Hyatt Place Chicago River North Offers a Good Place to Stay at a Reasonable Price for the City

by Gary Leff

I spent a couple of nights last week at the Hyatt Place Chicago River North and am reminded just how much I like Hyatt Place properties, at least when they’re significantly cheaper than full service alternatives.

To date I’ve had pretty good experiences at the only three Hyatt Place hotels I’ve stayed at previously,

I had booked one night as a cash and points award (which earned credit towards elite status) and the second night as a Hyatt Visa annual free night (the hotel is eligible as it is currently a category 4 hotel).

I was assigned a room on the 15th floor. It seemed just a wee bit smaller than the other Hyatt Place rooms I’ve had, but still featured the same new Hyatt Place design with modern bathroom, L-shaped couch, desk with ample power outlets, and a small divider to give a sense of separation between living area and the bed.

Public spaces in the hotel are inviting, and the staff friendly.

And complimentary breakfast was bountiful and tasty.

My only real complaints were that the coffee wasn’t very good (they claim to serve Starbucks but it was burned the one morning I tried it, fortunately there was a Starbucks just one block away) and that the elevators were excruciatingly slow during peak periods.

My Diamond check-in amenity points — only 500 points rather than 1000 at a Hyatt Place property — didn’t post with the rest of my points, but that was quickly rectified along with the standard 50% bonus for having to follow up and request them.

I’d stay here again for combination of location, quality, and price on a future trip.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. I was there a couple of weekends ago. The breakfast area was very busy and I noticed people were taking their food up to their rooms.

  2. Gary: with all your world traveling, still can’t believe you like Starbucks! OMG, it’s the worst tasting, burnt, and un-drinkable coffee I’ve ever drank! I’m suggesting you spend some miles to visit Colombia or other locals in Central/South America and try some good coffee, without the bitter taste! Even some of the SE Asian coffees are better…

  3. @Robert – I only like Starbucks *compared to what the Hyatt Place serves*. I am very picky about my coffee but I will deal with a world of second bests if i have to. And by “even some of the Southeast Asian coffees are better” you mean that “some of the world’s best coffee comes from Indonesia, and blows away most of what Central and South America has to offer.” In which case, I agree with you!

  4. Gary, could you help me find and strategise a Hyatt challenge at the lowest cost possible ? Thanks so much in advance

  5. I am quite the regular at this property – really second the friendly staff thought.

    The only thing I really disliked was their recent change of moving the coffee from the breakfast area to the lobby area.

  6. This place offers great value for what you get, especially for being in an awesome Chicago location for restaurants.

  7. I also had a recent stay at this property and was pretty impressed. My only complaint…for a new build hotel the soundproofing to street noise was horrible even from a high floor. Fire station close by also didn’t help.

  8. I really like Hyatt Place, in general, as well. There are very few standard hotel rooms that can comfortably sleep 6. On road trip overnights with 4 adults, 2 kids, being able to find a Hyatt Place in the city where we wanted to stay for the night was a real bonus.
    I don’t care for their breakfast much though. Even though I feel that the selections are higher quality than you get at their competitors’ breakfasts, I don’t happen to like the breakfast sandwiches HP serves, and also prefer that the yogurt be served in individual containers rather than one big bowl. Minor quibbles… I usually found the coffee to be drinkable, but not great. I am nowhere near as exacting as Gary about my coffee, but I do have some standards. 🙂

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