My husband and I stayed overnight at the Affinia. Prior reviews led us to believe this was a quality hotel; not true. Since it was a very special occasion, and also because we were only staying overnight, we didn't let the shabbiness and poor service of the hotel ruin our weekend. However, this would have qualified as one of the poorest hotel experiences. I've ever had. First, the smells: The linens and pillows on our bed smelled moldy and mildewy. The odors were not mild, and I found it pretty repulsive. I couldn't wait to jump out of bed in the morning, to get away from the odors. Hard to sleep and certainly didn't want to be in the bed any longer than absolutely necessary. I didn't discover how disgusting the bed smelled until around midnight when we got into bed. At that point, I chose not to contact housekeeping because (a) I was exhausted, and (b) I didn't want to upset my husband, who had fallen immediately to sleep after a long day of sightseeing. Also, the bathroom smelled like vinegar. Perhaps this is the cleaning agent used by Affinia, but the odor should have dissipated over the course of our stay and it never did. Incidentally, the bathroom floor tiles and wallpaper looked like they had seen better days; not a well-maintained property. Second, the elevators: If you stay above the first few floors, there are only two elevators that run from ground level to the rooftop c-view bar. With so many floors to service, and so many people going up to the c-view bar on a saturday, these elevators took forever to come, and were often full they did. Annoying. Also, on one occasion, there were several bottles (water and soda) left in the elevator; clearly, the maintenance crew doesn't inspect and clean the common areas frequently. Finally, and perhaps the most disappointing was the service when we arrived. First, when we booked, we asked for as quiet a room as possible. The hotel is located near Northwestern Memorial Hospital. But, its proximity to Michigan Ave., and the lack of accomodations elsewhere (due to the Transformers movie filming and a big international convention taking place the same week-end), led us to stay here anyway. At check-in, the clerk noted our request, and said our room was quiet room since it was not "next to the elevators." When we arrived at our room, we discovered that we were across from the elevators. Obviously, she was technically correct that we weren't next to the elevators, but it was still so close (15-20 feet) that we could hear the elevator noise. Also, since it was a special occasion, we asked if we could upgrade. The disingenuous, snarky, condescending clerk told us that checking in early was an upgrade. Clearly, the woman has not travelled enough to know that in many quality hotels, this is a matter of routine, not exception. Pretty awful experience all the way around. Other reviewers must have very low expectations. Can't explain any of the good reviews otherwise.
