Marriott NW - Hoffman Estates - Hoffman Estates, IL Review

The employees here are among the most attentive and friendly than I've seen at almost any other hotel in it's class.

Now Marriott, I believe, was the first major hotel chain in the country to switch to all non-smoking rooms. That makes ME happy, though it might not make YOU happy if you smoke. I know some people will smoke in a room regardless of the policy, but so far in my stays there was no lingering smell of smoke or of products designed to mask the smell.

This latest stay was in room 431. I have also stayed in room 603 and in 704 on the Concierge level when I was chosen as "Silver Elite Member of the Day" and given top floor privileges.

The rooms are pretty plain standard hotel issue . There's good sized working desk and the table lamp had power outlets built in which were enough for my laptop and phone. The lamp also has a connection for wired, dial-up Internet. Wireless connection is available for $9.95/24 hours.

It always seems as if the TV is smaller than other hotels, but since I'm always spending nights working at the desk, I didn't really use the TV except as tool to help me fall asleep later on. Also, there didn't seem to be as many channels as I have seen in other hotels.

The pressure was great in the shower. Sometimes I think it depends on the room because even at this hotel, the showerhead was great, and this stay the pressure was great. But the second time, it was only fair.

The USA Today newspaper is left at the door and in the lobby in the mornings there's additional copies, plus the Wall Stree Journal.

Some hotels have small regrigerators in the rooms, so I'm disappointed there's not one in these rooms. Sometimes, it's nice to bring dinner leftovers back to the room. I was also a bit disappointed that there was not microwave in the room.

Just some additional stuff: Local phone calls are $1.00 per call. There's a business center in the lobby. You can get up to 20 free B&W copies and after that 15 cents per side. The first 20 incoming fax pages are also free. There's a pool and this time I DID bring a bathing suit, but I was too busy to ever get to the pool.

The Marriott's River City Grille wasn't bad for a hotel restaurant. I sampled the breakfast buffet with made to order omelets ($14), lunch, and dinner. Lunches offer a buffet.

I paid (or my employer paid) $170 for the room which isn't all that bad for Marriott. There's some great restaurants (like Claim Jumper) right next door and some decent restaurants not that far away. There's also a fair amount of shopping as well.

The service was great, the room was comfortable and quiet, and I can't say there is anything that would keep me away from staying there again!