Freehand Chicago

Better than i expected!!!!!!!! The room was nice and the location is amazing

Good location! Very convenient to start the tour in the city. The curtains at the bed for privacy can be bigger. Safety wise, just try not to roam around after dark.

Pretty good spot if you’re there for a short bit. Just know your roommates are at the hostel’s discretion if you’re in a group of 3 or less in a quad room.

Very centric place with an interesting vibe. It's clean and affordable.

Firstly, let me say that this property is not clear about it being a hostel. It is better suited to the under 25 crowd that could care less about niceties and a typical hotel quality experience. We were unaware and booked having been lured in by the eccentric styling and bright pictures. We had no idea what we were getting into. We booked into a premium king room. Upon entry, we went to go open the blinds and realized they were being rigged with a shower curtain rod instead of being replaced. The bed took up the room in its entirety. A postage stamp really. To our astonishment, we had a view of a dilapidated parking garage. The room itself had zero space, and the pictures posted of our rooms’ desk was a literal catfish as the space was nothing like it was advertised. Mind you, we opted to upgrade into this space at a much greater expense. $100 more. We went down to front desk to ask for another room, and even offered to pay more if that’s what we needed to do. We are not the kind of people looking for more for nothing. We were given the option to take a Queen room as our only option, and although a downgrade the view was promised to be less depressing. We took the new keys without an adjustment in price, which we assumed would happen. When we got up to the new room, we were surprised that it was actually smaller. Seriously, my bathroom at home is larger. When we opened the blinds here, we were literally half crying and laughing in sheer frustration by what we saw. The window had imbedded chicken wire throughout, and the whole top half was distorted glass, completely blocking any vision to the outside. As if that weren’t enough, the glass was completely cracked throughout. I’ll glaze over the 3sq feet of carpeting that was horrifically stained and de-threaded, the chipped worn furnishings, the antiquated tv that had no streaming, the ants crawling alongside the bed and the stained ceilings. It’s only saving grace was the bathroom which was decent, clean and had good style. This hotel/hostel was more expensive than the AC Marriott, Aloft and many other good, clean and trusted establishments. Upon checkout, we spoke to a woman at front desk and asked when we could expect the difference refunded. I approached calm and kind, and she rebutted with attitude, f-bombs (like actual repeated effs!!!) and rancor. I remained calm, yet persistent. She literally threw me to the manager, Emmanuel who was mild mannered and had no insults. He quickly understood what I requested and he assisted in refunding the difference. The woman, however needs anger management courses and a solid instruction on how to treat guests. She should definitely choose a different job she actually likes. I won’t mention her name because karma will sort that one out itself. In closing, it’s safe to say that I would never stay here again. Based purely on the front desk departure experience alone.

I don’t normally write long reviews but this experience was just a shame. HERE ARE THE CONS: I remember coming here for drinks a few years ago and had an amazing time! I had never stayed here until now. I already knew this was partially a hostel so I didn’t have any expectations except for how the room was advertised online. It is SO different from reality. All throughout the hotel looked and felt dark. From the front desk, to the hallways and elevators to my room I needed a flashlight to see my way through the hall and to see in my room. I understand the need for lower lighting in the bar areas but from the elevators all the way to my room it felt depressing. The room door was really difficult to open and required either a kick or a very hard push/pull. Even after turning on all the lights in my room I could barely see my face in the mirrors and had to sit in front of the window facing dust web and a somber view of the other side of the building. I’m guessing the dark eerie feel is the freehand vibe but it just isn’t for me. The room also had an odor that made me think it was not clean. The only reason I did not check out and cancel the rest of my stay was bc the city was sold out. There was no soap in the bathroom so I called the desk multiple times with no answer. Luckily I brought my own bath soap. On my way out for the evening I stopped by the reception only to find the two gentlemen standing around nonchalantly. Obviously that didn’t mean they weren’t busy when I called it just felt annoying. Can you imagine jumping into the shower only to realize the soap canister was empty? Lastly, no one at reception informed me about parking until day 3 of my stay. When I asked about parking validation the front desk gentlemen did not seem to care when I expressed my concern and he also looked high. I could have saved $20 on parking if I knew where to park. THE POSITIVES: The Freehand is in a prime spot, very close to mag mile, river walk, The L etc. The housekeeping staff was friendly and I received a breakfast voucher for one day. NOTE TO MANAGEMENT: Get your employees head sets for the walkies. There is enough street noise and having radios blaring throughout the halls and in other small spaces impacts the experience. Also, please inspect the cleanliness of the rooms, just bc it may “look” clean does not mean it is.

Not the cleanest by any means… very slow elevator, not the friendliest staff, no towel rack, many strong, unpleasant smells.

THEFT is a major problem here and staff will do NOTHING about it! They have a tiny locker in the room for each guest that only fits a backpack and so if you have even the smallest of luggage it will not fit which means your co-guest(s) will steal from you when you're not in the room and when you report it the staff will say "There's nothing you can do about it", they don't even take a report, NOTHING! DO NOT STAY HERE! You're better off spending a little more somewhere else with your own private room.