I stayed at the Chicago Hilton because it was host to a conference I was attending. Before I arrived I tried to find out about the "In Room Fitness" program advertised on the corporate website. I called the 800 reservation number and the client service representative answered that the hotel did have a fitness center. I explained that I was inquiring about the 'In Room Fitness' advertised on their website. She put me on hold and came back a few minutes later and told me that there was no such thing and that I should call the property directly. I did and got the same response. I asked if they could reserve a treadmill for my room. Again, this was a problem. When I arrived at the hotel, no treadmill was available. When I went to tour the fitness room the first night I found that they close at 9pm. When I returned to the center the next day I discovered that they charge $13 per day to use the fitness equipment. The pool, track and locker room are free, but to use the treadmills, etc. you have to pay $13 per day. This charge is not noted anywhere -- not on the website, not in any of the guest service materials in the room. The food for the conference was mediocre, but the one room service meal I had was pretty good. During one of the conference lunch sessions the wait staff made so much noise we couldn't hear the speaker. The HVAC didn't work well in my room and I kept the windows open for most of my three night stay. The beds were comfortable with very nice linens. I tried to get a late checkout, which was offered on a card in my room. The woman who answered the phone would only give me an hour, not the 11-2pm range advertised in my room. The best service I received was from the folks in the Security office. The hotel does not have safes in guest rooms, so I became very friendly with Security office as I locked up my laptop between conference sessions and every other time I couldn't carry it out of the hotel. I visit Chicago at least once a year for personal travel and will continue to stay at the Marriott properties. Only wish I had done so for this visit.
