The Willows Hotel in Chicago, IL

This hotel looked so charming and close to our daughter's apartment. It reminded me of a dorm room. Very outdated. The comforter was dirty and there were dirty kleenexes on the floor. I'm kickign myself as we paid $500 for one night. I could have stayed downtown in a beautiful hotel for that. My husband forgot his Bose earbuds on the nightstand but when we went back (an hour after checking out) they said they didn't find them. Right. Such a disappointing stay. Will NEVER stay here again.

BED BUGS. Cute hotel, lovely lobby, nice rooms, good location, fair price... but is that worth BED BUGS? I stayed one night, and went home the next day with a bunch of BED BUG BITES all in a line. You know how I know they were BED BUGS? Because BED BUGS bite in a line. You know how I got them from the Willows? Because I don't have BED BUGS at home, and the only other place I've stayed in months is the Willows. So I know I got BED BUGS from there. And what did the hotel tell me? That they can't (won't) do anything about it.

Not at all what I expected for a boutique hotel. Should have paid more attention to the poor reviews. The only positive thing about this hotel is the staff and the location. The rooms should have been renovated many years ago. When we got on the dirty elevator, I knew we weren’t going to like the room. Hallways are dark and creepy. Carpet in the room was not vacuumed. Noisy wall air conditioner. Old furniture. Price way too high!!

DO NOT STAY HERE THEY HAVE BED BUGS AND WHEN YOU EMAIL TO REPORT IT THEY IGNORE YOU. I AM WAITING A CALL BACK FROM THE HEALTH DEPT AS I HAVE LOGGED A REPORT. Booking.com is also aware and trying to reach this Hotel, I have had no communication from this establishment.

I will start with the positives: the location is great, the room was mostly clean, check in/out was easy, we felt safe in this area. Beyond that, I'm still puzzled as to how this hotel had such amazing reviews and high rating on Trip Advisor. We arrived fairly late at night as our flight had been delayed. The welcome by staff was okay but upon entering the hotel I realized that what I had believed was going to be a 'quirky, boutique experience' was probably not going to live up to that. The lobby was sad looking and the hotel smelled musty. (The lobby looked much better in the morning with the light coming in but was still not up the 'boutique' standard that we are used to) The elevator is unappealing to say the least. The flooring material is peeling and the walls are scratched. When we got to our floor, the hallway is very dark and smells like an old motel. The room had an even stranger smell - maybe ammonia? The wallpaper was peeling in several spots (with a little mold on it in the bathroom) and the decor is terribly outdated. I've stayed at 'vintage' hotels but this room was not vintage, it was just old and outdated. The worst part was the air conditioning unit. It was LOUD. I am a light sleeper and ended up having to wear earplugs to be able to sleep. Even then, I did not get a lot of sleep over the three nights. My other family members slept a little better as they are not as light of sleepers. What bothered us the most was that we'd paid over $425 a night to stay here. The room and hotel were not what they show on the website or even what the other Trip Advisor reviews had led us to believe. For even a little bit more money, we could have had a nicer room/better experience even if the location were not as premium. If you are paying more than $300 a night to stay here, I would suggest you look elsewhere.