Hampton Inn Chicago - Gurnee

Our weekend plans in Gurnee were basically ruined after we checked in at the Hampton Inn Chicago/Gurnee. We carried our things to the room, went to look around the hotel, then came back to find our key cards wouldn’t open the door. Our car keys and wallets were inside, so we couldn’t leave. It took the employees TWO HOURS to get us back into the original room and retrieve our belongings. We were lucky to get the room next door afterward, but dinner plans and the rest of the evening were lost. We spoke to the general manager, Mr. Patel, who offered just 10% off. I said we deserved more compensation, and he told me he’d contact corporate headquarters and call when he had an update. Three months have passed without hearing anything from anyone. This is unacceptable, and we won’t stay at another Hilton-owned hotel anytime soon.

The king room was spacious and comfortable, and I believe it had just been remodeled. Breakfast was complimentary, with a good range of options, including waffles, eggs, bagels, apples, and oranges. My husband and I walked in to book, and the manager who greeted us was the sweetest. I’m sorry I can’t remember her name. I’d definitely recommend staying here, and we’ll come back on our next visit.

I’m not coming back. The room is the only reason I’m giving two stars. At the front desk, the clerk made several racial comments and used microaggressions and passive aggression. I’ve never felt so belittled and attacked for no reason. I was appalled. She implied I was broke, saying the machine didn’t like certain debit cards and that it liked credit cards better. She asked what kind of card I had; when I said Mastercard, she asked if it was a debit card. Then she announced in front of everyone that my card had declined, even though it had more than enough money. They’d already taken the refundable $50 deposit from my account. She said something was “magical” and she was able to push it through, which left me totally confused. I can do better than this.

The one good thing was being close to our family event. The hotel didn’t meet Hampton Inn expectations. The outside seemed to be under renovation, but inside was old, dusty, and outdated. There was banging from the back of the hotel, and breakfast was mediocre. I wouldn’t recommend it. Something was on our sheets, so we asked for clean ones. They brought Queen-sized sheets for our king bed. After we got back from a family event, we realized the “new” king sheets were actually two bed covers. We went down twice to ask for a fitted sheet, top sheet, and comforter, but the front desk person didn’t seem to understand and insisted they only used bed covers. We slept under three bed covers because nothing else was clean and that was all she knew how to provide.