We chose to stay at a small hotel because we did were looking for a hotel with less crowds. We anticipated we would get better service in a smaller hotel, than some of the other larger high rise hotels. We did not experience very good service at the Talbott Hotel. When we checked Irena seemed very robotic and aloof. The front desk clerks were neither welcoming nor gracious. The lobby is small and the front desk is just a few feet from the front door. Each time we came into the hotel we were never greeted nor even received a smile from the staff, just a blank stare and gaze. The front desk staff was chilly and stiff, no greetings, no smiles and no personality. They had difficulty answering simple questions or requests. On the other hand the bellman Perry was great. He was sociable and very service oriented. He was aware of what is going on in the area. He recognizes the guests and he offered suggestions about things to do in the immediate area, and where to eat in the neighborhood. He is authentic and he even asked us upon our return "how was that restaurant?" Tim the concierge was also supportive. He gave us 10% discount coupons for shopping at the major department stores. We had the largest suite. We requested a rollaway (extra charge) when we made our reservation and we had to ask five different times to have the rollaway bed delivered to our room before it came after 10PM. When the rollaway finally came we had to call back the front desk because they did not deliver a blanket or pillow with the bed. What made our Talbott hotel experience most disappointing was that we may have never received any housekeeping unless we had asked to have our room cleaned. We were out of our room from 8AM and when we returned to our room at 4PM the rooms had not been cleaned. We called the front desk to ask to send someone. The maid rushed to clean our room while we had to shower and change for the evening. The room itself was pleasant. It did have a moldy smell and some Frabreez would have been nice to bring along since the windows do not open much. We were next to a noisy neighbor and the walls were thin. We really liked staying in this area of Chicago but expected first rate service. The service was very weak and unacceptable for this class of hotel.
