Sonesta ES Suites Chicago - Lombard

"I had reservations last weekend for my mom's birthday. We planned events around the lombard area as per our reservations. The hotel manager called me late the night before my reservations to let me know the room was over booked so she canceled my reservation. I assumed she didn't want to honor the deal I got on Expedia seeing it was a holiday weekend. She did not offer any other accommodations. I tried calling the hotel 6 times no one answered and the room still showed availability online and on several 3rd party websites. I was willing to book another room if I had the option. The manager's voicemail was very dry ...no apology, she carelessly told me the room is overbooked so I had no reservation and ended the call. A huge inconvenience. I will never book with this hotel again."

"They say pictures are worth a thousand words,.. well the pictures on their website in this room we got was a big disappointment! The pictures are over a decade old it seems cause the room did not look like the cute room they showed.. when you walk in it didn't smell great, more like a old stuffy room.. every part of the carpet has stains,.. curtains that used to be white are yellow,.. walls bare with no pictures/missing, corner light/lamp did not work. Bathroom hanger that holds towels coming out of the wall.. all 90's old furniture,.. chair was broken and couch had its day. The bed mattress had that dip in the middle causing bad sleep. The kitchen was clean and the tiny bathroom was clean too.. the soap dispenser was empty. Otherwise a great place."

"Terrible customer service from a woman named Heather. I had a reservation for Tuesday Nov 21 but as we were driving 12 hours to get here I knew we would be late checking in. We called the hotel several times to let them know we would be late checking in but no one picked up the phone. So we proceed to the hotel anyway. And when we get to the hotel this morning, we discover that the lobby doors is locked and there is a letter taped to the lobby that says check in is from 9-5. Keep in mind that none of this is on the website. The website lists check-in to be at 3pm. Anyway, we call the number that is displayed on the letter and speak to someone named Heather who claims she is the property owner. From the start of the conversation, she was rude and had a terrible attitude. She claimed to have worked a 24 hour shift and proceeds to tell us that we just woke her up. Then we explain to her that we are trying to check in, and she tells us because we didn’t check-in yesterday between 9-5 our reservation was canceled. Keep in mind the day before we called several times (but no one picked up) to let them know that we would be late checking in. So naturally we were confused that our reservation was canceled, confused that check in is supposed to be between 9-5 when the website literally says check-in is at 3pm, and confused on why no one picked up the phone the day before when we were trying to let them know we would be arriving early this morning. Now we tried to explain this to her and she was very irate, and kept telling us that it does have that information on the website (go on the website and tell me where you see this) and that because we didn’t show up between 9 - 5 our reservation was canceled. Naturally we begin to complain because if this is a policy then it needs to be shared on the website. It’s just good practice as a business and hotel to be upfront and transparent about policies such as the check in needing to take place between 9 - 5 and the fact that if you don’t show up between those hours you will lose your reservation. There also needs to be a call answering service because as I said, no one picked up the phone when we called the day before and we called several times. I’ve never ever dealt with s hotel where there was literally no one at the desk to answer the phone at all hours. But that’s another matter. But what made this all extremely unpleasant is Heather’s attitude. She hung up on us several times. She threatened to block us and even told me that if we try to rebook at the hotel she will make sure it doesn’t go through. Again this is someone claiming to be the property manager, and she’s been nothing but unprofessional and rude. Oh and in regards to her claim that she worked a 24 hour shift, how Heather? According to you, the office closes at 5. You didn’t pick up the phone at all yesterday. So if you worked 24 hours, what exactly were you doing because I can tell you what you weren’t: answering the phone. We are now staying at the Surestay hotel right up the street. It has better reviews, better customer service, and people who are at the desk answering the phone."

"The property has been converted to apartment suites and is not primarily a hotel anymore. I had booked 3 weeks before my stay and had other communications with the property during those weeks, and yet, nobody mentioned this change to me. They reached out with a phone call to me on the day I was scheduled to arrive at the location and left me a voicemail, which I did not receive since I was travelling. For my actual stay, the suite was not as clean as I would expect. There were shoe prints on the entryway tiled floor, garbage from the previous guests still in the can under the sink, leftover cup noodle bits in the kitchen sink, a used bar of soap at the bathroom sink, bits of powdered soap(?) by the bathroom sink, no bath towels nor face towels, and a used towel of some sort hanging from the shower curtain rod. My stay in Lombard was for business and I was working late most days so the office was always closed by the time I was back in the evening. I had reached out to the property with my complaints via the Sonesta website immediately after returning home, but have not received any response after several weeks."

"My family came into Lombard for a wedding. This establishment is transitioning out of being a hotel and into an apartment complex. There is no longer a 24/7 concierge (and front desk hours are instead 9-5), limited rooms are available, and there isn't a complimentary breakfast. Our room wasn't serviced between days, either. There are apparently only two employees. I received "pack your bags"-reminder emails about my upcoming stay, but none of this was mentioned."