Hotel Blake Chicago - Page 2

The room needs a good cleaning. Dusting as well. The shower is so bulky until one can burn themselves just trying to get clean. Shower caps for the three of us had to be shared because there was only one cap in the bathroom. Our room was in the basement away from other people. Of course we are African Americans. This should tell you something. After we got off the elevator on the 7th floor, then we had to carry our luggage and walk down some stairs to get to our back your room which faced a blank wall. If anyone is looking for a room, don't stop at this one. I am going to report it to Better Business Bureau because they jacked up my Visa card without my knowledge and there was nothing I could do about it. After you read this review, RUN, RUN away from Dearborn St.

Reserved 4 rooms one month in advance. Upon arrival only two rooms were available. My party agreed to wait until 5 pm for the additional rooms when told that two rooms were in the process of being cleaned and they will hold them for us. We proceeded to dinner and upon return visited the front desk. The two promised rooms were not only not held but they did not have another room available. They did offer us a temporary room with a king size bed and a pullout (as opposed to the two double beds reserved originally). Two people of our party of eight agreed to use that room and as promised the transfer was made the next day without any sort of compensation for the inconvenience.

The stay got worse from there. The gym/spa had no water in the cooler and no cups, no towels and the spa was inoperational.

The one and only soda machine was 'sold out'.

The tv's are not compatible with the remote controls.

The newspapers are given on Sundays.

And, I am not so sure this is the last, but I found a 'TICK' on my bed AFTER it was cleaned by housekeeping.

When a manager was asked for we were given the run around and although the staff was doing their job of being a 'go-between' there was no contact with the manager until after the tick was reported. I now have the housekeeping director standing behind me waiting to go to the room and still have not had communication with the manager.

UPDATE: The hotel manager made a verbal agreement to compensate for the inconveniences and has not yet complied - it is now a month later.

I did file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as well and the company did not respond to it either.

I planned a quick weekend trip to Chicago with my nephew and was happy to find the Hotel Blake available for a room rate of $129. I expected just the bare minimum, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the out and out luxury and charm at the Hotel Blake. The room was huge. The beds were very plush and the bathroom was all granite and marble, and almost as big as the room itself. We got a room with a non-working air conditioner and were immediately moved to a comparable room which was just as nice.

All I can say is this was the nicest Chicago hotel surprise I've ever gotten and I travel on business all the time. A good breakfast place is Yolk at Michigan and 11th, within walking distance. The taxi driver did not know the location of the hotel since it used to be another chain, so make sure you have the address with you.

I read mixed reviews of this hotel before booking, but I took a chance, and it was worth it.

Hey had a nice helpful staff, and a clean, modern room. It's two blocks from the subway loop station and across the street from a coffee house. It's the perfect place for me to stay while in town on business.

It's not in a great neighborhood, but I felt safe and had no problems. There was always a taxi coming when needed. I would stay there again. I like renovated, old hotels. It was done and not a mess while I was there in March 2007.

I really liked the hotel.

This hotel made me feel respected: The doorman was always ready to tell us good places to go. He was also very helpful in making smart decisions about our stay.

Yes, this property went through a bumpy transition in the spring of 2006 but it is well beyond those issues.

Never have I been in a more thoughtfully restored hotel. From the elegant lobby, to the elevator (fast for an old building), to the widest and tallest hallways I have ever seen, to a big room with a great bed and bath.

Stay here.

We were on a budget and thought the Hotel Blake was an excellent value at $110. The staff was pleasant and helpful. It's convenient from Airport Blueline to Lasalle, an easy walk. I would stay again and recommend. This hotel is on the Chicago Art Institute side of town, the Chicago public transport is excellent and cabs are easy to obtain.

All I can say is wow! For $100 we got a great room on the 11th floor. It was a spacious room, and in a great location, just a 10 minute walk to the fountain/millennium park, and a short 10 minute walk to the Chicago theatre.

We were able to find car parking on the same block for $20 with one in and out. The train station was just five minutes away. The bed and bed sheets were absolutely awesome in comfort and feel. The bathroom was very spacious with double sinks and a very relaxing shower. The iPod docking station was great touch, the TV was high quality, and an internet connection was available, but we did not utilize it. The rooms were spacious and definitely felt 4/5 star-ish. My wife and I loved our stay and we will definitely stay again!

The only drawback was very slow elevators and the curtains could have been little darker so no sun shine could creep in during the morning, but it's still a great place to stay!

It was a pleasant stay. The hotel was close to rapid transit and within walking distance of some of Chicago's popular visitor sights. The staff was friendly and the rooms were clean. We enjoyed our stay.

We arrived tired from a long day of traveling and we pulled up and double parked in front of the hotel. The doorman was very nice and let us unload and check in, while the car waited. Valet parking was $36 a day, so we awkwardly asked him where cheaper parking was, he immediately suggested multiple cheaper places where we parked our car for $20 dollars a day (it was a huge suburban)

I was quite nervous to see the room after the negative reviews, but I was surprised! A marble entry way led into a huge bedroom with very high ceilings, the bed was down with three oversized king pillows, also down. The bathroom was enormous with tiled floors, granite, bath and body works amenities, and a large shower with the huge rain shower head. The view was spectacular. We had the almost corner room and the huge windows, floor to ceiling, demanded a view of Congress. At the end of Congress you could even see the lake. The intersection of Dearborn and Congress was quite busy, though the view of the enormous library was very attractive.

Don't pay attention to the negative reviews we got this for $120 a night and it felt like $200. Whenever we need directions or reservations the front desk was happy to assist. Every night chocolates awaited us with the turn down service. This is a splendid hotel, give it a try, you will not regret it! Ice is on the 12th floor, it's kinda spooky, so jam the elevator with something and run get the ice.

Tip: Go the Orange for breakfast, near the hotel for great original food. The cucumber water and cinnamon roll pancakes were a great start!

I stayed at the Hotel Blake with my husband and toddler. Although it was more of a businessman's hotel, we found the staff accommodating the historic ambience pleasant and the location excellent. We would come again.

We stayed at the Hotel Blake Chicago for one night, and it was horrible. The front desk staff was rude, no smiles on anyone's faces. We waited 45 minutes for someone to park our car and an hour to get our car. We were double billed for parking as well as for our one night stay. It's been a month and I'm still waiting for my credit. The room was not at all worth the money, it felt very damp and dark. I will never stay here again and would not recommend it to my friends or enemies.

There were significant issues with both check-in and checkout; each took in excess of an hour to complete. From what I saw, the other guests were having problems as well. The front desk staff was so unorganized I would have found it comical if I didn't have to deal with them.

The room was on the small side - the TV was sitting on the desk, leaving about 12 inches of space for 'deskwork'. It seemed clean enough, but there was a noticeable musty odor permeating the halls and the room.

It was a bad experience overall, bad enough to prompt me to write my first ever review.

This hotel has an incompetent staff.

The staff was extraordinarily poor and the rooms were dusty.

We have just returned from the Hotel Blake. These areas need improvement. We registered at 9:30 am. We were told to come back at 2, which we did. It took us 70 minutes to register. We were then given a room key. When we got to our room, it hadn't been cleaned! We walked into a room with unmade beds, covered in blood on the sheets, towels, no toilet paper or Kleenex. When I went back to the hotel desk, I had to wait another 40 minutes to get service. I was then told that the cleaning crew would be another hour or so. We went back up and sat on the floor of the hallway (the lobby was already filled with people waiting for help). Finally, the two-lady cleaning crew came to clean our assigned room. We watched them. They left filled garage cans (with women's used sanitary products), didn't vacuum, left no towels, no pillowcases, didn't do a once over with dusting cloths in the dusty tables, and that is just the beginning.

When I went back to the main lobby desk to discuss this, they said that things were off this weekend, that there were no towels available. At 4:30 they said that they would switch us to another hotel on the other side of town. At this point, we had parked our car for $38 for overnight, we had carried our luggage upstairs, and we had made previous plans to meet friends from out of town in our lobby for 5! It would have been impossible and more expensive to move the car, us, etc. How frustrating. I felt badly for the girl (only one) on desk trying to handle our complaints and everyone else's. There were many people there complaining about misassigned rooms, dirty laundry, etc.

We got back at 10 that evening, not wanting to waste four hours with hotel problems. I called up the desk at 10:10 asking for towels, toilet paper, Kleenex, pillowcases so we could go to bed. After 30 minutes and still no articles were brought up, we called again. We finally got two towels, Kleenex, and toilet paper, pillowcases at 11PM. Also, there was open wiring in the bathroom nest to the sink, and no hot water the next morning for showers. When I asked to speak to the manager, I was told she wouldn't be in till Tuesday. I have called and left a voicemail for her to contact me. I feel we deserve a refund for the time watched trying to get what is promised as well as frustration with this stay. On a positive note, the place is pretty and well located. But I would prefer to spend another $100 for what is promised, a quick registration ( I had prepaid!) and using the time to our benefit. We were only in Chicago for 24 hrs, and approx. 4 was used in getting what we were promised.

This hotel made me feel excited: The design of the lobby and the look of the uniforms made me feel like I was in a really classy hotel. It was enough to make me feel ritzy and excited.