Silversmith hotel

This review is being written on April 30, 2008, and we were at the Silversmith just this past weekend, for four nights.

The most disappointing thing was the rate combined with the lack of quality. We paid over two hundred dollars a night for an extremely loud room on the 9th. floor. There was construction at a building outside our room AND the Chicago subway (El) zoomed overhead every couple of minutes. (The noise could have been mitigated by better insulated windows.)

The room was quite small with little natural light (except the windows in the bedroom). The bedroom, while a separate room technically, was really just partitioned off from the living area by two French doors which were very pretty but which transmitted light from the adjoining room right into the bedroom. Equally distressing, the wall that partitioned the bedroom from the living area did not go all the way to the ceiling, for reasons I do not understand. So noise from within the hotel room - the TV, the bathroom toilet or shower, etc. - was transmitted very easily.

We traveled with our toddler, which is exactly why we wanted a one-bed room suite. But between the noise from outside and the light and noise inside, it was just like sleeping in a regular hotel room, only worse, because there was the expectation of privacy and separate rooms. When the TV was on in the adjoining room, it might as well have been on in the bedroom.

We did not read the description of the Silversmith carefully. There was no microwave in the room, and the refrigerator was very small. We expected a type of kitchenette, so that we could warm up our daughter's milk each morning.

To Silversmith's credit, the towels and washcloths were plush and plentiful. The bathroom was a nice size, though the water pressure in the shower was not great.

And you cannot beat the location. It is near a lot of sights and public transportation.

For the money, I would not stay there again. I would instead look at Homewood Suites (Hilton), which also has properties in Downtown Chicago, and they seem to be more affordable than Silversmith and the suites come with complete kitchenettes and dining areas.

We should have known to be wary when Silversmith required full payment in advance. We stayed the four nights because we did not want to fight for a credit and were too busy to haul all our stuff to another hotel.

Made pre-paid (required) reservation 7 months in advance for a NON-SMOKING suite for 2 nights for 2007 Chicago Marathon at $307 per night. Arrived at 5:00PM and only suite available is SMOKING - not acceptable for a marathon runner. Accepted downgrade to a queen room with rate to be adjusted by Guest Services Manager when he returned to hotel the following week.

After numerous unreturned voice mail messages to the manager it is obvious he has no intention of refunding the difference between Suite and Queen room rate (about $100/night) nor making any effort to apologize/explain/whatever. This sort of treatment is indicative of poor management and unacceptable business practices. Do not make a reservation at this hotel.

While the staff were friendly and welcoming and the location very convenient to shopping and restaurants, the accommodations fell short of my expectations for a boutique hotel. When I arrived at the room, there were nail clippings on the floor, hairs in the tub, and stains on the toilet. It was obvious that corners were cut to get the room ready in a hurry. I called the front desk twice to get the problems resolved. At checkout, I was charged one rate for the first night and an additional $20 for the second night because the hotel was overbooked. A phone call to the accounting department rectified this.

I had nothing but problems with this hotel. While booking online, I called the hotel to get more information and the pushy phone personnel insisted I book over the phone, not online.

When they screwed up my reservation, I had only their word against mine, and the customer in this case was not right. I don't know who taught this place about customer service, but it was the worst I've ever experienced. The desk clerks accused me of lying, and even argued with me about how many towels were supposed to be in a room, since we were short of towels. Honestly, just send up another towel, why argue with me?

After speaking with the assistant manager about the fact that my two night reservation was only made for one night, he graciously offered me a room for way more than I had paid for the first night, knowing my itinerary left me too little time to change hotels. When I left the hotel later, I came around the corner into the lobby in time to overhear him making fun of me to the valet staff. He had the courtesy to turn red and at least stop talking while I walked out of the lobby. That was the most unprofessionally run hotel I have ever stayed at and I will never be back.

If you choose to stay there, get your confirmation in writing to back you up, and you'd better hope you don't run into any problems, because they will not be resolved.

You may also want to take into account that the train is running right outside the door, and it's rather noisy. The supposed 'Frank Lloyd Wright' theme falls way short and feels like an excuse to have an outdated, worn-looking interior.

For what I paid to stay at that hotel, I am shocked. I can't believe they call themselves a Crowne Plaza. They do not live up to the wonderful customer service and quality I have enjoyed at their other hotels.