“Wedding block of rooms”

This is an older hotel outside Chicago with tons of parking available. The rooms are huge with kitchenettes. It was clean, quiet, affordable and quite lovely. We had a wedding block of rooms for both family and friends. No complaints! Check-in was easy and staff was friendly. It's a quaint a… more

This is an older hotel outside Chicago with tons of parking available. The rooms are huge with kitchenettes. It was clean, quiet, affordable and quite lovely. We had a wedding block of rooms for both family and friends. No complaints! Check-in was easy and staff was friendly. It's a quaint area for walking around and lots of restaurant choices nearby, including 2 right on site. The staff helping with the room blocks were very responsive and helpful from beginning to end. The price was so good, we hired a shuttle bus to transport all our guests (45+ people) to and from the wedding in Chicago. It was still less expensive than an inner city hotel.

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“Old-Style Charm”

The Carleton is a wonderful hotel that has the charm and splendor of early-20th-century Chicago. Walking into the lobby, one can't help but be taken aback by the intricate detail and grandeur of a fashionable, old-style hotel. The staff was amazingly helpful, and the two on-premise restaurants were… more

The Carleton is a wonderful hotel that has the charm and splendor of early-20th-century Chicago. Walking into the lobby, one can't help but be taken aback by the intricate detail and grandeur of a fashionable, old-style hotel. The staff was amazingly helpful, and the two on-premise restaurants were an added bonus. The rooms are quaint and harken back to what must have once been an old boardinghouse. The king bedroom came with a nice-sized bed, sitting area, small kitchenette, and a spacious bathroom (though the tub/shower was rather small). All of the experience speaks to the sophistication of "old middle-class, Chicago." And why it was a wonderful experience, it also comes with the idiosyncrasies. For example, the heating system is radiator-based. With this comes the occasional clanking pipes and the need to open the window in winter because controlling the room temperature is a challenge. Still, these are minor inconveniences and shouldn't detract from a charming hotel that offers a nice contrast to modern-day chain hotels.

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“Nice hotel & location, but disappointed”

We stayed as we were in for a wedding and had many of us stay at this hotel that was in walking distance to the church and venues. The hotel is nice as it was historic and liked the charm, but we were disappointed with several things. #1) there was NO coffee available at the hotel or room service,… more

We stayed as we were in for a wedding and had many of us stay at this hotel that was in walking distance to the church and venues. The hotel is nice as it was historic and liked the charm, but we were disappointed with several things. #1) there was NO coffee available at the hotel or room service, even though there is a restaurant attached to it that did not open until 11:00 a.m. so we had to walk across the street to get coffee. There should be a coffee area in the lobby for all the guests, like most hotels have. There were single cup coffee makers in the room, but with limited powdered creamer, it was just horrible and could not even drink it, which is rare for us. #2) The maid came early to our room and we were not ready to have her clean as we were getting ready and asked her to come back in an hour when we would be done. We even asked the front desk to make sure she would come back when we went back to the room a few hours later, and she rest assured us it would be replenished. She never came back. #3) the room was not very clean, particularly the bathroom with long black hairs everywhere in the shower & tub areas. It did gross us out. Plus baseboards with lots of dirt, etc. Just did not have the feel I expect when staying at a hotel, which we do often. #4) when calling down to the front desk to ask a question, the person gave us one word answers like they were bothered. Then we here that it is hard to get help, and understand that, but these little things can be corrected with the current staff. Most staff were nice, but there were a few that can be friendlier. We give this hotel a 3 for the location and being historic.

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