Stay Report: Marriott Chicago O’Hare (Chicago, IL - August 2021 )

   Stay Report: Marriott Chicago O'Hare
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I was traveling to Chicago for a couple of days, but because of travel plans we needed to be close to the airport so we focused our search into hotels in this area.  In my search,  I was looking for hotels that had airport shuttles but also had access to the L Train and in my search I found the Marriott Chicago O'Hare.  The hotel matched all the criteria I was looking for and it was available for a reasonable price so I booked it.  After I booked it, I called to confirm the details of the shuttle and the service I received was not great; I thought it was a one-off but actually that was the type of service I was going to receive throughout my stay.

My family arrived before me and even though we had called to confirm the airport pickup and shuttle times, we were told 'just call when you arrive and the shuttle will be there'.  Every time we asked we got a different response - one person said the shuttle ran on a schedule and another said that it was upon request.  We tried taking the shuttle three times - once from the airport, once to the airport, and once again to the airport and each time it was EXTREMELY delayed and/or it was a guesstimate as to when it would actually go.  After that, we stopped using the shuttle at all.

The hotel is located about 10 minutes away from the airport and is located across the highway from the

Rosemount train station.  The hotel looks like it was built in the 1950's with a high hotel and a huge parking lot.   You have to cross the huge parking lot and walk across the highway on a pedestrian bridge to access the train - its not bad during the day but can be a little sketchy at night.  There are plenty of restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance and there are lots of delivery options available as well (we did a delivery option and when it was delivered to the hotel, they were told to leave it on the table in the lobby.  We went down to pick it up and no one confirmed to ensure it was our order so you can pick up any order you want).  

The lobby was designed in a circular fashion with the check-in desks to the left, the bar and restaurant straight ahead, the elevators to the room on the right, and the concierge desk also on the right.  We checked-in and were not given any information and in fact the attendant could not have cared less (even though there was no one behind us).  We received our key and proceeded to our room.  Even though the area for the hotel was large and the hotel building looked large, the rooms were smaller than I expected.  As you entered, there was a bathroom on the right and a closet on the left side.  The bathroom was standard and contained a sink, a toilet and a bathtub - the only negative about the hotel was the minimal space.  The closet was also a standard hotel closet and contained shelves, a place to hang clothes, an iron and ironing board, as well as a safe.  Further into the room, on the right side were the 2 double beds with a nightstand in the middle.  The beds were decent and provided a good nights sleep - again the space between the beds were tighter than anticipated.  In front of the beds was a chest with a drawers on the bottom and a TV on top.  Next to that was a desk on wheels so you can move the desk around the room.  Along the wall were windows which were a nice addition as it allowed light to come in and make the room feel brighter and bigger.  In between the beds and the window was an armchair and lamp - it was a nice addition but there was not enough space for all the furniture so it felt cramped.

Amenities in the hotel included restaurants, fitness center, a concierge, wifi, and airport shuttle.  I already talked about the poor service regarding the airport shuttle, and due to the limited time I did not have time to try out the other amenities.  I did try the wifi but it was not strong and kept dropping; it was so bad that for work I used my own hotspot versus the hotels wifi.  Overall, it was a disappointing stay at the hotel.  The only positives were easy access to transportation and easy access to services but everything else from customer service to room quality was negative.