Amber Inn

Pearls is one of my favorites, the best in my book. The food is great, and the management and staff are awesome. As a professional musician, I need places like this.

The Mother's Day Brunch at Pearl's Place was $45 per person, and the desserts were half price. I liked the macaroni and cheese and chicken, and the greens were okay. The desserts were good too, but most of the rest was just okay. The food felt basic, the dressing or stuffing was undercooked, and the vegetables were hard. It tasted more like boxed food than homemade. The candied yams were much too sweet, and the jerk chicken tasted burnt instead of spicy. I'll stick with their breakfast. I expected the meal to be more savory.

We were in town over the weekend for a national convention, and the stay was okay at best. The rooms were old and very dirty, with no ironing board, hangers, or bathroom mirror. Our room wasn't cleaned during our stay, though I'm not sure if that was because I asked for it not to be cleaned one day. People in our group also had a bed bug problem in their room. It's a shame the owners have a great hotel like South Loop and show so little regard for this one. The property could be great with a complete upgrade, but as it is, I wouldn't recommend it and probably won't return. They need to work on this location.

The room was very large and suited what I needed, and the staff were extremely pleasant. The area isn't the flashiest part of Chicago, but the hotel is close to transit, so getting into the city or to McCormick Place for my conference was quick. There were a few colourful guests and other people around, but nobody seemed threatening. I heard some outside noise, though the air conditioner, which some other hotels didn't have, kept me cool and covered up the occasional sounds. I was happy with my stay.