Hotel Polanco

The location was easily five stars for me. Lincoln Park is just steps away, great for a morning run, and the area has lovely architecture and plenty of good restaurants. I also liked having free laundry with detergent, handy for cleaning my workout clothes after a run. The room was another matter. I didn't get the one I'd booked. They called the replacement an “upgrade,” but I preferred the online room, which seemed to have a better kitchen and work island. The rooms didn't look quite like the photos to me, maybe about 75% of the advertised quality and appearance. There was a persistent dusty or dirty smell even though the room looked clean, and it had got into the sheets. I tried airing the room out, but there were no window screens, so I didn't feel comfortable leaving the windows open overnight. The AC wasn't much help because its remote didn't work. There were some practical problems too. The safe and heater both failed on my first day, then the TV and stovetop weren't working the next day. There were no instructions for the stovetop, and the TV instructions were outdated, as the person who rebooted it admitted. I couldn't easily reach anyone with authority, though those issues were eventually taken care of. It all cost time and frustration. The location gets five stars from me, but the room gets three, so four overall. With that smell, I wouldn't stay here again.