Illini Union Hotel

Unsure whether to give 3 or just 2 stars. Settled on 3 because I will likely stay here again.
Do not stay here if you are sensitive to cleaning products, etc., because the windows are sealed shut and there is no ventilation in the bathroom. The HVAC has minimal airflow.
Do not stay here if you are claustrophobic. The sealed shut windows make the room feel dangerous, not that a fire is likely.
Do not stay here if you care about room temperature. The thermostat dial is imprecise and takes a while to have an impact.
The room (including bathroom) was clean & well maintained, with bedding, chair, tv, etc. all in very good condition; more than 30 – 40 cable channels including several from Asia. Lots of electrical outlets!
Instead of breakfast, they offered a $ 5 coupon for one of the places in the building — Starbucks, Jamba Juice, convenience store — during limited breakfast hours. Starbucks was open though the others weren’t.
Includes free parking which is a significant benefit over staying anyplace else. Parking around here is confusing, with some streets controlled by the city, some by the university, and meters enforced well after dark. Many university activities are within walking distance, and there are busses.
Staff were helpful and friendly. Location is great. If you’re coming during breaks, call nearby restaurants in advance to be sure they’ll be open!

The good news is its location. –Unless you are here for a basketball or football game. The bad news is that this is on par with the old Motel 6. We are talking old rooms, VERY thin walls and an awful continental breakfast. I am embarrassed for the University of Illinois to have offered this as an acceptable hotel. Check out this accommodation for comparison:

Stayed at the hotel for my son’s summer registration. Definitely not very posh, room was nice, beds comfortable, bathroom needs to be upgraded.
Key to room had holes punched in it. You had to push it in and turn handle at same time. We only got one room key which had to be turned in at checkout.
Continental breakfast was pretty minimal located in a tiny room where 4 – 5 people can stand at one time.
Since school was out, café’s downstairs were closed. Jamba Juice didn’t open until much later. There is a coffee shop in lounge that opens at 7:00am. It has very good coffee, some Danish and yogurt and granola.
The plus side to this hotel is it’s location. Student orientation was held downstairs and public bus stop is right outside or around corner in front of bookstore.
People at front desk were very nice. One clerk gave us directions on how to take the bus to a restaurant about a mile and a half away.(we didn’t have a car-​took a shuttle from the airport down to Urbana)
The idea in taking buses, etc. was to familiarize my son with local transportation and acclimate him to the area. Staying at the hotel was key in achieving that.
Also staying when school was out, it was very quiet.
Probably when my husband and I go to visit we’ll be staying at the I-​hotel instead and we’ll have a car to get around .
Staying at this hotel achieved it’s purpose– nothing fancy or upscale, but decent.

Was not impressed. The hotel is IN the student union so it is ideally situated to campus. Parking is fine if you find a spot and then never move.
My biggest complaint was the room temperature. It is controlled by the student union building masters, which is to say there was little to no heat in my room. My vent was actually blowing out cold air and there was nothing I could do to stop it. When I complained they informed me it was a university building and nothing they could do about it. I was so COLD at night!!! Plus, there was a flutist in the next room practicing for what must have been a grad school audition. Felt like I was staying in a very nice looking dorm room!

Stayed there for Admitted Students Day recently. Went back and forth as to the better I-​Hotel a mile away and finally decided that I couldn’t beat the location of the Union. I was a little nervous as I read other reviews about the cleanliness of the hotel. First, upon arrival everything was great. Free parking a big plus, as the pass was good until 6pm the following day. Can’t beat the location for access to the school. The downside? Finding the elevator to take you to the hotel portion. The desk clerk… «turn right, go down a long hall, take the elevators.» HUH? Maybe if you mentioned go PAST Jamba Juice and turn right (again) to find the elevators would have been more helpful! Desk clerk did not even know where the Music building was located on campus…
Anyway, on to the room. Was very pleasantly surprised. Beds were super comfortable and clean. Bathroom was clean. Downside was the dust in the vent above the shower which I was forewarned about. No bugs to be seen as in earlier reviews… Big screen TV, free wi-​fi. continental breakfast was very plain but being a non-​breakfast person it really didn’t matter to me. Would definitely stay there again.

OK, finally checked out the new, or not so new by now, rooms. And they’re really pretty nice. Very comfortable beds and pillows, nice linens with both a thin and a heavy comforter, plus the aforementioned lack of emasculating flowers, and there’s very little wrong here. Yes, it does lack bathroom ventilation (and so it goes on my list, age of building notwithstanding), and the thermostat may just be for show, but even at a slight price premium over other nearby (but more distant) hotels, it more than makes up for that with proximity to campus. I should also add that they appear to be offering a little continental breakfast — fruit, baked goods, some microwave sandwiches, etc, plus a nice little espresso/​coffee/​latte machine. That’s new from my last stay, and a welcome addition, if you can get up in time. Which we usually can’t.
Also — we were allowed to park with the provided passes before the check-​in time rolled around, and allowed to stay parked until 6pm the day of check out — far later than check out time. All of which combined for ultimate convenience. Show up in the early afternoon, park the car, off to the bar to watch another Big Ten game. Check out in the morning, leave the car, head on down to Assembly Hall, and come get the car later. Perfect.

Overall it was a fine hotel. Big comfy beds, nice flat screen TVs, a clean and large bathroom, the perfect location to visit the campus. The one main downfall was that at 1AM seemingly every door was locked and it took a trip around the building to finally find someone who happened to be walking out and we had to yell at her to hold the door open for us. If a hotel is going to have their doors locked at 1AM, they need to let customers who are staying there know so they can plan accordingly and make it back in time for «curfew.»

If you’re going to be spending most of your visit on campus, this is the best place to stay. It’s on the quad, and walking distance to the madness that is now Green Street (does anyone else remember — and miss — when Green Street wasn’t full of chains? Where are the mom/​pop stores? Aahh!)
But I digress. It includes parking, which is great if you’re spending your days on the quad, because you can leave your car and walk to everything. And you can avoid the evil orange tickets that WILL appear on your windshield if you try to remember to feed a meter all day. Free parking is the one selling point that keeps bringing me back.
The rooms are ok. Nothing fancy. A variety of cable channels, and relatively stable wi-​fi. You have to go to the front desk to get a wi-​fi password, so don’t forget. Breakfast is included, but it’s lame. Cereal, bagels, and juice — that’s about it. We usually grab something, but just to stop our stomachs from growling until we go out for a real breakfast.
Last time I went there, my coworker and I were in adjoining rooms, and were both sneezing /​had headaches the entire time we were in our rooms. We never figured out what it was, and have been fine during other trips. Who knows…
A good place to stay for a night or 2 if you want something cheap and simple. Book early, it tends to fill quickly. If you want something a little nicer (and have a car), try the Holiday Inn Express. It’s a quick drive away, and have a MUCH better breakfast!

You get a very nice room at a reasonable rate, and it’s right on the edge of the quad. Book early — you’re lucky to get a room if there’s a football game or other special events happening. Even without special events, it is sometimes full. Downstairs, the Illini Union has a dining, a bookstore, pool hall, bowling, ATMs, and more. Plus free parking and Internet access.