Chicago South Loop Hotel

There’s a lot of nice things about this hotel, including free parking and a large tub in all the rooms. Downside include a sketchy area, heavy bleach smell throughout the hotel, loud guests. The only rooms available are all two bed, but the rooms are big! The front desk is also extremely pleasant as well as the staff in the bar. Tip them well! They deserve it!!!

Stayed here for two nights in December. It was clean, safe, free parking and good wifi service. It was also cheaper than most places in the City. If you have a car, and don’t mind driving to landmarks, restaurants and whatnot then you’re good. I’d stay here again for the price.

3 ½ stars. I’ve stayed 4 times.
Could use various upgrades, but very convenient despite being a ten minute walk to various dining options. staff was nice and made timely effort to address issues. Rooms were clean. Free coffee/​Tea, Business center & wifi.
EL station is not closed during summer… must have been construction.
New public transportation options close by. (New CTA Station & METRA)
bus stop across street (definitely get 3 day ventra card for unlimited rides on cta buses or trains

Spacious rooms. Ummmm that’s it. The lobby has been redone. Everything else is falling apart. It’s in a BAD part of town. I felt unsafe walking to the Red Line a few blocks away. 1 block south is the projects where people yell racial slurs at you.
Our curtain was broken. I asked for it to be fixed after the first day and they never sent someone up. For the price, it was ok, but it would have been nice if the restaurant was EVER open or if the bar would have given me adequate service when I went in. There was a little café that made good food for a reasonable price, but they didn’t have a full kitchen, so it was limited. The family (I assume) who ran it was very nice. I hope they can upgrade to a bigger space so they can do more with it.

Stayed here two nights. Clean rooms, comfortable beds, secure building and friendly staff. Far enough out to be affordable, but still close enough to everything to be convenient. We would stay here again.

We stayed here for my dad’s marathon, the moment we checked in we were greeted with incompetent front desk clerks. I had my booking confirmation printed out ready for check in and Bonnie (according to her name tag) insisted the hotel does not use such copy as confirmation. (???) let me tell you something about confirmation, if I book and you email me confirmation, then the copy of the email that says «hotel confirmation» is in fact a confirmation. I felt like I was in the twilight zone where simple English is not understood. Then during our check out Yvonne helped us and I explained to her late check out was necessary as my dad needed to shower before we head back to Toronto. She didn’t like my concerns and ignored me with her back facing me the entire conversation. I will never recommend this hotel because of their incompetence and lack of professionalism. I just checked my credit card and they charged me twice on my rooms. Travelers beware, avoid hotel at all costs.

Conveniently located within walking distance to McCormick Center, I stayed here with a work team. Hotel rooms are the largest I have ever seen in my lifetime of seeing hotel rooms and that is saying a lot. I think two more beds could have fit in our room! Huge soaking tub in the expansive bathroom looked nice but I didn’t have the opportunity to test out. The weather was great, so I took my workouts outside, neighborhood around hotel seemed safe for a 5 mile loop each morning. Fitness facility was utilized by some on my team and it seemed to do the job for them. If you are needing a place near McCormick, definitely give this place a shot.

We stayed here for 4 nights for Riot Fest. It was an outstanding hotel. Everything was very clean, huge beds, big room, big soaking tubs. We had 2 twin beds and a sitting area and we got a great deal on Hotwire. Extremely nice staff– everyone was very nice and helpful and went above and beyond to help us navigate the area. They gave us great tips and even printed directions for us. Pro tip: use Lyft codes– we got basically free rides all week.

We literally drove into Chicago (which is absolutely crazy driving downtown), picked up Bears/​Dolphins game tickets, checked into the hotel, walked to the game and back to the hotel, slept a few hours, checked out early and headed home. The same employee checked me in and out and was very friendly. The hotel itself was okay, nothing too special but we felt safe there.

Reviews are always reaching out for something to complain about. We stayed here while we were in Chicago for 1989 tour. The whole hotel was full of teenage girls who were there for the same thing, but it was kind of exciting to see all of their costumes and creative signs running through the lobby. The front desk staff were very nice and even held something at the front desk for me when I needed to run in, grab it, and run out, with no time to go up to my room.
The rooms are huge and comfy. It’s not super close to landmarks… I think we were 2 miles from soldier field, but with traffic, that still took ~a half hour. The reason I chose the hotel was for the price and free parking. The reviews kind of scared me, but I didn’t feel unsafe in the area and enjoyed our stay.

Pros:
Large, clean room with Serta beds
Free and convenient parking
Free and easy to use internet
Huge soaking tubs
Bus stop across the street
10 – 15 min walk to Chinatown (despite what other reviews claim, I felt that the area was safe)
Free coffee/​tea in a nice Business Room
Decently equipped and clean Workout Room with three TV’s
Extremely friendly staff
15−35min drive (depending on traffic) to Field Museum, Aquarium, Millennium Park, Navy Pier
Cons:
No grocery, pharmacy, or convenience stores
Their gift shop, coffee café, and bar/​restaurant are really only open on the weekend. We stayed during the week and all three were closed most of the time.
Excluding Chinatown and the Hotel Bar, no other restaurants within walking distance
No Pool (I wasn’t able to find a pool in Chicago at a decent price though)
Overall, this is an amazing and affordable place to stay if you have your own transportation. The parking is free, so you can drive to any of the attractions in Chicago within an hour. Parking at most other hotels will run you $ 50 – 80. With valet parking for most restaurants being $ 20 (with tip) and most event parking running around $ 25, you’ll save money with your own car because you’d probably end up driving from any hotel to most of the attractions. However, if you plan on taking taxis or walking, you’ll probably want to stay closer to Downtown. A taxi drive from CSLH to most things will cost about $ 38 one-​way, which would quickly off-​set any savings.
The Hotel should advertise the proximity to Chinatown. As stated earlier, it a quick walk to Chinatown. Also, driving and parking in Chinatown is a breeze. For people not familiar with Chinatown: you can park on the street, pay at the kiosk, and put the ticket on your dash for only $ 2 an hour.

Came to Chicago for cousin wedding in Chinatown. So we stayed here at South Loop Hotel for 4 nights. When we checked in the ladies were so friendly and informative about Chicago. The parking is free for the guest who are staying here which is like super super awesome. Then when we got to our room… it was so spacious and big… and love the tub. Now there is only two things that were a down side is the mole lining the shower and out dated couch and chair in the rooms. Overall, this hotel met my needs in terms of a place to sleep and shower. I will use this hotel again cause the staff really try their best in helping their guest. Besides I am looking forward to seeing what future improvements to this place. See you South Loop again.

I stayed at the South Loop Hotel during my time in Chicago during the Lollapalooza weekend and really enjoyed it. I booked the hotel through the Lolla website as they had a special for the weekend and was a bit worried that I didn’t hear enough from the hotel via email but once we arrived, I was at ease with their free (and no hassle) parking in their gated lots and easy check-​in and out process. The staff was friendly, nice and patient with all my questions. I read that other reviewers had horrible experiences with the staff members and that just was not the case for me (thankfully!)
The rooms were spacious and looked like their pictures although not as clean as I usually expect for the price we were paying each night. I did appreciate the convenient coffee shop downstairs! They serve breakfast, waters, sodas, pastries and fruit which is great if you want to grab something quick instead of going out for breakfast (and ultimately spend more money). I do wish that the hotel was in a better location or at least closer to restaurants and bars… but with the free parking, free wifi, wonderful service, and spacious rooms, I would recommend South Loop Hotel if your destination is close by.

DO NOT STAY HERE!!!
It’s in a horrible neighborhood, and the manager is a jerk. The worst experience I have ever had with a hotel, and I travel all the time. I wish I would have never tried this place because it’s a NIGHTMARE, and the prices aren’t even great. They should pay YOU to stay there, not the other way around. This place is the worst, and we felt very unsafe. I can’t believe in order to post this review I have to give this disgusting hotel a star. Not cool Unilocal,not cool. I’d like to give it –5 starts instead.

Let’s start off with the positives. The rooms were spacious and the bedding was super soft and comfy. They provided a fridge and hair dryer as well. The tub was super deep which was awesome! It’s very close to the McCormick Center which is also great.
Now for the not-​so-​positives. There was mold in the shower all along the base where the wall met the tub as well as on the wall itself. The wifi didn’t work with mine or my roommates phone. We went to the front desk and asked about it and were pretty much blown off. He basically told us to keep trying and that there was nothing wrong with the wifi. We were there for 4 nights and it never once worked. I was also disappointed to later learn that they didn’t have a pool but that was on me and I should have researched the hotel better. I’m not sure that I can recommend anyone stay here, I’ll leave that up to everyone to decide based off of my reviews and others.

I like the bar/​grille. Please don’t ever change out your buffalo wings and fries! They are the best in the city. Perfect size, not too big/​unnatural looking, great taste too. Also, DJ on Saturdays, Vernell Byrd, was jammin too!

MONEY WAS STOLEN FROM MY ZIPPED SUITCASE!
The real issue is that Debra Blake said that all I needed to do was file a police report and she would submit the claim to the insurance company. I sent her the police report and hear NOTHING. I followed up with her twice by email and once by phone. Then the general manager Jennifer Kerr calls me to say that nothing was going to be done! A complete 180 from what I was told and waiting for.
DON’T STAY HERE! GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE TO GET YOU ON YOUR WAY. WHEN AN ISSUE HITS, THEY WONT DO ANYTHING.

The actual hotel is nice enough, but the area in which it is located is very run down. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the subway, which is convenient but I did not feel the walk was safe. There are a few out of business stores in a generally desolate area.
Right below our room was the hotel bar. On Friday night, the bar seemed alive and as if the party was right in our room the noise was so loud. The train line runs frequently and happened to run a few hundred feet from our bedroom window. Once the heating system kicked on it seemed to help drown out the sounds of both of these though.
On Saturday night, we returned to our room late (about 1AM) and that’s when the real noise started. Apparently a group of people moved the party from the bar to the hallway outside our room. They were yelling and slamming doors. They kept acknowledging that people were sleeping, but made no effort to quiet down.
In the morning when checking out, we made mention of the noise at night and the woman at checkout apologized about the noise and said «we were chasing them around all night but they wouldn’t stop being loud». Seems like more could have been done to control the noise.
The Belmont area of Chicago seemed like a much nicer/​safer place to stay when we visited there during our trip.

I’ve stayed all over the Chicago land area and this was my first time staying at the South Loop Hotel. Here’s the breakdown
Pro:
Clean room
Free parking
Free wifi
Relatively comfortable beds
Bus stop across the street
10 – 15 min walk to Chinatown
Cons:
Terrible location
No grocery or convenience stores for at least a mile
10 – 15 min walk to train station
It’s not a bad place if you’re looking for a place to stay on a budget. Best perk is the free parking. Customer service is mediocre.

The hotel is very nice but the location was not convenient for us at all. The price was very reasonable but we got the rate through an online service. The rooms were clean, the hotel in general was clean and appeared to have been updated recently. The staff was very friendly though a tad loud at times yelling down the hall. The free parking in their lot was amazing but is a first come first serve basis. They have free Wi-​Fi and a place to eat inside though we didn’t try anything there. The area is all very well lit and we felt safe the entire time.
The bed was comfortable, the AC worked very well and the room had a refrigerator which was nice. The TV was Direct TV so it went out during a rain storm which did suck. The room (two queen beds) was very large and the bathroom was nicely sized as well.
As for the location… it is a 40 minute walk to the Field museum or anything in that area. A short 2 minute drive but you hate to give up your parking spot and we weren’t about the ride a Chicago bus. To get to the downtown loop or Navy Pier is again a quick drive but then you have to worry about parking your car. Over an hour walk and the L does not run in that area. Overall if you need to be in that Southern area of Chicago (near Chinatown) this is an excellent hotel to stay in. If you plan on doing much near Navy Pier or the Magnificent mile I would not stay here.