Royal Sonesta Chicago River North

Kristy Isbell

We usually stay at Embassy Suites to accommodate our family size and get a breakfast with the stay. However we decided to try this place and were pleasantly surprised! Great service, clean and spacious rooms! Attentive staff as well since we often need additional towels.

Stephanie Fields

During our recent trip to Chicago we stayed at Royal Sonesta Chicago River North hotel. HANDS DOWN DO NOT STAY HERE!! We arrived late Friday where only a single individual was at the front desk (completely understandable since it was late). We had two rooms booked. He only activated the key for the first room. I have a 21 month old who was asleep but unfortunately with the moving around woke up. I had to go back downstairs to get the keys activated. Upon arriving in the room the mini-bar is locked because they are rebranding this hotel to be part of the Royal Sonesta and they do not have permission to sell alcohol until July 1st. In our room there was still soaking wet old towels in the bathroom. We had to call and complain, which the guy sends housekeeping up to clean and the house keeping attendant stated he did not know how to clean rooms he just brought fresh towels up. In the second room the mini-bar was locked so they instead brought up a mini-fridge to put in the room (which we did not need but was asking why it was locked). The mini-fridge is completely empty if you were wondering. The first room once I called back stating the information provided to us that the gentleman did not know how to clean they moved us to a different room. Continuing our stay this hotel had a number of individuals going clubbing/bar hoping - not an issue it all but be prepared if you are looking for a different type of environment then again do not book here. The beds were soft, pillows soft, sheets come off the bed if you move just a little. Housekeeping never came to clean the rooms. There was always only one individual at the front desk either morning or afternoon or evening. The wait time to get assistance took a long time since there was always a line. The parking costs 72 dollars per night!! That is insane especially since booking the hotel rooms were expensive. The poor valet that we saw worked middle of the night shifts and day shifts. He was always kind and friendly but he was exhausted from being asked to work so many hours without assistance. If he wasn’t there (assuming at home resting before his next shift) the valet stand was very slow and backed up significantly causing congestion on the main road with someone who did not look to be an employee. There is no restaurant or cafe in the hotel so do not expect to eat at the hotel. No room service either. No bar either since they can’t sell alcohol. This hotel is pet friendly but we did not have any pets. I will say the one room smelled like old Chinese food. We will not stay at this hotel again and I hope this review will assist others before booking here.

Hannah Kim

Honestly, the only thing good about this hotel is the location. I can't believe for having paid $400+ per night and for a 4 star hotel, housekeeping comes in "once every 3 days." So don't expect fresh new towels when you return to your room - you have to request them at the front desk. And one time the clean towels were just kind of thrown onto our bed. For a hotel that isn't so cheap, it's embarrassing.

Nancy Lopez

The only positives: staff was friendly and room was clean when we arrived. Unfortunately, I was told 3 different things about early check-in. First, I was told to call the day before. When I did, they said call the morning of between 9-10am. When I called at 10am the day of, they would immediately put me on hold and I would get redirected to reservations. At one point I was immediately hung up on. When someone finally answered on the seventh call, they said “show up early and hope there is a room available”. Our room was never cleaned during our stay. When I called down to the desk, it was never answered. The shower head was covered in soap scum/mildew which made the pressure terrible. Towels felt like they were from the dollar store. Just absolutely terrible for as much money it is per night. To top it all off, they did not have valet or their restaurant/room service available.