Howard Johnson Downtown

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Nasty Hotel

This hotel was very stinky and the walls are paper thin.

Exceptional Price

The room (C 2 ) left much to be desired. The toilet was on top of the newly installed, over sized cabinet/wash basin arraignment. You could NOT sit on the toilet without touching the side of the cabinet/basin. The cabinet MUST be smaller. Someone did not measure the bathroom. This pre-made cabinet/stand for the basin is a definite re-do...I don't care if it s new!!! This set up is very,very awkward. The electric plugs ALL need replacing, because they are worn out. Nothing stays plugged in, including one of the room lamps. I guess is this other lamp is for show. It would work if the plug would stay in the socket. The room entry door sticks and had to be bumped to open.....but I considered that a excellent alarm system in the event of a would be intruder. I am serious !! I was good with that !!! The wake up alarm/clock radio did not work.That did not matter, because I left a wake-up call request with the front desk. The call was right on time....thanks. Now for what worked. I took the train in from O'Hare and exited on Superior Stree Stop. Great...short walk. I took the "Shuttle" back to O'Hare for the early morning departure. The diner staff were great, and the menu, adequate, the price reasonable. The hotel staff were very, very helpful and friendly as well as very eager to please. The price was affordable. The area provided eateries of all ethnic based foods. The walk to the river was very short. Great Value....butt fix the commode siituation. Thanks

Great deal for the location

After reading the reviews I set the bar pretty low. My desire was for the price and location. The room was nothing to brag about, but the location was great! The price was also a bonus compared to other hotels. I highly reccomend this hotel if you are using it just for a place to sleep. No frills or creature comforts but great for getting around the city.

Nice room for the money

We stayed here for a shopping trip. We knew that it was a little walk to Michigan Ave. but it was not bad at all. We felt it was very convienient to downtown and everything we wanted to do. We took the free trolley to Navy Pier from downtown. Great price! Loved the fact that it had free parking. They even let us stay a few hours after we checked out. We were not expecting a luxury hotel since we were not paying for a luxury hotel. We just needed a place to sleep. Front desk help was extremely nice! We will definately stay here again.

avoid this place

smelly room. floor in shower buckled. very unclean. we moved to another room for the second night and it was tolerable. had we not pre-paid the second night we would have left after the first, we won't return.

Needs a Lot of Help

I had never stayed at a HOJO's before and am not sure I will again if this is any indication of what I can expect. I don't mind staying in hotels with limited amenities or even a place where the fixtures are older. What I do mind is a room that is filthy and a bed that was unbelievably lumpy and hard. The grout in the bathroom was filled with dirt, the wallpaper and paint was peeling and the sink was cracked everywhere. The staff at the desk was helpful but couldn't accomodate a simple request to change from traveling clothes to wedding clothes in "any" room and sent us to a lounge restroom with ho air in the middle of the summer. We were suprised at the condition of this hotel in downtown Chicago

Great hidden deal

This is the second time I've stayed at the Howard Johnson's on the Near North Side. It's very inexpensive for the heart of Chicago, and to an extent you get what you pay for. The rooms are small and minimal, no refirgerator or microwave, indoor/outdoor carpeting and no attempt at decor. It's clean, though, and the bed was comfortable, and that's all I'm looking for. It's in a terrific location, with lots of great restaurants, a hidden street of little art galleries nearby, and two blocks from the Brown Line, which will get you to the Loop in ten minutes. And an extra surprise: they now have free wi-fi in the rooms. This is a new feature, and they haven't advertised it yet, but my colleagues at the conference I attended all stayed in expensive hotels and still had to pay extra for wi-fi. If you're looking for luxury, or even ambiance, look elsewhere, but if you want a great deal in a great neighborhood, this is the place for you.

Great location, Hotel could use a face lift

We were looking for a location in the middle of Chicago and not far from Wrigley with an affordable price. This hotel fit the bill. Yes it is a bit tired looking more like 1980 then 2009. But it was clean, affordable and the location, within walking distance to Oak Street, Rush Street and Michigan Avenue was great. Arrive early to get one of a limited number of "free" parking spaces. Doing so makes this hotel and excellent bargain.

This HoJo's in a time warp!

Needs improvement. This HoJo is definitely in a time warp--took us back to the 1980's!

Just "OK" for the Money

The room was generally clean but the carpet really should be replaced. Most of the lamps were almost falling apart, the parts were very loose. The room was fresh and clean, though, as were the sheets and towels. Just the carpet was loose in areas and a bit dingy. Otherwise, OK for the price and location.

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left over motel - but very handy

I love this old, rather rundown downtown hotel. Things are old but clean, no charge for parking and your car is always available when you want it. It's within walking distance to the Merchandise Mart & several other downtown destinations. If you like luxury, this is not the place for you. If you like to save some money & have a no hastle stay... this place is great. I've stayed here at least 7 or 8 times in the last 10 years.