The Palmer House Hilton

11/03/09

Great place to stay in Chicago

by YahtzeeGirl at Citysearch

We love to stay at the Palmer House, it has a great location in Chicago and all the times we have stayed there we have had nothing but great things to say.

By far our favorite Chicago hotel!

• Pros: great rooms, views, fitness center, location
• Cons: customer service

11/04/08

Great, Beautiful, Historic Hotel with a Super Location!!

by girlaudio at Citysearch

The Palmer House was a great choice for our vacation stay. The location was great. I have stayed at 3 other hotels and this was by far the best location. The staff was amazingly friendly. I can understand why people say the halls are hard to navigate, but there are signs all over leading to the room numbers and then back to the elevators. The lobby of this hotel is most beautiful. The only complaint I have is the elevator situation. There are nine elevators with three going LL-12, three going 13-17, and three going 18-23. The upper floor elevators (the ones I used) also went to LL-8. On both the weekday mornings I was trying to get downstairs, I waited about 7-10 minutes each time for the elevator to take us down. I had to plan that time into my budget in getting to the EL on time for the airport. I was also not to thrilled with the $7 per hour wireless fee (only available in the lobby or the $15 in room internet fee. After being told of the $7 per hour charge I didn't bother asking if the $15 was per day or hour. The room was spacious though and had 2 bathrooms with I loved. I have to say again, I was really impressed with how friendly all the staff was during my stay. Other than the elevators and internet fee, I loved the Palmer.

• Pros: Beauty, Location, History
• Cons: Elevators and Internet Fees

09/26/08

Bad Customer Service!!

by RKJ66 at Citysearch

From what you read on their website, one would expect at the minimal you will have good if not excellent customer service. Not really!!! I was first greeted by a "joker" - Ron, who tried to make fun of my last name. Then took 5 minutes of "acting" to tell me that they didn't have any non-smoking rooms, despite my reservation requested. He went on to "entice" me to stay at a "Parlor" - a living room with a kitchenette but no "bedroom" - i.e. NO BED - but they will supply a rollaway!! Or my option was to pay to upgrade to a suite. He disappeared for 10 minutes to speak with the Manager on my behalf. I tried to use my cell phone to call the person who made my reservation but there were no reception in the registration area because of all the marbles surrounding us. Ron would not let me use his phone so I have to drag my lugguage around to find a spot with reception. Unsuccessful, I went back and asked to speak to the Manager. 10 minutes later, Manager Fayth Sosa showed up, offering no options. I gave up and agreed to take the "Parlor". Upon arrival in my Parlor, a tiny twin rollaway bed was up against the wall. I called to inquire if I was expected to set up my own rollaway bed and Noel, the other Manager told me that it was very easy to do i.e. you could do it yourself. He finally agreed to come up to set up my bed. But guess whatthere were no pillowsor blankets either. So one was expected to pay >$200 to sleep in a rollaway bed?? I surrendered and asked to switch to a smoking room - a small stinky room that obviously was not what was reserved for me. They agreed to switch me to a non-smoking room for my second night stay - but that room would only be guaranteed till 5 pm - Hilton's policy. In summary, this is the HOTEL that would consider providing a room without a BED to a customer!! This is definitely not my experience with other Hiltons. For a while, I thought I was at a Best Western!!