The Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center – A Historic Chicago Landmark

I love this hotel! It was one of the best places I've ever stayed and I have traveled widely in the US and Europe. The historic nature alone is worth seeing, with its beautiful lobby, ornate elevator doors, and Gold Room, where we saw an opera performed by Roosevelt U students. Our room on the 12th floor was large, spotless, and light, directly across from Grant Park, with views of the lake, fountain, Navy Pier, Field Museum, Planetarium, and more. The location was perfect for walking to the Art Institute and Orchestra Hall, and just a 20-minute walk, or quick bus ride on #3, to the river. (One note: If you want large, modern bathrooms, this is not for you.)

We traveled to Chicago for a convention the weekend of April 10th-13th. I'm very adamant about doing what I can to check for beg bugs as soon as I enter a hotel room, which was no different at this location. I didn't see anything, so thought we were safe to unpack our things and head to our first event. Upon waking up on Friday morning, I went to shower, and after coming out of the bathroom, there was a bed bug, right on my pillow. I caught the bug and put it in one of the glasses, and then saw another one crawling around the same area. I immediately called the front desk, and they transferred me to security to file a report (as they said this was what had to be done), and within about 20 minutes security came up to our room, took pictures of the bed bugs, had us fill out a statement, and told us someone from the front desk would call us soon to explain next steps. I do have to say that the staff was very understanding, apologetic, and happy to help us. They first offered a 50% refund for that first night in the hotel, and to move our rooms. If it wasn't last minute, and we still didn't have three days left, I would have moved hotels completely. I explained this, and that personally, I didn't feel like 50% back was enough, since I was feeling overall dirty, and like I didn't want to stay there at all. I was transferred to the general manager, who let me know that they'd called an exterminator, and that they understood my asking for a full refund for the first nights stay. They ended up moving our room, to what my husband and I determined was more of a business suite (the room before was old, the bathroom was not in the best shape, and it was on a floor with renovations happening), that they probably took a lot better care of for higher paying customers, as this was also a "lake front view." I spent the next two nights checking under the pillows every time I woke up, and being careful to not move anything from the dresser top. I'm honestly glad we did see them though, as we were able to buy trash bags to put our luggage in for the ride home, and Clorox wipes to at least have peace of mind that this would avoid any potential spread of them on the way home. Honestly, next time I stay in Chicago, I'd rather spring for a nicer hotel that's a little bit more money.

Positives - great view (had a lake view) - modern room - excellent food from Rafael's Negatives - no temperature control, only a tepid fan unit that blew hardly any air that was not cold. - shower backs up with many inches of water when you took a shower -Ice machines not working on 2 floors that we tried.

I travel to Chicago practically every April and prefer staying at the Congress more than anywhere. The lobby and bar are beautiful. The staff is helpful. The rooms are spacious. And the location is excellent. Yes, it is an older hotel, but my rooms are always clean. I have never had a bad stay.

My company booked four rooms at The Congress Hotel and none of had hot water. The shower had to run for a minimum of 30 minutes or more to get hot water. The hotel is very run down and the smell of reefer filled the lobby area. We will not be going back and have told people from the trade show to stay away. Old hotels are ok, but not one that needs a lot of care.