Ambassador Chicago

If I could give this hotel zero stars I honestly would. I am not one to write many reviews for bad service but please DO NOT give this hotel your business. We recently stayed at this hotel the weekend of the Chicago marathon 10/9-10/11, which we booked through a third party. Originally, we were only going to stay 10/9-10/10 but decided to stay an extra night (10/11) in which we booked on a separate reservation. Anyways, 3 days before our trip I called the hotel and an employee by the name of Fernando, confirmed our reservations. When we got to the hotel, to our surprise, the last reservation was cancelled. The manager told us “the third party” cancelled it. We were so upset and really believed it. However, we quickly realized that almost everyone in line were getting their reservations cancelled. We all started talking about this situation and all of us had booked through different third parties such as Expedia, hopper, capital one etc. To make a long story short, this hotel cancels people’s reservations with no notice so that once you’re there you’re stuck paying a higher price. Marathon weekend everything was expensive and booked, we had no choice but to pay their price which was 3 times the price we had paid originally though our third party. I am sure this hotel has contracts in place with third parties and this is definitely a breach of their agreement. You can’t lure people to your hotel and change a price last minute. Lastly, the front desk is rude with terrible customer service. Housekeeping only comes every 3 days. Their all inclusive package which is a mandatory extra $140 a night, doesn’t even cover all drinks at the bar (you get 2 free drink per couple per day). The included breakfast is mediocre. When this hotel was part of the Hyatt collection, it used to be great but has gone downhill. This place should shut down for scamming people, I really don’t understand how it’s still even operating. I complained to the city of Chicago and the Better Business Bureau. *If you are reading this review and you were one of those affected or you are a third party i urge you to PLEASE complain to the city of Chicago and the BBB. Chicago has been voted the best big city for 2025 for the 9th consecutive year in a row but this will make anyone think twice before going to Chicago.

Talk about a bait and switch! We'd been coming to this hotel for years and loved it...the location, service, and price was wonderful. Then new ownership happened. They show super low nightly rates, BUT.....Then they tack on an "amenity fee" of over $100 per night. Then they charge a $25 dollar service fee per night....and change 18% tax on top of both. Of course, they also charge the state and local required taxes. All told, you're probably spending an additional $200 per night on taxes and their ridiculous fees. This really ought to be illegal. Won't ever come back until this is rectified.

I feel scammed by TripAdvisor because through the app they sell a service at one price, but when you arrive at the hotel to check in, you find out the actual cost is much higher. In my case, I had to pay an extra fee that basically doubled the cost of my stay. They take advantage of customers’ good faith to attract bookings. When I complained, I realized there were already many bad reviews, so they clearly know about this issue. I’m mentioning it because during my call they claimed that the hotel didn’t provide them with that extra information. I paid $280 for two nights, but when I got to the hotel they told me I had to pay an additional $280 for a fee, some food and beverage vouchers, and a $120 deposit. It all felt like a scam, because if I had known that beforehand, I would never have stayed there, the hotel is definitely not worth that price.

The place is an absolute SCAM. Worst experience I have ever had with a front desk person at a hotel, negative stars for hospitality. DO NOT book this hotel if you book though your credit card company or any other third party. They will tell you there are "errors" and cancel your reservation 24 hr before it starts and not tell you until you've arrived. This happened to 3 other parties while I was there. The front desk person was a liar, making up multiple different stories as to why we couldn't have our rooms that we had already paid for. They also yelled at me and the others, "this is why you don't book through a third party!" and kept blaming the customers. This all occurred past midnight. They were actively avoiding calls from my credit card company, then when they did answer they did not give clear reasoning. Because it was after midnight, I couldn't book a new room. Ended up having to find a new hotel at 3am in Chicago. Absolute NIGHTMARE.

SCAM ALERT. We stood in line for an hour waiting to check in. It took that long because all the people before had their reservations lost. One woman left claiming to be scammed. Sure enough, when it was time for us to check-in, they lost our reservation. But, no problem, they can book us at $400 more, plus $250 in resort fees. According to them, they canceled our reservation because we paid the wrong rate. But waited until we were checking in to tell us. This is a SCAM.