A pleasant stay in a boutique hotel with a great location in the Loop
I stayed two nights in May 2012 and was overall quite pleased. Would not hesitate to return and would recommend it, provided you don't need a full service hotel with a grand lobby. This hotel has a great location, helpful staff, modern and clean rooms and public areas, and a compelling price (booked through Travelocity's 'mystery hotel' arrangement).
There are actually two hotels sharing the same building and entrance, the Central Loop Hotel and the Chicago Guest Quarters. They have a common lobby and some of the same facilities, but the rooms are on different floors.
The name of the hotel aptly describes its location: It is about as well located in the Loop as one could imagine. If you are coming in from O'Hare, take the CTA Blue Line to Monroe or Jackson and walk to the hotel in five minutes. If it is rush hour, you will get there quicker than a taxi. In any event, you will save yourself a bundle on the cab fare.
The reception staff were friendly and efficient. There are kiosks for self-checkin, but the staff handled it for me.
My room was on the sixth floor. Each room shares a small side corridor with another room, which is off the main corridor. So, your room door is very close to the other room door, and a noisy neighbor coming and going could be bothersome, but that wasn't the case for me.
The room was smaller than most hotels, but well laid out and equipped. Furniture and furnishings looked almost new. Large stall shower in the bathroom, but no tub. Bathroom lighting was terrific. Room had a built-in desk, minifridge, microwave and coffee maker. Fast and free Wifi. Very comfortable bed with lots of pillows. Housekeeping did a great job before and during stay. Room was spotless. The room is well lit, which is important as it doesn't get a lot of natural light from its one window.
I did not utilize the restaurant. There are plenty of restaurants of all types and price points in the neighborhood. There is a 7/11 across the street with a good variety of hot and cold breakfast foods.
The exercise facility has four treadmills, two elliptical trainers, one all purpose weight machine, free weights, and a stretching area. The room and equipment were very clean and well maintained.
There is an unmanned business center with PCs and printers. No charge to use.
Overall, I think the Central Loop Hotel presents a very good value proposition: A good, clean, modern hotel, with free wifi, exercise room and business center, but with smaller rooms, no gift shop, no grand lobby, no room service, no minibar, etc. If you don't need the frills you can save yourself a lot of money.