The Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown is probably the best value hotel you can book on points in Chicago. Last October, I visited Chicago for a few days while attending the annual Chicago Seminars. My younger sister was with me, so we decided to spend most of our time in the city.
Staying at the Hyatt Place was a great decision, since it offered a grood location and a terrific value on points.
How I booked the Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown
The Hyatt Place Chicago Loop is a Category 3 Hyatt hotel, requiring 12,000 points per night. While rates can go as low as $110 per night, rooms cost over $300 during my stay.
I booked a Points + Cash award because it made the most sense. I saved money and was able to redeem points at a decent level.
Hyatt Place Chicago Loop location
The hotel is just a few blocks from the Hyatt Centric Chicago, which requires 20,000 points per night. I stayed at the Hyatt Centric Chicago the year before, in the most depressing hotel room ever. The Diamond breakfast benefit was pretty pathetic, which is another area where the Hyatt Place wins out: All guests receive complimentary breakfast.
Checking into the Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown
The Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown opened in June 2015 but it still looks brand spanking new. The lobby is small, featuring modern yet warm decor. There’s a seating area to the left, with the dining area located on the opposite end, behind the check-in desk.
Past the lobby seating area is also a business center with two Mac desktops. Guests can use this space to browse the web, print documents, etc. The hotel offers free wifi, which worked great throughout our stay.
Standard Room at the Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown
The rooms at the Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown are very spacious. They feature 1-2 beds, a seating area, plenty of storage space, and a decent-sized bathroom with basic amenities.
There are no suites at this hotel, but considering how huge the rooms are, it’s not a deal-breaker. Seriously, I don’t think the photos properly convey how large the room really was.
The guy checking us in turned out to be from the same city as us. Following our friendly chat, I figured we’d at least get a room with a nice view, so imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw this:
Inmates in solitary confinement have a better view than this room. At one point, I came back from a donut run and asked my sister if she wanted to go out. Her response: “But it’s so depressing and gloomy outside!” She didn’t believe me when I told her it was actually warm and sunny.
The beds were comfortable, there was tons of lighting, the blinds were electronic, and there were plenty of power outlets by the beds.
A small thing that Hyatt Place hotels incorporate into their rooms that I personally really like is a reading corner with a cozy knitted blanket. It comes packaged, to detract guests from the thought that it has been used by hundreds of previous guests. It’s a tiny thing that I find charming in an otherwise generic hotel room.
The bathroom
The bathroom was on the smaller side, but totally sufficient. As is typical of Hyatt Place hotels, the bath amenities were scarce.
I still can’t tell if I like or hate the fluorescent lights Hyatt Place hotels have in their bathrooms. On one hand, they brighten up the space and on the other, they expose every skin imperfection possible. So jury’s still out.
Breakfast at Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown
All guests at Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown receive complimentary breakfast, served in the dining room between 6:30 AM – 9:30 AM. It was always a hectic scene. As a result, the breakfast spread was a bit of a mess.
The dining area was small but offered enough space for all guests. I’m normally a big fan of Hyatt Place’s A.M. breakfast skillet. They make delicious breakfast sandwiches and their orange juice is like crack to me.
I was a bit disappointed by the breakfast spread. This was kind of a Midwest version of a Hyatt Place breakfast: Instead of the usual egg sandwiches, they offered sliced potatoes covered in cheese, sausage, bisquits, and a pot of gravy to pour over it all. There was also fruit, yogurt, and cereal for the more health conscious guests.
I personally love Hyatt Place’s restaurant concept: There is no room service or overpriced, underwhelming restaurant. You can order snacks and appetizers that can be prepared quickly and taken to go (try the chicken tortilla soup if you’re ever staying in one).
We didn’t end up eating at the hotel, though. My sister and I ate our lunches at Lou Malnati’s a couple of blocks away, and a few times when we were too tired to go out for dinner, we ordered from Uber Eats.
I’ve never once had a good room service meal, so the fact that Uber Eats makes good local food accessible in major cities like Chicago is a relief.
Would I stay at the Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown again?
Overall, our stay at the Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown was great and I’d highly recommend the hotel to anyone who wants a nice hotel in Chicago at a reasonable rate. Whether you’re staying on a low paid rate or on points, I think this property offers great value. I would certainly recommend it over the Hyatt Centric or the Doubletree Magnificent Mile.
Have you ever stayed at the Hyatt Place Chicago Loop Downtown The Loop? What are your thoughts on the hotel?
While I’ve not stayed at this particular Hyatt Place, I’m a big fan of Hyatt Places in general. I often travel with 2 friends and we can get 2 beds + the sleeper sofa and not feel cramped. There are very few places where we can each have our own bed so we tend to go back to those places. Free breakfast is also welcome. I stayed at a HP this weekend and ordered a late dinner for the first time and it was quite good.
During this weekend’s stay I noticed that while soap, shampoo and conditioner were provided, there was no lotion. The front desk was happy to provide it but I thought it was odd – though the front desk person indicated it was on-request and not standard now.
Did your room have a bathroom door that was opaque/frosted glass? Those are fine when staying alone but not-so-good when rooming with others. Turning on the bathroom light at night illuminates the whole room and might wake others.
I believe the door was frosted blue, so it still provided privacy. In general, though, hotel rooms are trending towards exposed bathrooms. Sure, it provides an airy feel but like you said, it’s awkward when you’re sharing the room with multiple people. Agree with you about Hyatt Place properties though – they’re great for 2+ people with their sleeper sofa and spacious rooms.
The frosted, translucent bathroom doors at newer Hyatt Place hotels, whether blue or not, are bothersome since the light shines through at night time. Of course it gives privacy to the bathroom user, but the amount of light shining through can easily disturb the person sleeping.
The way the door was positioned it didn’t bother us at all. However, if the door was positioned right behind the couches, I can see how that could have gotten bothersome.
I’m with you Ariana about the bathroom lighting. Not only does it magnify every pore it seems to make my skin look vaguely green-like I might be seasick.
Yes! Same exact thing here.
Happens we found ourselves staying at the nearby and very new Hyatt Midway Airport location last summer — by far the very best Hyatt Place we ever stayed at (and we’ve generally enjoyed them all)…. We were especially awed by the Hyatt Grand bed concept….. truly the best “rest” ever for us.
The beds are very comfortable. Hyatt Place is now my choice of hotels – especially by airports, where hotels tend to be really dated.