Freehand

Service here is unparalleled and unlike any that I’ve experienced in a very long time!
Carl and Jon were very helpful and more than accommodating!
My first day out in Chicago, I needed a Wells Fargo. As the 3^rd largest city did not have a branch, Jon helped me out and went out of his way to guide me with directions. Seeing the dismay and confusion on my face, he went out of his way to also print out directions for my long trek to the suburbs. If you’re reading this, thank you so much for doing that, I would’ve gotten so lost!
With the help of Carl, I was able to keep my existing room for an additional $ 25 (what a deal!) my original plan was to have 2 nights in a private room and then the 3^rd night in a shared hostel style room. I got way too comfortable in the private room: queen bed, clean white linens/​sheets, down comforter, plush cotton robes, rain style shower (ahh-​maziing!!), free cable, free wi-​Fi. I stayed for three nights and on the last night, utilized their room service, after a long day of interviews and learning how to go about in the city, I stayed in and took advantage of the room service. I ordered a plate of burrata and a bottle of wine (because, why not?) it came with squash, kale, and toasted sourdough. It came to the door in a cute picnic basket lined with red and white gingham with two glasses and silverware. The gentleman at the door forgot the plates so he went back to get them. Unfortunately, never came back (hence the four stars) but, I managed. Food was good.
Upon checkout, I met Jon at the front desk again, as we reviewed room service transactions, I found one charge that did not belong me, he immediately told me he would look into it and took down my email address. Later, came back for my checked luggage and also found out he fixed this discrepancy and provided a refund of those charges. Guest service at its finest, no pretenses indeed!
Overall, Service here is amazing! Not to mention, they have an amazing bar and awesome café! Everyone was so nice, I would definitely recommend this to anyone making a quick trip to Chicago. It’s also in the center of everything so you can walk everywhere else!

I am a regular at Café Integral and a semi-​regular at the Broken Shaker/​lounge area. The cold brew at Café Integral currently holds my #1 spot in the city, and the Broken Shaker has some of the best drinks I’ve experienced in Chicago. The people who work there are the sweetest (shout out to Michael, Jonathan, Robert, etc) and my obsession with this place ran so deep for a while that I booked a trip to Miami just to check out their Freehand. The food at Broken Shaker is delicious, though pricey, and the lounge is a great place to hangout. Entertainment ranges from trunk shows and photography shoots to a solid collection of games such as Giant Jenga and Cards Against Humanity. Celebrities frequent this place, and my Kellogg team once talked (forced?) Adrian Grenier into taking Mezcal shots with us. If you like drinking with some activities on the side, Broken Shaker, Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, and possibly Spin (once it finally opens!) are for you. It’s also across the street from Eataly and Shake Shack.

Great place to stay during the holidays. Two blocks from just about everything. Great location for all transits. Nice people, great café and place to mingle. The rooms are awesome for a hostel.
Drinks are priced a little high. The parking cost is outrageous high! Other than that I highly recommend.
Awesome staff!
Will be back next year!

Private room is way too small and dark. I guess the it is better as a hostel. Décor is really good but with the price, you can get a 4 star hotel in the same neighborhood. Staff are nice though. I stayed on the second floor. There’s basically no sound proof. I heard music from the bar, elevator dings, and people slamming their doors all night long.

This place was represented as a hotel. Very small room, poor value for the money. The hostel side of the place may be better, but as a hotel I would definitely avoid this place. The bar was nice, though, so gets the place another star.

I loved the vibe of this place.
POSITIVE FACTS:
It is right in the middle of the Loop.
Excellent Coffee shop in the lobby.
Even better cocktail lounge in the back of the lobby.
Rooms are tiny but comfortable.
Beautiful architecture.
Excellent vibe and music.
Very nice staff.
Also doubles as a hostel.
I would absolutely stay there again.
However, I will note that I felt slightly old here. Seems like the average age of the clientele was in their mid-​twenties.
Also, their elevator was retarded slow. I recommend taking the stairs.

Cute little hotel. I availed their hostel style suites. Basically, they’re hotel rooms with 2 bunk beds. The bunk beds are very very nice, though. Real classy. They’re also quite comfy. The room was pretty basic: the bunk beds, a cushioned seating bench, and a set of vertically stacked lockers by the door. Overall, I slept well. I was roomed in a female only room, and the travelers were all very nice. I found it interesting to be meeting folks on such different missions (with the exception of the one girl who was in town to tour local law schools).
Towels are provided (check your locker, which corresponds to your bunk bed number). My towel was missing from my locker, however. I called the front desk and they sent housekeeping up right away. Also, FYI, the lockers don’t come with locks so you have to bring your own. It’s also BYO Soap, shampoo, etc. — they provide only the towels.
Breakfast is provided, but I kept missing it. You have to go down to the basement level and into the guest kitchen. It smelled like an old basement down there and had a real halfway house vibe about it (notwithstanding how nice it was on then main level and in the rooms); I passed and went to the café on the first floor instead. The café is decent. Nothing spectacular. Coffee was waaaaaay to pricey — nearly $ 3 for a small cup. The OJ Was costly too. But, I will say that it was fresh squeezed, so I guess hey get a slight pass for the ridiculous price for this tiny cup of OJ.
All and all I’d return and recommend this place to friends stopping into town on a budget. It’s within walking distance of the Magnificent Mile, shops, food, and more. Can’t go wrong. I paid $ 80 for 2 nights.

Freehand Hostel has some serious drain pipe issues not disclosed but there is no ignoring the sordid odor of sewage in the pipes starting from their breakfast basement room all the way up the same pipe line into the bathroom toilets in the upper floors — it’s very noticeable and very foul smelling and although pointed out to the night manager — she turns a dead ear and with a look of surprise says she never heard that before! But the odor permeates as sewer stuff does and is impossible to ignore and I think presents a health risk to the unsuspecting public !
To add insult to injury the washing machines doors lock never to unlock again with your clothes water logged inside and they don’t spin. When management finally admits that this is an ongoing problem that presents health risks as people’s clothes in old washers made to stay in stale water is not only gross but cross contaminates and is a breeding ground for mites mosquitoes and disease. Again the nighttime manager offers no intervention, and sees no necessity to correct the problem as long as it’s not her clothes in the washing machine or her biddy breathing in nauseating pipe sitting water smells — obviously it’s one big piping issue as the washing machines are in the basement as is the sitting corroded water in drain pipe smell and as long as the night manager doesn’t notice anything they will continue in this charade and people will get sick — I think it’s a very bad problem which the staff denies cause they can’t fix it! Beware !!

Private queen room. Yes it small but t was all we needed! Clean comfy and great location! First time in Chicago and chose this place. Couldn’t have been happier with our decision. Great deal! Staff was friendly. They have a coffee shop downstairs with excellent lattes and also a bar with delicious drinks. Shared kitchen downstairs for those wanting to cook.

Obsessed with this place! Got the private queen room with a private bathroom. It was a small room, but big enough for everything you possibly need! The location is ideal, right in the middle of downtown Chicago. They have a really cute bar/​lounge downstairs that has a DJ. The night we went they played reggae music, and they have really yummy cocktails. They also have a breakfast restaurant in the lobby. There is also a guest kitchen in the basement with complimentary breakfast. Highly recommend this leave to stay!

This place exceeded my expectations in every way! Beautiful comfortable and CLEAN accomodations! I stayed in a female dorm. First night I had 2 roomies I never saw. Second night I was alone :) I was surprised that my room was fully serviced after my first night. Bed neatly made. Bathroom tidy. Towels are provided which is a plus and locker is too. If you don’t have a locker, a lock is only $ 5. Awesome location and unbeatable price. The shared areas are like any high end boho hotel. Coffee bar and bar in the lobby and free breakfast (which I never made it to due to late nights) there’s no reason why any single person wouldn’t be extremely happy with these accomodations while traveling through Chicago. I’d stay here before my friends couch any day!!! Love it!

Everything is top the line. It was my first time to stay in hostel. As I choose this place is just because of the price, the price is just half of the 3 star hotel in down town Chicago. This boutique hotel and hostel is Wonderful. When I step in to the lobby, I really love the hip design and love their common area and the bar at the corner of the lobby is really cool.
I booked a private queen suite. Its small and cozy. It’s perfect for one or two person. Love everything in the room, design & furniture are really cool. Everything is brand new and it’s just so perfect!!!
Location is awesome, 2 mins walk from CTA, Eately and some restaurant and club around that area, market place is just right at the corner.
Reasonable price for room services and the café at the lobby is good too even it don’t have much choice.
Book via Expedia. I caught the best price for the queen suite. I will definitely stay again next time when I go to Chicago.

Cute hotel, and hostel-​wise, it seems like a great option. For the location and amenities provided, it really can’t be beat. A lot of international travellers staying there, so it was cool to see a good mix up of people. Loved the loungey, relaxed feel of the place and the bar and café were top notch.
The rooms were very small, but it is priced as such. You’ll pay almost triple what they charge for a similar location on or near Michigan. Everything seemed very clean, though. The bed is comfortable and honestly, unless you planned on spending the entire time in your room, the size really didn’t matter.
Customer service is great and everyone is pretty willing to help out. However, I did notice that even though I had prepaid for my room through my Chase points, they had authorized a charge of my room rate on my card anyway. I called the front desk and asked them to clear this up, and they said it was their mistake but it would still take a couple business days to reverse. That was a lot of money I had tied up for the weekend so that was a huge disappointment. The woman I spoke to seemed a bit condescending about it too, and didn’t really offer much help other than assuring me the charge would drop off «eventually».

Wow! The Freehand has ruined me for other hostels. This is the most expensive hostel I’ve ever stayed in and I’ve done the hostel thing in 10 states and 47 countries! But it was SO WORTH IT! Everything was top of the line!
Great customer service all of my questions about the city were answered. They even helped me figure out the buses I needed to take.
The atmosphere is wonderful there is a coffee shop with excellent cold brew on the bottom floor and a super cool Moroccan style lounge/​bar. They have free wifi, laundry, and a fully loaded kitchen. The hostel is in a historic hotel, both restored and preserved. Great security as well. You need your key card for the elevator and your dorm room.
The quad dorms are well set up with a clean and well decorated ensuite bathroom. The beds are like small private cabins, each has a privacy curtain, reading lamp, and outlet. The mattresses are very comfortable and the linens are super clean.
I plan to stay here every time I visit Chicago!

I stayed at this hotel/​hostel from Monday to Wednesday, so that’s two nights. I absolutely loved it. Being my first time in Chicago, it’s right in the heart of it and close to a lot of great locations that are all at least 30 minutes of walking distance.
I slept in the private bedroom with a queen bed since I didn’t like the idea of sharing a room with for others that you didn’t know. So, I payed extra for that luxury.
One thing to keep note of is that the the private bedrooms are a lot smaller than what they are in pictures. It’s good for one to two people to stay in, but beyond that is just too much and you’re going to all feel cramped. Besides that, my room was comfortable and it was designed in a way that made it feel like home — I liked that! The bathroom was also very nice too. Keep in mind that the only complimentary things they have in there is shampoo, towels, and stuff for when you’re going to take a shower. Other than that, there’s nothing else to it.
The lobby is very well designed, there’s a cool place to hang out and talk. There’s a bar and a restaurant, and they’re all great.
If I have to, I’d definitely come back here.

Staff is wonderful. Rooms are nice with great showers. Price and location are great to. My only complaints are the common area could be better and more fun and the bar/​restaurant has one of the weirdest menus I’ve ever seen and it’s pricey.
Also my biggest complaint is the continental breakfast… Really just say you don’t offer one. It was horrible as was the staff at the counter. I went to the front desk at 655 they said its starts at 7 so I waited walked over at 7 and he was like uhh we don’t open till 730. Not to mention it was horrible. Just stick with the vending machine downstairs or jewel. After waiting for 30 mins I got a hard muffin and a banana with some burnt coffee.
Other than that I would recommend this place. Super friendly. But please get some juice for breakfast. Not everyone drinks coffee.

The space is wonderful, and I do mean wonderful. With boutique hotels and upgrade hostels poppin’ up all over the place, I imagine the continued saturation leading to folks jumpin’ in on it who miss the mark, don’t get it, or both. Freespace is a dope spot.
Wanted to go with the shared space rooms, rent by bed, but was traveling with she-​beaux, and she preferred a room for two. Went ahead with the Queen. Mistake.
And to be clear, this isn’t a case of a consumer going to Freehand for that particular experience and bringing his Hilton expectations with him. Small is a gross understatement:
* barely a footpath around the bed
* single closet space with 3 hangers; reservation was for two guests (for context, there were two bathrobes hanging in the space that completely filled it. Completely, and we both needed to unpack for our five day trip, so not only is there not enough space for our clothes, there’s not even space for our bags to sit on the floor
Side gripes:
* No fan in the bathroom– and I ain’t even complaining about the size of the bathroom, but with the tiny-​tiny nature of the Queen room to begin with, and now steam from the shower, fogged mirrors while I’m getting ready, and thinking about damp/​wet towels AND bathrobes trying to dry… it makes no sense
* Music throughout shared space, bar, lobby way too loud (only in lobby, I guess). My man couldn’t really communicate well (another gripe, actually: didn’t tell us the elevators were key card activated, so I’m standing there pressing buttons and nothing happens until another guest comes in, does his thing, and looks at me stupidly, which in turn gets the Madness goin’, and now she-​beaux can tell I’m already seeing myself stomp this fool into the corner of the lift) and the noise didn’t help.
Many rad features, though– again, the space is amazing. Continental breakfast with these folks is yogurts and healthy cereals, which I appreciated. The tile used in the bathrooms is phenomenal, and the overall design/​aesthetic is super rad.
Now that I know about the space, I know– it ain’t worth $ 240 a night to have a Queen room the size of half a microapartment. It’s a rad spot, but not for the five day or so business trip.

As a regular patron of the Broken Shaker in Miami, imagine my surprise and thrill when my work put me up in the Freehand for a weeklong conference in Chicago! The bed was fantastically comfortable and the books in the room were a nice touch. The proximity to the red line is also a huge plus.
What I have to say makes the Freehand different, besides its value, is its people. EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE acknowledges your presence and asks how you are when interacting with you. The AMAZING coffee shop manager (whose name has regretfully slipped my mind) made me a new salad this morning when I realized I had forgotten to ask for no bacon.
The entire place is spic and span and incredibly secure — as a woman traveling alone, I feel extra safe knowing I can chain my door shut and that one needs a keycard to go up in the hotel. Despite having family in the suburbs, I actually feel drawn to stay at the Freehand next time I come home for a visit, and perhaps a weekend at the Freehand Miami for a staycation. My experience was THAT great.

My plane into Chicago was delayed to the point I missed my train to the suburbs. Late at night in the city, this weary traveler saw the glowing reviews and price for Freehand. I woke up this morning amazed at my good luck finding this place! Exactly what I was looking for. I have stayed in hostels in Europe, this is so much nicer that they don’t belong in the same category. Beautiful rooms with four bunks and the room has its own bathroom with large shower. Trendy scene in the restaurant/​lounge and breakfast is included! No better value in the city!

Sydell does it again!
Coming from Miami, I was excited to see this second Freehand location.
Was in town for the holiday weekend and was impressed by the location.
The lobby is approachable with a kitchy yet classy feel. All of the staff looked like pros and were happy to welcome us into the lounge/​Broken Shaker bar.
In Miami, this is one of the best outdoor spaces to enjoy a cocktail at and this location is also spot on! Nice drink menu, lite bites are perfect for sharing, but definitely save room for the 2 layer/​toasted bun burger!
Great vibe. Awesome drinks. Fun staff. Burger perfected.
Go soon before this place gets jammed.