Got to the hotel around 4:30 P.M. parked in front of the hotel and was greated by the vallet crew. When I booked my room at the Hampton web site I pre purchased the vallet parking along with the room. I would strongley suggest this especialy if you are going to walk instead of drive in the city. The Cost for overnight parking is $38.00 per night. But what are you going to do?

Checking in was quick and easy. The rooms were nice, we stayed pretty simple with a double queen. I heard nothing thru the walls the entire time I was there. Pool was very small and the Pool room would knock you down with chlorien smell.

Breakfast was great, just about the best I have had at a hotel. The location of this hotel is good with a little walk to Michigan Ave. I stayed here with my wife and two children (4&7) and would go back in a heart beat.

I stayed here on June 5-8 2008. There is a review of my trip on the forum.

I checked in around 3.45pm with no problems whatsoever. I noticed that there were free complimentary papers of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today to the left of the reception desk.

I had room 1130. I opened the door and couldn't believe how big the suite was. The lounge was huge with a small but adequate kitchen with fridgefreezer, microwave, dishwasher and bar/table.

The lounge had a sofa and a chair with footstool. The bed was fine as was the bathroom. The sink was outside of the bathroom and there was a wall hairdryer and toiletries.

There was a tv in the lounge and in the bedroom. I received a note to say that the tv's were being replaced by 37" LCDs over the next few weeks.

Breakfast was great with a varied selection. It was great to have strawberries, chopped pineapples and oranges. The scones were lovely as was the chocolate muffin. There was two items of hot food which consisted of mini-omelettes and one other item which I didn't know. The juices (cranberry, guava) and coffee/tea were fine.

On the 2nd floor, there was the swimming pool and the business center with the free internet and superb consumable facilities such as fax, printer and stationary equipment. You need your room card to gain entry.

The location of the hotel was great. Turning right out of the hotel, there is a 7-Eleven across the road (30 yards away). I stocked up on bottled water and the odd chocolate bar.

Right on the 7-Eleven is the free trolley bus which takes people to Navy Pier. This was excellent and really convenient. On the way back, I waited about 20 minutes and the queue was long.

To get to Michigan Avenue, I walked up Dearborn until I hit Ohio and then turned right. This was because I avoided any stairs going up or down and in fact, apart from Nordstrom and the shops there, there wasn't much there. The main stores are from Ohio to Water Place.

In terms of eating, there are a lot of decent eateries nearby. I eat quite reasonably though not necessarily healthily! I went to Boston Blackies (164 East Grand Avenue, between Michigan and St Clair), Gino's East (633 N. Wells St. (Ontario and Wells) and Cafe Iberico (737 N La Salle Dr (Chicago and La Salle). All three places were busy and there was a good atmosphere. The food was fine and reasonably-priced.

As I left the hotel on Sunday, I turned left and walked around the corner to N.Clark St. There were some people preparing a film. I asked some people there and it was a film about John Dilinger starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale filming Public Enemies! There were going to be there on Monday.

Initially, I was concerned about the distance between the River North and the Loop area but it was only about 15 minutes. I hardly caught any CTA trains and in fact, crossing the Chicago River was a great photo opportunity.

I would definitely stay in the River North area compared to the Loop area mainly for the eateries and shopping. The free shuttle to Navy Pier was a bonus while shops like 7-Eleven and Walgreen nearby are always handy when staying in any U.S city.

See the long March 30 review for lots of details that I won't try to duplicate. If you're a Hilton Honors member (no charge to sign up), check the website occasionally for rate changes. We were upgraded to a suite, probably because bookings were down for those days. The front desk took pains to locate us in a quiet spot. We heard few sirens and no hallway noise. The room decor isn't exciting, but everything worked and was clean! For my taste, the tea bags at breakfast are better than the ones in the room. The sofa cushion tends to slide around when you sit on it. There are delicious cookies in the lobby at 7 pm and they go fast! But fruit is always available, too. There are restaurants for every taste in this neighborhood, and the hotel is easy to access by car.

The hotel suites are very large considering you are in downtown Chicago. Our king suite had a full size refrigerator, stove, microwave oven, and dishes. They provided free breakfast, and free coffee and tea 24 hours a day. The location is very convenient and a couple of blocks from Michigan Ave. The rooms need a little remodeling, though, but are clean and comfortable.