PUBLIC Chicago

I booked this hotel online. I thought I did so through the Ambassador website. While I attempting to book the room, I was shifted to a third party reservation provider. The rate seemed too good to be true. As it turns out, it was too good to be true. I paid in full upon making the reservation (so I thought). When I checked in, the front desk informed me that because I booked the reservation through a third party (to which I was sent by Ambassor's webpage), there was an addition charge of $146.70. This almost doubled the cost of the room. Bait and switch. Had all of this not occurred, I would probably rate this hotel as a 4 or 5. Since they chose to rip me off, they get a rating of 1. Beware.

Exercise caution when booking here. I visited during the Chicago marathon and was not happy with my experience. My partner and I reserved and paid online months before visiting. We thought we’d paid in full, other than perhaps a tourist tax. At check-in, we were slapped with a surprise—and obligatory— $99 per day “resort” fee. We were told to pay up or walk away from our reservation. What even is a resort fee, and how can a non-resort charge one? Surprise fees like this were supposed to be banned by the FTC earlier in 2025. The hotel manager maintained that the resort fee was properly disclosed. Based on the sheer number of guests that were complaining—there was a perpetual crowd around reception with irate guests—this is clearly not the case. Lots of customers seemed to have the same experience. (Many customers had their reservations cancelled without notice until they showed up, causing chaos on marathon weekend, per a CBS News article). I checked the hotel’s archived website from the date we made our reservation to see if the resort fee was properly disclosed. It was not. The archived home page and the FAQ page refer to a “Daily All-Inclusive Package” available “with the daily guest benefits fee of only $99.95/night”, a “$49.95 plus tax Daily Amenity Fee”, and an “$89.99 Daily Guest Benefits Package” that is “paid at the hotel upon check-in”. The nature of these fees is unclear and at no point are they described as obligatory (they are treated like add-ons). Tucked away in very fine small print on a separate webpage are the hotel’s “Terms and Conditions”, which state that a “Daily Guest Benefits Package will be added to every room per night stayed. Fees vary per property: The Ambassador Hotel - A Chicago Hotel Collection Property: $89.95”. I cannot see how a hotel considers it to be adequate disclosure to put a huge fee in the hard-to-find “Terms and Conditions”, especially when they ultimately charge $99.95/day, not $89.95/night. We paid the resort fee under protest; it was marathon weekend and we didn’t have much choice. The resort fee worked out to ~$425 for three nights, which effectively doubled the cost of our booking. Had we known this would be the ultimate price, we would have stayed somewhere nicer for the same price. What did the resort fee get us? A “late” check-out at 11 am, WiFi (really?), a voucher for $10 off in the hotel restaurant, a breakfast buffet, some discounts on drinks at the bar, and access to the hotel gym. We were supposed to get bottled water (who still drinks that in 2025?), a Restaurant.com gift card (what even is that?), some cash back vouchers of doubtful use, and other stuff, but we never did. I feel scammed. Our story does not seem unique what other guests told me and after reading other reviews. Setting aside the hotel’s underhanded pricing tactics, the hotel itself is dated but adequate. The room we got was relatively clean. I never saw the gym or business centre. We didn’t eat in the hotel restaurant—we didn’t want to give the hotel more business. The breakfast buffet lacked plant-based options and didn’t have hot water. There are two elevators for all the guests, so it was usually faster to take the stairs.

Was told on arrival having pre paid for the hotel on last minute.com that there was an additional £200 mandatory resort fee to pay before checking in This was not a city or tourist tax which we all expected to pay in cities it was to use the gym roof terrace and for a series of vouchers for drinks at their bar vouchers for $ 10 off dinner in their restaurant and breakfast buffet in the morning No where did it state in any invoice booking or receipt that this was the case When I showed the receptionist she just said you can't check in until you've paid it ! Utterly disgusting hotel behaviour

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.