Sunday, February 10, 2013

Alsip, Illinois / DoubleTree by Hilton

February 2013, Weekday, 1-night, King guestroom #522

Status perks
In addition to the 1,000 bonus points in my profile for Gold members, I received a bottle of water and a coupon for a beverage in the lounge or dining room.

Guestroom #522
This guestroom is an end room located next to the vending area and close to the elevator. The walls seemed to be well-insulated, since I did not hear any noise from next door or the vending area.




The guestroom entrance door, however, had a large gap all the way around it, so it did not block out hallway noise. As I walked down the hallways (to and from the fitness center, business center, dining, etc.), I noticed that only a couple of the guestroom doors had an insulated sweeper across the bottom edge. This is a sprawling property with several elevators, so hallway noise was not a problem during my stay. 

The guestroom contained a king bed, night stands, full length mirror, a flatscreen TV on an armoire, desk and chair, and a soft chaise lounge. There were plenty of lights and outlets. There was an ethernet cord on the desk; however, it did not work. Since I was only staying one night, I did not call anyone to check it; I just used the wireless connection. 


The bed was super comfy with high quality sheets. The room was clean and comfortable. The coffee in the guestroom was Wolfgang Puck. I was glad I had received a bottle of water at check-in because the cost for the bottle in the guestroom was $5!


The bathroom vanity was not very big, although it was adequate for one person. The shower was a tub/shower combination with a curved rod. The provided hair dryer was average quality--not high quality, and not extreme low-end quality either.


Food & Beverage
I had read online that DoubleTree was having a promotion of 500 bonus points for spending $25 at the restaurant. When I checked in, I asked the agent if this included to-go and lounge purchases, and if I needed a coupon for the offer. She did not know anything about the promotion, and I did not end up spending $25 anyway, so I was not able to take advantage of this promotion.

Ahi Tuna Salad
The lounge area was comfortable. I used my beverage coupon while I waited for the Ahi Tuna Salad I had ordered to-go. Unfortunately, the bartender would not let me use the coupon value towards the purchase of a higher quality beverage, so I had a glass of house merlot.

The salad portion of the menu item I ordered was prepared with fresh ingredients, and the citrus vinaigrette had good flavor. However, I expected more wasabi flavor, and the tuna filet was a HUGE disappointment. The menu description  for the flavoring said: avocado wasabi creme fraiche. The avocado and wasabi flavors were so subtle, I had to look closely to see if there was any on the salad. The tuna filet did not have good flavor, and it was not high quality.

Fitness center
The fitness center was open 24-hours. It contained five cardio machines with cardio theater, although one of the treadmills was broken. There were also hand weights, a working flatscreen TV, towels, water cooler, sani-wipes, and a scale in the room.

I was able to get a cardio machine in the afternoon the day I arrived; however, there were no open machines at 5:30 AM the next morning. The four working machines were already in use, and there was one guest waiting when I arrived. The size of the fitness center is not close to what is needed for the number of guestrooms at this hotel. Since it is open 24-hours, I wished I had planned to get up at least 1/2 hour earlier than I had.

Business Center
The business center, which is located between the lobby and restaurant, contained two computers and printers. Everything worked when I visited, and I did not have any trouble printing a couple of documents.

Overall
I was happy with the sleep quality, cleanliness, and room rate at this DoubleTree. I would choose this hotel again, if I needed lodging in the area. I observed a shuttle bus at the hotel, and the hotel website says they provide transportation to MDW. There is no charge for parking at this property. 

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