Hostels in Illinois, United States

This is probably one of the best hostels I've stayed at in the U.S. I've stayed at this hostel twice now. The first time was in 2015 and the second time this past month for Market Days. Location: The hostel is centrally located in Downtown Chicago/the Loop. It's easily accessible to get to and from O'Hare Airport via the Blue Line which runs 24 hours. The closest CTA station is Jackson Station which also has connections to many other CTA lines. The hostel is also located within walking distance to many other tourist hotspots like Millennium Park, Broadway shows, Lou Malnati's Pizza (10 minutes), etc. There's also a CVS Pharmacy at the corner of the street that sells liquor and other essentials. On the weekday, the area is bustling with downtown workers, but on the weekends, it's like a ghost town. Most restaurants and stores close by 8/9pm. The only place to eat at if you have a late night is Taco Bell which closes at 2am. Another downside is that there are a lot of homeless people that have set up camp in front and around the hostel, so some people may feel unsafe walking around. Security: The property is very secure. There are multiple entry points to get into the hostel with a key card. There's another entry point to get access to the elevator banks that lead to the rooms as well as required card access to go upstairs and into the rooms. There's also a 24-hour front desk. This was a saving grace for me because my flight from New York was delayed that I ended up arriving at 3:30am. Keep in mind, if you plan to arrive after 3am, you should notify/call the front desk and let them know otherwise they'll mark you as a no-show and cancel your reservation. They also have storage lockers/a luggage room for a fee. Facilities/Amenities: My original reservation was for a 4-bed male dormitory, but there was someone sleeping in my assigned bunk. When you arrive, there is a fitted sheet, pillow sheets, a bath towel, and a face towel (no comforter). You are expected to make your bed. Since I arrived so late and my roommates were already asleep, the overnight staff (DJ) was nice enough to put me in an 8-bed dormitory that was unoccupied, so that I didn't wake up anyone. Both rooms were very spacious/high ceilings/massive windows with a lot of space to store luggage and walk around. All the rooms have lockers (bring your own lock or buy one at the front desk). In the 4-bed dorm, there is a common area with a kitchen/bathroom that connects with 2 suites. The 8-bed room is setup where the toilet, shower, and sink are all in separate areas instead of all in one room. The shower area has dispensers for body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. There are also common showers and toilets on every floor. The downside of the dormitory is that you can't control the temperature of the room. Summers in Chicago are hot and humid and the room was kept in the 60s, which I loved. But, my roommates thought it was too cold for them. The WiFi access is very stable and fast. Th

Cheap, convenient transportation, 10 minutes walk from Fullerton subway station, take the bus to the city center, the subway is half a small. Located in a residential area, the surrounding environment is good and quiet. The public restrooms and showers are hygienic, the waiters are warm and friendly, and a complimentary, simple American breakfast is served, and freshly made popcorn is provided free of charge from noon to evening. There is a 24h self-service laundry room, washing powder + laundry + dry clothes for a total of 4 dollars can wash a large cylinder of clothing. There is a kitchen to cook your own meals, and a refrigerator to store food. Next to the Fullerton subway, there is a large supermarket with plenty of food and vegetables.

Rooms Were Very Clean. Great customer service. I will be back to stay here again very kid friendly family friendly and pet friendly.. They were extremely accommodating. This is honestly the best hotel around

Travel lodge Chicago This HAS to be the worst hotel/motel I’ve ever stayed in up to this point… As I pulled in I became worried about the quality of the hotel just by look at the outside of the building, but as seen from other places I’ve stayed, I shouldn’t judge a hotel just by the outside appearance… But in this case it proved to be correct. As I entered the hotel lobby inside there was a plexi glass screen covering the front desk, this glass looks to have been built into the foundation, meaning it was there pre-Covid. I asked the person at the front desk and it turns out it’s bulletproof glass which made me very nervous, so right off the start I didn’t feel all that safe. I was given a room key to one of the base level rooms, this made me slightly at ease as I could park directly outside my room so that way if someone tried to break in to the car I was driving I could hear the alarm go off. It only got worse as I entered my room. Floorboards have been lifted off the ground and I could see through to the foam padding beneath the floor boards, there was a fist sized hole in the wall and the immediate smell of smoke and body odor filled the room. I kept all of my belongings on a table or the sink top as I felt it was too dirty to leave them on the ground. Due to people smoking just outside my room, the air coming in from A/C unit only was part cold part smoky The entire state of the room just gave me a feeling of grossness and disgust. And it just became worse with the bathroom, it also smelled like body odor, and there wasn’t even so much a plastic dowel for the toilet paper to sit on, Just a 3/4 used roll of toilet paper sitting on the top of the toilet tank. in addition to that somebody left a little surprise for me in the toilet (there was pee left in the toilet). At the front desk I inquired where if I could drink the tapwater, usually I will get an “ I believe so“ or “There are water bottles in the room” but not here... what I got was “ I have no idea but probably not, you can buy water if you want to have a drink”. I found it weird that they “believe” that was sink water is not safe to drink, yet they had cups next to the sink? They did suggest getting ice from the machine and letting it melt if I didn’t feel like paying for water, but that would’ve been very time consuming. I feel like hotels/motels should be able to provide some free of charge water, if not from the tap then somewhere else on the property. The room description when I booked it said “mini-fridge” and “microwave” were available Which turned out to be completely false. There is a common use microwave next to the check in desk that people can use but especially now during Covid I felt it wasn’t the best idea to be using a microwave everybody has used. She informed me that the queen bed rooms don’t have microwaves and mini fridges and they don’t know how to change the description online, but the rooms with king beds did have them, so I did inqu

Everything is great! Staff are friendly. The room is clean and amenities are in good condition!:)

This hostel is a gem. I came up for a long (four-day) weekend, went to see Penn & Teller at the Chicago Theater Friday night, ran the 2023 Chicago Marathon on Sunday morning. All of the guests were friendly and I met some new friends. The staff were likewise friendly, courteous, and helpful. The hostel was clean, particularly the bathrooms. There are plenty of lockers for storing your gear; kitchen has all the amenities. The hostel is two blocks from the L and it's a 20-minute ride to downtown on the Red Line. Convenience stores, restaurants, coffee shops, bars are within one to three blocks. The neighborhood appeared to be safe and the streets are well-lighted. Great place to stay!

The facilities were clean and the staff were friendly, but it was a pity that there was a smell of cigarettes. The fish room in the 2000s came to mind.

This is probably one of the best hostels I've stayed at in the U.S. I've stayed at this hostel twice now. The first time was in 2015 and the second time this past month for Market Days. Location: The hostel is centrally located in Downtown Chicago/the Loop. It's easily accessible to get to and from O'Hare Airport via the Blue Line which runs 24 hours. The closest CTA station is Jackson Station which also has connections to many other CTA lines. The hostel is also located within walking distance to many other tourist hotspots like Millennium Park, Broadway shows, Lou Malnati's Pizza (10 minutes), etc. There's also a CVS Pharmacy at the corner of the street that sells liquor and other essentials. On the weekday, the area is bustling with downtown workers, but on the weekends, it's like a ghost town. Most restaurants and stores close by 8/9pm. The only place to eat at if you have a late night is Taco Bell which closes at 2am. Another downside is that there are a lot of homeless people that have set up camp in front and around the hostel, so some people may feel unsafe walking around. Security: The property is very secure. There are multiple entry points to get into the hostel with a key card. There's another entry point to get access to the elevator banks that lead to the rooms as well as required card access to go upstairs and into the rooms. There's also a 24-hour front desk. This was a saving grace for me because my flight from New York was delayed that I ended up arriving at 3:30am. Keep in mind, if you plan to arrive after 3am, you should notify/call the front desk and let them know otherwise they'll mark you as a no-show and cancel your reservation. They also have storage lockers/a luggage room for a fee. Facilities/Amenities: My original reservation was for a 4-bed male dormitory, but there was someone sleeping in my assigned bunk. When you arrive, there is a fitted sheet, pillow sheets, a bath towel, and a face towel (no comforter). You are expected to make your bed. Since I arrived so late and my roommates were already asleep, the overnight staff (DJ) was nice enough to put me in an 8-bed dormitory that was unoccupied, so that I didn't wake up anyone. Both rooms were very spacious/high ceilings/massive windows with a lot of space to store luggage and walk around. All the rooms have lockers (bring your own lock or buy one at the front desk). In the 4-bed dorm, there is a common area with a kitchen/bathroom that connects with 2 suites. The 8-bed room is setup where the toilet, shower, and sink are all in separate areas instead of all in one room. The shower area has dispensers for body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. There are also common showers and toilets on every floor. The downside of the dormitory is that you can't control the temperature of the room. Summers in Chicago are hot and humid and the room was kept in the 60s, which I loved. But, my roommates thought it was too cold for them. The WiFi access is very stable and fast. Th

Cheap, convenient transportation, 10 minutes walk from Fullerton subway station, take the bus to the city center, the subway is half a small. Located in a residential area, the surrounding environment is good and quiet. The public restrooms and showers are hygienic, the waiters are warm and friendly, and a complimentary, simple American breakfast is served, and freshly made popcorn is provided free of charge from noon to evening. There is a 24h self-service laundry room, washing powder + laundry + dry clothes for a total of 4 dollars can wash a large cylinder of clothing. There is a kitchen to cook your own meals, and a refrigerator to store food. Next to the Fullerton subway, there is a large supermarket with plenty of food and vegetables.

Rooms Were Very Clean. Great customer service. I will be back to stay here again very kid friendly family friendly and pet friendly.. They were extremely accommodating. This is honestly the best hotel around

Travel lodge Chicago This HAS to be the worst hotel/motel I’ve ever stayed in up to this point… As I pulled in I became worried about the quality of the hotel just by look at the outside of the building, but as seen from other places I’ve stayed, I shouldn’t judge a hotel just by the outside appearance… But in this case it proved to be correct. As I entered the hotel lobby inside there was a plexi glass screen covering the front desk, this glass looks to have been built into the foundation, meaning it was there pre-Covid. I asked the person at the front desk and it turns out it’s bulletproof glass which made me very nervous, so right off the start I didn’t feel all that safe. I was given a room key to one of the base level rooms, this made me slightly at ease as I could park directly outside my room so that way if someone tried to break in to the car I was driving I could hear the alarm go off. It only got worse as I entered my room. Floorboards have been lifted off the ground and I could see through to the foam padding beneath the floor boards, there was a fist sized hole in the wall and the immediate smell of smoke and body odor filled the room. I kept all of my belongings on a table or the sink top as I felt it was too dirty to leave them on the ground. Due to people smoking just outside my room, the air coming in from A/C unit only was part cold part smoky The entire state of the room just gave me a feeling of grossness and disgust. And it just became worse with the bathroom, it also smelled like body odor, and there wasn’t even so much a plastic dowel for the toilet paper to sit on, Just a 3/4 used roll of toilet paper sitting on the top of the toilet tank. in addition to that somebody left a little surprise for me in the toilet (there was pee left in the toilet). At the front desk I inquired where if I could drink the tapwater, usually I will get an “ I believe so“ or “There are water bottles in the room” but not here... what I got was “ I have no idea but probably not, you can buy water if you want to have a drink”. I found it weird that they “believe” that was sink water is not safe to drink, yet they had cups next to the sink? They did suggest getting ice from the machine and letting it melt if I didn’t feel like paying for water, but that would’ve been very time consuming. I feel like hotels/motels should be able to provide some free of charge water, if not from the tap then somewhere else on the property. The room description when I booked it said “mini-fridge” and “microwave” were available Which turned out to be completely false. There is a common use microwave next to the check in desk that people can use but especially now during Covid I felt it wasn’t the best idea to be using a microwave everybody has used. She informed me that the queen bed rooms don’t have microwaves and mini fridges and they don’t know how to change the description online, but the rooms with king beds did have them, so I did inqu

Everything is great! Staff are friendly. The room is clean and amenities are in good condition!:)

This hostel is a gem. I came up for a long (four-day) weekend, went to see Penn & Teller at the Chicago Theater Friday night, ran the 2023 Chicago Marathon on Sunday morning. All of the guests were friendly and I met some new friends. The staff were likewise friendly, courteous, and helpful. The hostel was clean, particularly the bathrooms. There are plenty of lockers for storing your gear; kitchen has all the amenities. The hostel is two blocks from the L and it's a 20-minute ride to downtown on the Red Line. Convenience stores, restaurants, coffee shops, bars are within one to three blocks. The neighborhood appeared to be safe and the streets are well-lighted. Great place to stay!

The facilities were clean and the staff were friendly, but it was a pity that there was a smell of cigarettes. The fish room in the 2000s came to mind.

Thank you for taking me in on such late notice. The plumbing at my flat decided to explode at 12:30 AM. I knew this place was a Choice Hotel, and as a member, I could earn a few points. Just want to say that I was quite impressed at the cleanliness of room 12. The carpet was in excellent condition. There was a soda stain at the foot of the bed, but that sort of thing is for deep clean. The curtains could do with an upgrade, but all good. The bed was extremely comfortable, and the shower felt wonderful. No phones in the room, but I had my mobile. I was only there for the night. The staff was most helpful, and considerate to my plight. The room was quiet accept for the clock radio which seems to be possessed. It kept making this static sound at intermittent intervals. Thank you Choice Hotels.

This is probably one of the best hostels I've stayed at in the U.S. I've stayed at this hostel twice now. The first time was in 2015 and the second time this past month for Market Days. Location: The hostel is centrally located in Downtown Chicago/the Loop. It's easily accessible to get to and from O'Hare Airport via the Blue Line which runs 24 hours. The closest CTA station is Jackson Station which also has connections to many other CTA lines. The hostel is also located within walking distance to many other tourist hotspots like Millennium Park, Broadway shows, Lou Malnati's Pizza (10 minutes), etc. There's also a CVS Pharmacy at the corner of the street that sells liquor and other essentials. On the weekday, the area is bustling with downtown workers, but on the weekends, it's like a ghost town. Most restaurants and stores close by 8/9pm. The only place to eat at if you have a late night is Taco Bell which closes at 2am. Another downside is that there are a lot of homeless people that have set up camp in front and around the hostel, so some people may feel unsafe walking around. Security: The property is very secure. There are multiple entry points to get into the hostel with a key card. There's another entry point to get access to the elevator banks that lead to the rooms as well as required card access to go upstairs and into the rooms. There's also a 24-hour front desk. This was a saving grace for me because my flight from New York was delayed that I ended up arriving at 3:30am. Keep in mind, if you plan to arrive after 3am, you should notify/call the front desk and let them know otherwise they'll mark you as a no-show and cancel your reservation. They also have storage lockers/a luggage room for a fee. Facilities/Amenities: My original reservation was for a 4-bed male dormitory, but there was someone sleeping in my assigned bunk. When you arrive, there is a fitted sheet, pillow sheets, a bath towel, and a face towel (no comforter). You are expected to make your bed. Since I arrived so late and my roommates were already asleep, the overnight staff (DJ) was nice enough to put me in an 8-bed dormitory that was unoccupied, so that I didn't wake up anyone. Both rooms were very spacious/high ceilings/massive windows with a lot of space to store luggage and walk around. All the rooms have lockers (bring your own lock or buy one at the front desk). In the 4-bed dorm, there is a common area with a kitchen/bathroom that connects with 2 suites. The 8-bed room is setup where the toilet, shower, and sink are all in separate areas instead of all in one room. The shower area has dispensers for body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. There are also common showers and toilets on every floor. The downside of the dormitory is that you can't control the temperature of the room. Summers in Chicago are hot and humid and the room was kept in the 60s, which I loved. But, my roommates thought it was too cold for them. The WiFi access is very stable and fast. Th

Cheap, convenient transportation, 10 minutes walk from Fullerton subway station, take the bus to the city center, the subway is half a small. Located in a residential area, the surrounding environment is good and quiet. The public restrooms and showers are hygienic, the waiters are warm and friendly, and a complimentary, simple American breakfast is served, and freshly made popcorn is provided free of charge from noon to evening. There is a 24h self-service laundry room, washing powder + laundry + dry clothes for a total of 4 dollars can wash a large cylinder of clothing. There is a kitchen to cook your own meals, and a refrigerator to store food. Next to the Fullerton subway, there is a large supermarket with plenty of food and vegetables.

This hostel is a gem. I came up for a long (four-day) weekend, went to see Penn & Teller at the Chicago Theater Friday night, ran the 2023 Chicago Marathon on Sunday morning. All of the guests were friendly and I met some new friends. The staff were likewise friendly, courteous, and helpful. The hostel was clean, particularly the bathrooms. There are plenty of lockers for storing your gear; kitchen has all the amenities. The hostel is two blocks from the L and it's a 20-minute ride to downtown on the Red Line. Convenience stores, restaurants, coffee shops, bars are within one to three blocks. The neighborhood appeared to be safe and the streets are well-lighted. Great place to stay!

Very satisfied, in a very central location, travel is super convenient! The highlight is free parking, the hotel staff is very Nice, although the room is smaller, but reasonable, clean! Come back to Chicago to live here, the price is super high! Recommended ~ recommended ~

I have spent 30+ years in hotel management. I was very pleased with this property. Very comfortable bed! Slept great even though my room was right over Lincoln Ave. I never heard traffic. The gentleman at the desk was very helpful. He heard me having difficulty opening my room door and he literally ran to help me. (I walk on crutches and this room was on 2nd floor. Nothing to be done about that as it was a last minute booking.) Room was great. Clean, no odors or missed trash. The only problem was the bedside lamp closest to the bathroom was not plugged in properly so it kept going on and off. The alarm clock radio was plugged into this lamp so it didn't keep time right. That's why only a 4/5 rating. I will definitely stay here again!

Rooms Were Very Clean. Great customer service. I will be back to stay here again very kid friendly family friendly and pet friendly.. They were extremely accommodating. This is honestly the best hotel around