Months prior to my 5-night reservation with the Hilton Chicago I requested a room that allowed in a lot of natural light, facing an open view, not a close building. (The reservation was made through a conference travel agency.) I confirmed my request by telephone a few days in advance directly with the hotel and at check-in the clerk noted it in my record. She told me it would be difficult to find, but consulted a chart and appeared to be satisfied with the room she assigned me. I was very surprised to open the door onto a room on the inside of one of the towers, tucked into a very dark corner, facing a wall of rooms. I called the desk immediately and was told that the hotel was sold out and it was hard to tell what rooms were still available that suited my request, but to "sit tight" and someone would call me. No one did. Further calls yielded similar results. At one point I was told I could have a "parlor room," with a sofa bed, at a reduced rate, but I could not go see the room before committing to moving. That's real hospitality for you. Worried that a bad sofa bed could be worse than rooming in a cave, I ended up staying in the dreadfully dark room. (I had asked for a bright room with one bed and got a dark room with two beds.) The only redeeming feature of the room was that it had 2 bathrooms. Other than that, it was tight quarters with a tiny closet, two uncomfortably low chairs, at the desk and in a (dark) corner. Light fixtures didn't do much to brighten things up. Since I was here at a conference, I really wanted a bright environment to wake up early and start the workday in and to have as a cheerful office for mid-day calls and e-mail, but instead I got a cave. Consequently, I spent as little time as possible in the room and next time I am in Chicago, conference or not, I will absolutely stay at another hotel. There are much better locations that the Hilton Chicago and looking at the percentage of "inside tower" rooms, places with a much better chance of having a bright room as well as better customer service. Shame on the Chicago Hilton.
