I recently had the opportunity to stay at the Conrad Chicago Hotel, located on North Rush Street. As part of the Hilton hotel chain, I was confident that I would have a positive experience. Unfortunately, from the time I walked in the door until the time I checked out, I was plagued with nothing but problems. When I walked into the hotel, I was not greeted by the concierge, which is usually a bad sign. (He was reading a newspaper.) Then, when I announced that I was holding a reservation, they desk clerk was unable to find it. I had a confirmation number which they agreed matched a number in their system, but they could not find the room I had reserved. Finally, they assigned me a room, but it was smaller than I had originally requested and it had a bad odor. I was very disappointed with the room and its decor. The room smelled of stale smoke, even though it was on a non-smoking floor. The bedspread was threadbare and there was no soap in the bathroom. I had to keep checking to make sure I was really at the Conrad Chicago. Surely, this was not the way the Hilton chain operates! There continued to be problem throughout my stay. I asked for a wake-up call and it was 15 minutes late, which had me scurrying around so I could make my business meeting. I ordered breakfast to be brought to my room, and it never showed up -- at all! And the water for my shower never reached anything by lukewarm, so my shower was short and unsatisfying. I decided to check out of the Conrad Chicago a day earlier than originally planned because I was so dissatisfied with the hotel and the way it attempted to resolve the problems and issues. Upon my return home, I wrote a letter to the hotel manager, but never received a reply. Because they refused to acknowledge that I had problems, I will not be staying at the Conrad Chicago again, and will avoid all Hilton Hotels in the future.
