PUBLIC Chicago

Stung on a huge resort fee when we checked in even though we paid online. We didn't see anything about a fee and we read all the fine print. I wish I saw all the other reviews before booking here. The fee was exorbitant and ruined our impression of the hotel and Chicago. I hope someone hires a good lawyer and gets a class action suit.

Warning to those booking through 3rd parties online: on arrival you will be charged for 'Mandatory resort credit'. I booked a room each for my son and I for 3 nights, and paid in full in advance, so I thought. On checking in I was then charged $440 per room and was told that all I had paid for online was the room and taxes, not the mandatory additional charges. $440 per room!! For this we got breakfast vouchers, drinks vouchers (2 per room per night) and $10 off dinner (not much use to anyone). This was a big birthday trip for my son, and having travelled 6,000 kms to get there, this was a real punch in the guts. How do US hotels hope to attract European visitors when they do this to us? Don't get stung like we did. And to the hotel, don't bother giving a standard response that this is standard policy and the norm etc. It's just gouging. Simple.

Complete disaster. Do not stay here! Prepaid via Trivago but had no room at checkin. Hotel double charged us and added $125 charge for incidentals. Trivago made up for hotels negligence and refunded the room charge they collected. Despite clear documentation of no charges to room, hotel mgr repeatedly rudely refused to refund incidentals charge. Finally gave up, earning them this terrible review. And we were not the only guests treated this way. Heard tons of discontent at front desk during our stay. There are much better lodging options in the area. Do yourself a favor and avoid this one like the plague.

Please know, I attempted to resolve my concerns via management@thechicagohotelcollection.com immediately upon returning home from my one-night stay at the Ambassador Gold Coast – Chicago; August 16, 2025. I am delayed in my TripAdvisor Review because their Regional Director of Operations & Distribution, Jill Morgenthaler ( jill@thechicagohotelcollection.com ), had responded to my complaint – apologizing for their employee's actions which she admitted had been captured on security footage. Ms. Morgenthaler claimed that the involved employee had been terminated as a result and she offered me a future stay in a Junior Suite as resolution. Fast forward to this coming weekend, October 24th, when I planned to fly in for that stay. I have email communications with Ms. Morgenthaler leading up to October 13th, 2025, in which she said my stay was available for this given weekend. So, I booked flights. She has since gone dark and ghosted me. No one from the Ambassador Gold Coast will respond to me and I have no reservation. I ended up booking at another hotel. You're right, I should have known. Ms. Morgenthaler is no different than the employee she purportedly terminated; rude, unprofessional and simply a liar. Her working for the Chicago Hotel Collection is all you need to know about the organization and their dedication to guest services – which is nonexistent. I have traveled the globe and NEVER, EVER, had a hotel experience like this. DO NOT STAY AT THE AMBASSADOR GOLD COAST. As for the original experience, their employee threatened to forcibly remove me from the hotel upon check in. Luckily, because I had no other reservation, the employee rightfully relented but purposefully made my remaining stay painfully uncomfortable. Again, I have emails to confirm Ms. Morgenthaler not only confirmed my abhorrent treatment but she apologized and then falsely claimed to resolve it with a future stay. Zero Stars. This place should be shut down.

Upon our arrival, we discovered that our room was not ready. When we were finally assigned a room, we were met with a musty odor and numerous cleanliness issues. After bringing these concerns to the attention of management, we were informed that all rooms were in a similar condition, and our request for a different room was denied. The manager offered us a $50.00 refund or the option to leave; however, we had already researched alternative accommodations and found none available. This experience has led us to conclude that this hotel is the dirtiest and most unprofessional establishment we have encountered, and we would not recommend it to others.