Chicago Athletic Association Review

Beautiful hotel. A work of art brought to life with luxury update. Our suite was generous and cool. Brunch at cherry circle room was very, very good. Cindy's has great views and bright setting.

Great place to have a drink or two with nice company.

I'm currently staying here as we speak. If you are interested in staying here because you see the awesome pictures, by all means rethink. You will be fighting for a place to sit your entire stay. The drawing room, the game room, the milk room... Whatever. Good luck. This hotel cares far more about everyone else then their own guest. This is not about the waitresses, or the front desk. This is the core of the management of the hotel. It is completely overcrowded. The very "drawing room" that you hope to enjoy will be half reserved and the rest of the open spots will be fought upon by you and endless others. I hope that management will chime in with something other than their normal response because this is a great spot, great location, and all... But better to be someone who walks off the street and snags a table for hours then one who waste their money on an room. Be warned.

A go-to place when guests come from out of town. With four separate bars, there is a lot to do in this building. My favorite cocktail is the Sour in the game room. Sometimes they have a a Green Tomatoes BLT on the menu, it's so good.

The Chicago Athletic Association has amassed a lovely collection of bars and food options. We went to the Milk Room for some fantastic custom cocktails with the help from a very friendly bartender. We followed that up with dinner at Cherry Circle Room. My goodness. I highly recommend the French onion soup. The steak was well prepared and the sides were delicious. I'd happily return.

We had a bad experience, starting with the receptionist, she had a terrible sarcastic attitude, the next morning a hotel worker open the door before check out for no reason, after making a complaint the receptionist at the check out didn t seem to care much for it, also snack in the room are overpriced. I stayed in many hotels and honestly this one has the worst service. DO NOT waste your money here !!!

Great hotel in terms of location, style, cleanliness, service, and the view towards Lake Michigan. The entry can be busy/crowded, at least on weekends/evenings, as there was often a huge line of people waiting for the elevator to the rooftop bar, Cindy's (these were not hotel customers, who can take the private elevator). We would definitely stay here again.

Was in town for a job, this was a fantastic choice for our stay in terms of atmosphere, hospitality, and location. The building's public spaces are truly architectural gems in a city full of them, and every staff experience I had was warm and friendly.

Very nice. Classy design, felt like I was in a 1950s mansion.

What a beautiful building! I could stare at the ceiling or floor the whole time. We went to the game room. It was dimly lit for a cool ambiance. Pool, table shuffle boards and bocci ball are available in 30 minute slots and yo have to sign up with the gent/lady at the door.

Dinner at the Circle Cherry Room was fantastic. The game room directly before it was also very cool. I hadn't seen indoor bocce ball before. Good cocktails.

Room was alright. Facing the park, had giant spot lights right out side the windows.

There's so many different ways to experience Chicago Athletic Association! With a multiple bars, each with a different vibe, there's something for everyone.

Beautiful, authentic, spacious hotel. Perfect location

Went to The Dive - cheap(er) drinks, cute concept, prompt and polite service!

DO NOT STAY AT THE CHICAGO ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION. My wife and I have stayed in many hotels around the world. This hotel was grossly overrated and overpriced. It was originally recommended by American Express Platinum Travel, but have since have removed it from their list of choice hotels ..
When we checked in we were offered to have lunch in their lobby, which was utilized as one of their dining rooms. In the middle of our lunch we we asked to leave because they were setting up for an outside event.
After lunch we went up to one of their signature restaurants, which had a beautiful view. We asked to make a reservation for Sunday brunch, but were denied that because they are apparently more interested in accommodating outside guests than those who are staying at the hotel.
After checking into the room we noticed that there was no drawer space whatsoever. The room was clean and a bit quirky, which was not a problem for us, but the lack of drawer space did not sit well with us.
I am not one who is quick to complain....but having experienced three issues in one afternoon forced me to seek out a manager.
Briget was on duty and was pleasant but could only apologize for our experiences and offered to communicate our issues with upper management. After they reached out to me I realized that my only compensation would be lip service.
We thoroughly enjoyed Chicago and look forward to returning. There are many wonderful hotels to stay in for a much lower cost. Do yourself a favor and choose another hotel.
Andy D.

The Chicago Athletic Association is in the best place for seeing the city! This hotel also has historical value & they have made the most of it with their decor and offerings. They are attentive to their guests, as well. They texted me to check if I was satisfied with my stay after the first night. When I made known my needs, they were more than hospitable and met them. I was impressed with their genuine care!

Elite club is now a popular night spot! Has to be seen.

Hotel with character. Reminds me of hotel from The Shining without the gore of course.

Amazing property and excellent staff. Location can not be better. Be ready to take some time to relax and explore. As a guest you get immediate access to Cindy's.. top roof top destination in Chicago!

Beautiful hotel that was formerly a private club. A couple different bars open to the public. Game room is sporty and richly furnished space and Cindy's is a trendy spot on the rooftop with a great view of millennium Park and the bean. Fun cocktails and snacks.

A great place to chill when you need a place to work, cool hotel rooms, great history, and the Parker rolls at Cherry circle room rule.

As a firm believer "You get what you pay for", this place is exceptional. Ornate antique OR vintage decor, the place is just amazing. Some areas can be extremely loud. It's not a place to go for intimate conversation. The restaurant and the bell stand area are best for conversation. Cindy's food and view were astonishing. Definitely going back.

This hotel is pretty cool, and they really put a lot of effort into the style - athletic and upscale. People were super nice!

There is a game room and bar; and some restaurants (I didn't get to try Cindy's - they were all booked up by the time we checked! C
Shake shack was good though!)

I do wish my room had had a bathtub instead of just a shower; after being on my feet all day soaking them would have been nice. Overall, I'd consider staying here again, but I might ask for hypoallergenic bedding - something was driving my allergies crazy while I was there.

Had drinks at the Game Room. Great atmosphere, great cocktails.

Okay hotel with a hidden $25/night fee. Hate hate hate companies with stupid opaque policies. Do business with a place that is up front about the actual cost of their services

Very nice to hang with friends. The pool tables are awesome.

What a pleasant surprise! Absolutely charming and cozy! Had one rude staff member but everything else was Great! Happy to be a frequent patron and our home in Chicago! Please keep us posted on a loyalty program when you are able.

Great old timey atmosphere, good drinks and fun games. It's like you're transported back several years to a simpler time. Mostly young professionals, reservations are available for the table games and waits on a Friday night are typically an hour for a pool table.

I stopped into Happy's on the ground floor for a book release party, and it was such a great experience! Definitely will come back in the future

They tried to put us in a tiny room while saying they were upgrading us for $20.00 because we asked for a room with a desk. There was no desk so we had to wait by the room for over 20 minutes for someone to come get us and move us to a room with a desk (that was our only special request). Once in the new room it was clean - which is nice, and bigger had a desk but was very warm, too hot to sleep. Lighting was very dim and there was no mirror (so a person could get ready to go out in the main room while someone else was in the bathroom getting ready) and no coffee maker. The hotel is uniquely decorated but very much with men in mind. If you want to get ready to go out in the bathroom there is no place to put your items around the sink...like a curling iron, brush, makeup...things like that. We called down about the heat in the room and someone did come up saying there was nothing they could do, so he opened the window, that faced the blank brink wall of the building next us, about 4 inches and though that remained open the entire stay we were still pretty uncomfortable with the warmness of the room. The bed was nice - no complaints there and it was quiet. Clean as well, but those were the only positive things....which all three things are important otherwise I might have given less than three stars. However, we will choose a different place to stay next time we visit Chicago.

***Update - though I see they have responded with 'sorry hope you come back'...a public relations effort...I will not be coming back and, if I can help it, no one else I know will either. If they wanted us to be happy and come back then they should have given us a decent room and service in the first place instead of trying to palm off 'cr*p' on a couple of nice folks. After the second room, we both had to work...so we didn't ask to be switched again and just toughed it out for a few days. Sweating in the dimly lit room..we did complain a couple of times - they should have felt sorry then and gotten us into a room that we were comfortable with - we had already agreed to pay more for it. What we SHOULD have done is just switched hotels.

Walked in, waited to get inside, line didn't move, so I left.

Great place. A lot of history to the place and cool how it was modernized

Clean but no drawers / chairs in bedroom area. Minuscule shelf in bathroom right over the toilet. Two beers and two house wine = $50 plus tip......fast food restaurant with 50+ people waiting line in the first floor lobby. El train noise every five minutes.

What? In the heart of downtown an incredible place to socialize and imbibe in fun interactive activities?! Cool! Surprisingly unregulated, this place is a rustic and intriguing place to do..random things!

Not an 100% fan. We had to drag our bags through the busy game room / bar to get to reception which was annoying and the hospitality was mediocre at best. The view from Sally s is at least worth a visit. That is amazing.

Dope multi-bar/restaurant experience. Highly recommend the bocci, the burger is very standard and a bit expensive but good in a pinch

The staff were wonderful in making us feel comfortable and appreciated as clients. We would love to go back at another time to experience more of what this hotel has to offer.

Stumbled upon this place, my wife wanted to try it after reading an article. Friendly staff. Great view over the bean. We had drinks at the upstairs bar then wandered downstairs to the game room. Played bocce ball for a few hours while having a pitcher. This would be a great place for a wedding party.

Truly enjoyed it. The rooms are great services is awesome

Perfect Chicago spot. #romantic #cozy #weekendgetaway

The hotel is beautiful. Completely renovated. It looks like the 1950s. The rooms are well decorated and very clean although a bit small. There are no drawers to put clothes, at least in my room. The service has been excellent. I recommend the restaurant located on the roof called Cindy's. It has the best view in Chicago.

If you enjoy the ambience of late nineteenth century architecture in a graceful lobby space and great food and drink, this is worth a visit. The rooms are fun and athletic club themed (had a pommel horse as the bench at the end of the bed). Right across from Millennium Park.

Great full service hotel, especially for a family. Plenty of interesting opportunities and things to find and do without even having to leave the hotel. Utilized this as a staycation for a tough weather weekend and am already looking forward to booking again.

Awesome venue. Beautiful old millwork in this restored beauty. Service was a little off and on - felt like I was bothering the wait staff a little bit reaching out to them to place an order. Otherwise it was excellent. Their fish tacos and carnitas tacos are excellent! The carnitas tacos were surprisingly and happily spicy! Yum!

Very nice facilities. Very nice staff who were very helpful. Was attending a CHF event.

Had an amazing night of drinks and snacks in the game room. I highly recommend coming with few friends. I loved the burger, and the fries were also good.

We had dinner at the Cherry Circle Room followed by drinks at the Milk Room. Everything was spectacular - decor, food, drinks, and service.

Amazing renovation of a building to update it for use today. It includes several restaurants from high $$$ to very affordable $, beautiful hotel, gorgeous lobby on 2nd floor, open to the public

The game room & milk room are great. A nice hidden gem

Awesome ambiance, right across the street from millennium park

Is there anything more perfect in the loop? The view from Cindy's is amazing on a clear night and Cherry Circle Room has some wonderful food!

The Game Room is one of the best places one could spend an evening downtown. Food & drinks were flawless, shuffle board was great fun, the setting was inviting & not to crowded. I'm looking forward to discovering more, like the Cherry Circle Room & the Milk Room.

Great views! Drinks are a bit expensive but still worth it! I'd suggest going on a week day to avoid long lines to get to the roof top

An amazing experience, the cherry circle room is hands down one of my favorite restaurants. The game room is exceptional with indoor bacci ball, shuffle board, billiards, and more. The restaurant has a dimly lit speakeasy feel, with a great bar and fantastic menu. The wait staff is very informative and quite attentive. Overall a great place to have a fun night out.

Always busy, but can't fault them for that. Awesome game room

Cool place with classic style. Bed and amenities are nice. Only complaint is the shower doesn't have a door so it feels cold.

The food was delicious. The beer and cocktails were fantastic, and the bartender was very knowledgeable.

Beautiful location and atmosphere, but prices are a bit steep

Great location (right next to the Millennium Park and Magnificent Mile). Friendly staff. Nice rooms decorated accordingly (decor reminds you of a gym, the bath robes - of the boxing robe, etc). I also liked the smell of the shower gel/ shampoo and conditioner. I very much enjoyed my stay there, will definitely recommend!

Visited the Game Room. Their is a great selection of games including bocchi ball, foosball, and shuffleboard. It can get pretty busy and a wait list can build for the different games. Drink selection was ok, but a little pricey. Definitely a more upscale place.

We wanted to try out Happy's for a Christmas themed bar night. The drinks and atmosphere we're just okay.

All the charm you expect is here and more. Every detail is covered in theme with this great historic building. So much that you can imagine yourself a hundred years ago walking the same hallways and made better by all the modern conveniences we're accustomed to. Everyone on staff was quick and courteous to requests. They went above and beyond when they didn't have to. Being so close to the park, the lake, and the Loop make this the perfect place for a Chicago getaway.

They have a bocce court! During peak times there's always a wait, but it's Chicago. If you're not willing to wait in line then you don't get to do neat activities. Also don't wear nice dark clothing. The court is made of chalky rocks and it gets dust all over everything. Just a tip.

The rooftop seating is beautiful. There's a heck of a view of Millennium Park.

4-star rating is for how wicked cool the entire bar and experience is. The one star subtracted is for not thinking ahead in their material choice.

Very small rooms, very dark and ours was very noisy from trains and loud humming. Old rambling hallways and rooms--quaint but not very comfortable. The bars and restaurants are the best part of the hotel--great sitting areas and wonderful food at Cherry Circle Room. Cindy's was always packed. We were with a large party and never found room to enjoy Cindy's.

Very nice place. Tons of history with a great rooftop retaurant.

Both the lounge /game room and the rooftop bar are great.

Nice hotel and room. We couldn't get the ac to work the room got pretty hot.

I got drinks in the Drawing Room. I was shocked that such a relaxing place exists anywhere and desperately want to pick it up and move it whole to my hometown. Delicious drinks, great service, super comfy chairs. Awesome.