I booked online through Hotels.com. I chose Travelodge based on two criteria: location and price.

My stay was scheduled Thursday-Friday 20-21 February. Check-in is 2pm and check-out is noon. Shortly before 4pm. I arrived downtown. I was heading north on Michigan Avenue, and Harrison is one-way east, which meant I had to go up a block and circle back. Then I encountered the first bit of trouble. There is some major construction happening right there, and Harrison is closed only one block west. So I had to drive past it and cut back again to get to the street.

Parking was not clearly marked. I preferred not to park in an outdoor lot. I also preferred to park myself. The closest garage (which I later discovered was connected directly to the hotel) required leaving the keys. Instead, I went a block south and parked in the Hilton garage. Unfortunately, the rate was extremely high, but most of the garages were the same, I think to discourage students (of which there are many around there, being in the same block as Columbia College) from storing their cars there.

Check-in was easy. I was warned of the exorbitant cost of using the telephone. The clerk did not tell me my room number. 1129.

The door opened with a pass card. The room was clean. The bed was big and comfortable. The bathroom was not cramped. There is a safe in every room. I had a view of an outdoor parking lot directly across the street. (That's where I should have parked!) The building was old, certainly not immaculate, but not run-down either. The room had a radiator for heat, which worked well, and a window air conditioner, the fan of which worked well.

The room was advertised to have a coffee maker, coffee, and tea. There was no tea. There also was no sugar or cream or anything else to flavor the coffee. There was an ice bucket, but I was unable to locate an ice machine anywhere. When I went in search of vending machines, the clerk directed me into a room off the lobby that had a single soda machine, and no information as to how much each selection cost. There were no meal services, but two restaurants attached to the lobby, neither of which interested me. The room had no internet connections/data ports. There was stationery, but no writing utensils provided.

The best part about the hotel is its location. One block south of Congress, half block off Michigan, it is within easy walking distance of the Museum Campus, Millennium Park, the Art Institute, the Chicago Library (which is the largest public library in the world), Navy Pier, the John Hancock Center, Rush Street, State Street, North Michigan Avenue, The Chicago Theatre, Orchestra Hall, Grant Park, and (thankfully) the Hilton--it is, literally, right in the heart of downtown.

To recap: the location was just about perfect. I might have preferred a better view. The price was lowest in the vicinity, which is the second reason I chose it--but you truly get what you pay for. I think maybe the price was lower than the competition because access (due to construction) was so poor; I think they are losing some business because the road is closed. I wasn't pleased by the parking situation. In the morning I ate at a local cafe a few blocks away. When I added all the additional costs involved in my stay, I figured next time I would be better off getting a room at a rate 25-50% higher, but which included breakfast, offered some vending services, and perhaps included parking, or at least offered a discounted rate.

Would I recommend Travelodge? It wasn't a bad place to stay, it just wasn't good. I actually walked back to the Hilton on the second day to enjoy a break from my cultural activities and write some postcards in their lobby, instead of at the Travelodge. The Hilton is a hotel; the Travelodge is just a room.



Recommended: No