything was very clean, which is more important. It was also very cool, making the hotel about the only place that could manage to keep up with the 90 degree heat. We had a king bed that was reasonably comfortable. There was also a corner chair and a desk. I recall nothing about the television because we were so busy I don't think we even turned it on.
The bathroom was small and oddly configured. Actually, I had trouble finding the part with the toilet! On a positive note, the mirrored counter was out in the open, separate from the toilet or shower. This setup always makes getting ready so much easier when there are two people. Water pressure was okay, toiletries were masculine and kind of stinky. The towels smelled kind of weird. I've had this happen before - it's like they get overcooked in the dryer. Yuck!
Public Areas
This Holiday Inn has a surprisingly small check-in area for its size, located off to the right side of the entrance. I was concerned about this because we were in a bit of a hurry to check in between the wedding reception and ceremony, but the line moved quickly. There is little in the way of a lobby besides a couple of couches and chairs right in the center of things. The elevators are perhaps the world's slowest. We were on the fifth floor, which was just a bit too far to walk in high heels, but I definitely considered it each time we waited ten minutes for a ride up.
We did not visit the convention center for which the hotel is named. The hotel also has a pool, hot tub, and on-site fitness center. All of these amenities looked about par for the course for a mid-priced Holiday Inn, which is to say they met minimum requirements but seemed a little outdated.
Banana Bar
The surprising highlight of our stay at the Holiday Inn Convention Center Tinley Park was its on-site bar and restaurant, Bananas Grille and Bar. The bar part of this facility remained open very late (at least 3:00 a.m.!) and proved to be the perfect spot for a post-wedding gathering. It had a nice bar atmosphere, including a juke box! The only bummer? Food service ended around 10:00 p.m. Fortunately, hotel staff was nice enough to help us order pizza from an outside vendor and let us eat it in the bar. You can't beat that for service.
While I didn't visit the grille portion of the restaurant, members of our group did and said it was passable. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served.
Overall . . .
Chalk one up for the Banana Bar. This is certainly not an amazing hotel, but we had a blast staying here with all of our friends. If you must head to the south Chicago suburbs, the Holiday Inn Convention Center Tinley Park provides at least a passable stay.
Recommended:
No
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