Le Méridien Essex Chicago

This hotel has its pros and cons. I used to recommend this hotel frequently with my friends and family that come in town. It's esthetically pleasing and the location is amazing. Unfortunately, I had a weekend full of the cons. I booked a Superior suite and was given a super small "deluxe" room and was told the Superior suites were booked. I looked online and there were some available for booking so that was unsettling. The noise level is insane! You can hear everything from toilets flushing to sinks running, the elevator, outside noise, etc. Then there's like a constant banging sound in the walls that was weird. After a night out, my husband and I returned to our room and while getting into bed, we noticed what looked like dried blood spots on the pillows and they were tattered and torn. (see photos) We called down to get the sheets changed and was told that someone would be up shortly. After waiting almost 2 hours, we put the pillows aside on the floor and checked the sheets and after checking, we didn't see any other spots or anything. The next morning, we called and requested that our room be cleaned and was told by the front desk that we have to make those requests in person at the front desk. We thought that was odd, but we complied and made another request on our way out. Upon arriving back to the room, the bed was still unchanged and the room was not cleaned despite our multiple requests. We called and requested a cleaning and was told that the housekeepers wouldn't be able to clean until the next morning. We were checking out the next morning so we went and purchased disposable sheets. For the amount we had to pay for the rooms, at the very least, I'd like to lay my head on clean, bloodless sheets and pillows. I previously enjoyed staying here but unfortunately, that was probably the last time. The staff was extremely defensive whenever I called to spoke with them at the front desk. I understand there may be staffing issues but that needs to be addressed.

This hotel is not very nice. The walls are paper thin, you can hear the outside street noise and everyone’s conversations/toilet flushes, elevator dings constantly. They put me in an “enhanced room” which is directly across the hall from 2 elevators. I asked to be moved to a different room away from all the noise but they said that they were full, despite that the app was showing 5 different room types bookable. The elevator doors squeak loudly every time they open outside of my room, and I raised this to the management, but they did not fix it. I’m still staying at the hotel but felt compelled to post a 1 star review because it is that bad. Even the toilet barely flushes. Don’t spend your hard earned money here, there are better alternatives literally right across the street. Also, be prepared to pay a 15 dollar per day destination fee, a great surprise to find out on arrival. It’s not even my money, it’s my company’s, but this place is so backwards that it is very frustrating to give them money