My family and I stayed at the Chicago Courtyard Downtown in late February for recreation, including seeing "Wicked" at the Oriental Theater.

The best feature of this Courtyard is the location. It is close enough to everything to be convenient, although it is not necessarily right next door to any single location. Examples: 5 blocks to the Chicago Theater and Oriental Theater; 3 blocks to Michigan Avenue shopping; 3 blocks to the Windella boat tours; 5 blocks to the touristy restaurants around Wells, Illinois & Ohio; $6-8 cab ride from Union Station.

The hotel is a pretty standard Courtyard, with fairly decent size rooms for a city property. The indoor pool and hot tub are adequate size and the property is relatively quiet. The immediate neighborhood ranges from touristy to a bit rough - for example, a trendy piano bar on the north side of Hubbard contrasts with an adult book store two blocks west on the other side.

Make sure you are heading to the correct Courtyard Hotel and also specify to your cab driver. There are two Courtyard hotels in downtown Chicago north of the river, only about 6 blocks from each other (the other is labeled "Magnificant Mile" and is on Ontario). It appears that a previous Trip Advisor review talking about an upper level lobby may have been referring to the latter location, as the Courtyard on Hubbard has a standard 1st floor lobby.

Stayed at the hotel in adjoining suites with my in-laws right before Christmas.

Positives:
* great location – within walking distance of a million shopping options
* could not get a wireless Internet signal, so they provided a plug-in hub free after I talked with the hotel chain’s helpful technical service people on the phone (pretty sure it was a problem with our computer)
* beds were very comfortable
* excellent room service food

Negatives:
* do not like hotels were the lobby isn’t on the first floor; you enter to a small service desk that is primarily for the bellmen and have to go up an elevator
* they did some maintenance work very early in the morning that bothered my in-laws, but we couldn’t hear it in our room
* televisions in suite’s sitting areas were expensive hang-on-the-wall plasmas/LCDs but had poor picture quality
* shower surface was very slick

I agree with all the previous reviewers. Excellent choice for downtown Chicago. If I could remember the names of the staff members I'd list them with 5 stars after each of their names. Very comfortable hotel in a perfect location at a really good price. Would stay here again anytime.

My wife and I decided to book a room at the Downtown Courtyard with our young daughter. I remain very loyal to the Marriott brand hotels since I collect the Marriott "Rewards". This hotel did not look anything like a typical Courtyard Inn. It was nothing elegant or fancy from the exterior. The lobby was very presentable and the employees were all extremely polite. The bell captain was quick to load all of our luggage and quickly had everything to our room. He offered us his name and made himself available with directions and reservations as needed. I was quite impressed.The suite consisted of a room with two double beds and a seperate living room. There was also a small refrigerator and sink along with microwave. Prior to arriving I called the hotel direct and asked them if it was possible to switch my suite for a suite with a king bed instead of two double beds. They responded that this was not available based on the package I selected. I was quite disappointed. They never even discussed an additional charge or a way to ensure my satisfaction. I questioned Marriotts commitment to guest satisfaction at this point but chose not to pursue it.I slept on the double bed and was not overly comfortable. I am a good size guy and am used to sleeping on a king. Well anyways I made do. The other issue of concern was that when I checked in I had reminded the front desk clerk that I needed a crib in the room. We had left to go have dinner and when we arrived the portable crib was left for us unassembled. I would expect that when you are travelling and request a crib it would be assembled and made up as would any type of bed. The hotel however does have a nice swimming pool. The water was refreshing and it seemed well maintained. We ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They have a very nice buffet along with an omellette station. Good quality food served! My only other comment is that on both nights that we stayed at this hotel it seemed extremely noisy outside. Tons of sirens from firetrucks and ambulances. I stayed on the eleventh floor and was quite disturbed by the noise. Perhaps this is the norm at Chicago hotels. It is a bustling city! Anyways the location is good and the price was reasonable for the dowtown Chicago area. We took advantage of one of the shopping/weekend packages on Marriott. and booked this particular hotel room.

We really enjoyed our stay at the Courtyard. Check in was fast, friendly and efficient. Nichole at the front desk was perky and pleasant. Overall the staff were much friendlier than I have experienced at other hotels - surprising for a Courtyard, which is not a full service hotel but more of a business hotel. They often asked how we were doing when walking through the lobby.

Location can't be beat. It is a 5-8 minutes walk from the blue line train that goes to Ohare airport and Orange line that goes to Midway airport, and a 1 minute walk from the red line train that goes to Wrigley Field. There are tons of restaurants, bars, and convenience stores in the area. It felt very safe even late night.

Room was very clean, typical Courtyard everything. Our rate was pretty high due to a convention in town, but so was every other hotel.

Free high speed internet in room (wired ethernet, no wireless). It was a fast connection though - unlike some other hotels I have stayed in. We never heard any of our neighbors talking or noise in the halls. Newspaper delivered to our door every day. Nice TV in room, great picture - similar to a Sony WEGA TV which is still a tube but a flat tube with bright picture. Parking was $36/day but we did not have a car and you get robbed for parking anywhere downtown. Skip the car and ride the train or take a cab.

I was very pleased with every aspect of our stay.

I took my daughter in for an American Girl weekend. We thought this hotel was fabulous. The staff was very professional and quick to offer assistance in everything from directions to entertainment choices condusive for a trip with a pre-teen. The room was immaculate (a definite must with us), and very comfortable. My daughter had a wonderful time in the pool there is a sun deck which would be nice in the summer. We enjoyed our stay so much that my entire family is going again. I would definitely recommend this hotel to a family.

We had an extremely comfortable stay and the value was good. The staff was VERY friendly and helpful with restaurant recommendations, instructions on using mass transit, etc. The room was clean, quiet and seemed pretty new. I would not hesitate to stay here again.

This was the best hotel in Chicago! Just returned from staying in Chicago. Stayed at the Courtyard Downtown on Ontario. Awesome location to see the city - shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. Within walking distance of everything. Hotel rooms were great - 8 of us on our annual girls trip - had a connecting room on the 24th floor. Very nice rooms! Hotel staff was awesome! Two of us had birthdays while we were there - staff sent up a tray of chocolate covered strawberries, cheeses, and crackers and a card signed by entire staff wishing us a happy birthday! Warren and Ryan were awesome in giving us restaurant choices and directions as we needed. Hotel bar and restaurant were great! Good food, good drinks and great atmosphere. Highly recommend this hotel!

After a very brief stay of one hour at a terrible rat trap called the Congress Hotel, a true dump and disgrace, my wife and I found this wonderful surprise. We called all over town for a last minute reservation and were lucky enough to land a room here. The service was wonderful. A greeting was given from the front desk everytime we entered or left the lobby. The room was very clean and the maid service polite and helpful. The location was terrific - one block off Michigan Avenue, in the north end of the city. This is a newly redecorated property, brightly lit and inviting and well within walking distance to great restaurants, shopping and site seeing. We will be returning for Christmas. I highly recommend this hotel. Enjoy!!

In an episode of "The Apprentice", the candidates were assigned the task of rehabing a hotel and opening it for guests. Everything else aside about the episode, there is a note made towards the end that "people remember the last thing about the experience", and the candidates made sure to thank guests and show concern for any problems they encountered.

So it went with the end of my stay at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Chicago. When we were leaving in the morning, the attendant at the desk was very friendly, and made me feel appreciated. He asked if we needed a cab and when we did, he made sure someone went right out and got one for us. Check-out was less than a minute.

Backing it all the way up to the beginning, I was fooling around on priceline.com a few days before going to this hotel and "stumbled" into getting this hotel for $47 for the night. Even though it was a great deal, I wasn't crazy about going to this hotel, as it *previously* was not too high on the list of hotels I'd want to stay at in Chicago. Not because it looked bad or anything, but simply because it appeared to be "just another hotel". Since I go to the occasional hotel just to get away, I usually look for hotels that offer something extra or are unique.

So, we arrived at this hotel at approximately 3:40pm, and were allowed to check in early (check-in is 4). I had signed up for Marriott Rewards a couple days before coming, and gave it to the desk person (who was very satisfactory - certainly friendly, but not overly so). I knew that I wasn't going to get any points for the room, given that I got a heavily discounted rate. However, I thought that maybe this could get me a better room or maybe some other perks.

This was a Thursday and, despite some shows and conventions in the city, the hotel seemed pretty empty. There were no lines at the front desk and I didn't see many people in the halls. However, this is apparently often a pretty busy hotel - I think we were just there at an off time.

We were assigned room 1119, which provided a pretty magnificent view of Chicago's Merchandise Mart, which lights up in gorgeous fashion when the sun sets. Off to the side, we could also see Marina Tower and the House of Blues building. So far, I was very pleased, because I was not expecting a view, given this location. The rooms in this hotel start at the 6th floor, which is nice - no one is at practically ground level. Some of the rooms likely don't have views, but I'm guessing a fair amount of the rooms have a pretty good view of the Merchandise Mart and the other side has a view of the Wrigley Building and NBC tower.

The room itself was nicely sized and furnished. The bathroom was certainly adequate and everything was in working order. The bed was huge (it seemed like it could easily fit 3-4 people) and there was also a couch and desk. The room wasn't huge, but even with all that was in there, there was still definitely a lot of room to move around. A few paintings (interesting work, too) were on the walls.

There were no instances of stains or wear. Impressively enough, the room smelled really nice. This did not seem to be "spray" or "perfume", but the room just genuinely smelled fresh. The smell wasn't overwhelming or even that obvious - it just felt nice. The room had air conditioning and heat.

The room offered a very nice flat-screen TV, with a solid selection of channels and pay-per-view (the pay-per-view had "Sideways", which was still in some theaters at the time of this review. There were also a lot of movies that were still 2-3 months away from being on DVD.) We soon ordered a Pizza Hut pizza from room service, and they were nice when they answered the phone. They said that the pizza would take 30-45 minutes, but it actually took 15-20. The person who brought it up was extremely nice. Nice enough that, despite the fact that a delivery charge was included in the pizza (I think $1-2, making it $13, which is still pretty reasonable for a good-sized pizza), I gave him a really good tip.

What surprised me further about the hotel was the facilities. The swimming pool was very nice - not huge, but certainly mid-sized and appeared clean. There was also a hot tub, steam room and very nice exercise room. The exercise room seemed very up-to-date, with a lot of different equipment and a very nice setting, complete with televisions. There are a few elevators that are in very good condition, so I can't see there being much of a wait for elevators, even at the busiest times here.

There was also a nice restaurant and breakfast area in the hotel. A gift shop with drinks, snacks and other necessities was just off to the side of the front desk. Food prices in room service and the restaurant (aside from the pizza, which was reasonable) seemed a tad high, but certainly fine - less than in other hotels I've been in.

There was a USA today waiting at my door when I left in the morning.

For those unfamiliar with the area, this hotel is in a particularly good location. It is 2-3 blocks East to the Michigan ave. shopping area. The House of Blues is about a block and a half away and the theater district is about a 5 minute walk. Essentially, this is a solid location that sits right between the Michigan Ave shopping area and the downtown "loop" section.

Now we get to the bad parts, and I think most will agree that these are pretty/fairly minor:

* Minimal toiletries. There were a couple of soaps and one bottle of shampoo.

* Vending machines empty. There are soda machines and ice machines on each floor. On my floor, there was only one selection left (tea) and on another floor I went to, the machine was sold out.

* Dry. As with all hotels, the room was very dry (I actually had a meter with me and humidity was less than 20% in the room). Still, it's like this with every hotel.

* A little bit of noise. There was some minor noise from the street below (it's a busy street - State St. - so a bit of minor noise is more than acceptable) I also heard some water pipe noise in the morning, but again, nothing major.

Overall, I was very surprised that this is a ** 1/2 star hotel on Priceline.com. It is a *** hotel on other hotel sites (and I'm almost positive it is *** officially.) Honestly, even a *** rating for the hotel seems rather low. I would say I would think it could make it to *** 1/2, but not ****.

I liked this hotel a lot and it was really a pleasant surprise. I've stayed in **** hotels in the area before and felt like I was paying for luxury that didn't add to the experience. Here, I felt as if I was paying for what I should be paying for: very good service, a clean and well-run hotel and a solid selection of facilities.

I've read a lot of reviews online that are VERY positive about this hotel, and I would have to add myself to that list. I think this hotel needs to somehow put itself out there more. It's got everything going for it - a great location, a really solid staff and a good selection of facilities. This hotel should be advertised more by Marriott, and the page for this hotel on the Marriott website should be less of a "standard page" and focus a bit more on the staff and maybe offer comments from previous visitors.

For those visiting this hotel, be sure to sign up for the Rewards program at marriott.com before visiting. It's free.

(Note: I also posted this on epinions.com)