PUBLIC CHICAGO | AN IAN SCHRAGER HOTEL Review

It's a good hotel. They kept the patina of the old spaces and added nice furnishings.

Public is located in the Gold Coast district. The staff is super friendly and knowledeable. There are two bars located to the left and right as you walk into the lobby. The bar to the left of the front desk has a contemporary setting; while the bar to the right (The Pump Room) has a more classic vibe. My wife and I went to The Pump Room. It was packed both times we went. Drink prices are fairly higher than normal of what I'm accustomed of paying. But you're paying for the atmosphere. The bar staff were all really friendly and service was reasonably quick considering how busy they were. As for the room...meh. I've had better in cheaper hotels. The view out the window provides stunning views of...the back of other buildings lol. However there was a very tiny view of Lake Michigan from between two of the buildings. The bed is quite hard and the pillows go flat when you lay your head down. They are long enough to fold in half which provided a little more comfort. There's a fully stocked mini bar. Prices are high. But that's about normal for any mini bar. In all, this was a pretty nice experience. I'd probably come again in a future visit to Chicago.

Loved this hotel! Such a pleasant library to sit down and relax. Everyone was super friendly and helpful!

Such a great atmosphere. The room was so clean and well decorated. It is very modernized, but still has a very vitage, antique feel to it! Great location and good price!

Staff seemed unhelpful, although my suite was awesome and had a private balcony

The Public Chicago does not live up to the facade of being a high quality hotel. While the service is fine and the staff relatively nice, the amenities are not up to par. Additionally, the walls are paper thin. I was woken up prematurely 3 out of the 7 nights that I stayed here. The guests weren't being particularly loud, but I could here conversations and even the television playing. Not what you would expect from a place like this.

Rooms were clean. A bit small, but overall a nice stay.

Upgraded to the Celebrity Suite. Large room for the price but unfortunately it was right next to the elevator. Bathroom is terribly small though.

Great location... but cheaply refurbished rooms. Rooms were old and smelled of smoke. If you can get a really cheap price it's worth it due to location. The lobby is nice and modern. But that's it. Parking is 65 a day. There is a parking lot one block away for 14 a day. The rooms were clean but out chair had stains on it. Linenes were decent. I would not stay here again.

Wonderfully located for convenient access to iconic Chicago landmarks and an incredibly accommodating hotel with full restaurant service and very luxurious accommodations

Felt old. Bathroom was tiny and no fan. Just needs a complete redo. Staff and lobby was nice.

We loved our stay at the Ambassador everyone was super friendly to one young girl at the front desk oh, I wish I could remember her name, she helped us with our room upgrade just an amazing beautiful young woman. The bar and the bar bites were good. We loved our bartender the first night the second night it was a female Latino girl she was nice but not as friendly as the guy before.

Convenient, comfortable and clean, great communication, excellent location!

This place was average. We found a roach in the room during our last night. The bar downstairs was ok. I asked for a Belvedere straight with ice and he looked at me funny and said like a Russian? So there s that.

We love it. My best friend went for a girls trip. A d they make us feel very welcome. Love it.

Cozy room, great location near Lake Michigan, nice bar/restaurant areas.

Beautiful hotel. Our stay was pleasant and our corner room was absolutely gorgeous. Staff was friendly and courteous. The original half freight elevator outside is a novelty but the only handicap accessible elevator to the 1st floor lobby where reception is located. It's a tight fit for an electric wheelchair and hard to navigate. If you have a large wheelchair it may not be doable. My handicap accessible room was spacious and the bathroom was huge. The neighborhood is beautiful and there are plenty of restaurants a few blocks away. My only complaint was the bed. It was way too firm and uncomfortable for me with my spine issues. I stayed when it was still The Public Hotel, right before it changed to the Ambassador, so I'm not sure if bedding changes have been made.

I like this hotel as it is a little old fashioned and quirky.
Some rooms are bigger than others, sort of pot luck.
Great bar that has a lot of history.
Look at the photos of all the famous people who were
photographed here.
In a very good quiet area.

The bed was comfy. The room was vintage. There were wage protesters outside.

the hotel is really nice, I felt like a movie star when I walked in my hotel room!? it was very spacious and clean and everything was white... reasonable price as well.

The place is nice, too bad that to have a drink you have to look for servers ...

Location beautiful. The rooms were different but cozy. Beautifik building but could tell it's old. Service and valet was top notch

Did George Kaplan check in? Perhaps Roger Thornhill? Maybe one of them took a quick jog through the corn field?

Amazing location of this Hotel. Very are spacious, clean and well-equipped rooms, the only thing that bothered me was that I could not turn off the AC. Maison Margiela soaps was a nice surprise lol. Would recommend this one.

Pleasant atmosphere, though the posh settings do come with a cost, the drinks here are pricey

Great hotel and loved the location. We were able to get a reasonably priced room via Hotwire.

More expensive parking than neighboring hotels, bathroom looks like it came out of a 1 star hotel, generally not great and worse than the typical 3 star hotels I look for.

This establishment needs to get it together. We booked two rooms. My group came at different check in times. First party checked in at 3:00 and they did not have the room ready until 4:00! Second party checked in at 4:00 and they did not have it ready until 4:30. Check in time is 3:00 for crying out loud! For a boutique hotel that has been around, they need to step your game up significantly considering there are so many other options in Chicago. And to be quite frank, I've actually always gotten lucky and been able to check in and get a room BEFORE check in time at majority of other hotels. Also the beds were listed as King beds which we selected and they appear to be Queen beds instead. Very disappointed and do not recommend.

What a great place! The area of the location (Gold Coast) is so nice, clean, and safe! Given our first visit to Chicago, we were impressed. You can walk to all the popular places in 20-30 min. The room in the hotel was small but enjoyable. The inside is glamorous and very welcoming. Overnight parking is around $60 a night so beware!

Allowed us to book without informing us of a water outage. Nice hotel otherwise.

The rooms are small and not as "fancy" as I was expecting for how expensive they are. I've stayed in several downtown Chicago hotels and this one was at the bottom of the list in rank. Nothing in particular wrong with it, just things like extension cords were running all over across the room and the lamps were either really bright or off.

Really nice rooms and good location for what I was doing. Good service and quiet rooms.

Went for reception on the rooftop. Great time. View was wonderful and food was excellent. Staff's service was very careful and prompt.

Stayed here a few years ago
Nice place
Don King was my neighbour.

Good location, but not a great hotel for the price.

hotel was beautiful! lovely atmosphere and amazing staff!

Great hotel! Good location, rooms are spacious and clean, staff was friendly and helpful. The bar and restaurant is high quality and there's a lot to do in walking distance

Public has a great relaxed atmosphere well made cocktails and an very welcoming staff

the Ambassador Hotel is a Good Boutique hotel in a Great Location. they have nicely appointed rooms and a really good lobby, bar and restaurant areas. it is located in a charming neighborhood, near the beach, parks restaurants and shopping. their coffee which is a la carte is really good. my main reason for dropping a start is that some of the wall plugs are too loose, the room number on our door was a closet and the air conditioning controls are on the wall not the air conditioner a little confusing. oh, well
small problems. all in all a winner!!!!

You took a beautiful old building and turned it in to a disaster! The rooms are terrible, cheap design looks like they did it thru Ikea. No light switch when you walk in! Beds are almost to the ground. Had dinner in the Pump room. Food and service is fantastic..but the decorating again horrible!!!! The dining room chairs are so low you need booster seats to reach the tables. YOU NEVER TAKE AWAY FROM THE STYLE OF THE BUILDING!!!!!!!!!!

A great hotel if you're not expecting top-notch amenities. Everything was clean, beds were very comfortable. Housekeeping staff were friendly and accommodating. It's an old building, but things have been updated well enough. It has an old-school vibe with modern amenities. I would like to see a refrigerator for personal use, and bathrooms are indeed a bit compact. But for the price, I feel that my family was very happy with the overall experience. Wonderful neighborhood, and all employees were friendly. We are accustomed to lower-rated hotels, and this was money well-spent. Highly recommended for those without exceptionally high standards.

We loved the Ambassador for its classic features, friendly vibe and fantastic location. Our king-size bed was very comfortable and the room was clean. It's in a great location, walkable to the lakefront and not far from Michigan Avenue shopping. Also it's very close to lots of restaurants on and around Division Street. Great stay!

Brilliant location and nice rooms. Recommended to explore the city.

Beautiful breathtaking gorgeous view of the near north side and the downtown area

I visited the lobby bar areas last evening with a group of friends after a spooky walking tour of the neighborhood at night during the Halloween season. The revelry was in full swing at this hotel with staff in costumes, black & white horror films being projected on the walls and individual celebrations in several nooks of the hotel public space. This is a great spot to visit with good service and food and pricing as you would expect from a popular boutique hotel!

PROS:
Great Gold Coast hotel location. It's in a quiet neighborhood. Everything you need is just within a few blocks.
Friendly and accommodating staff.
Easy to access.
Hotel lobby and dining options are in such beautiful spaces.
Hotel offers price matching on room rates.

CONS:
Overnight parking price (welcome to Chicago). Valet was $67.
Rooms need better soundproofing. Could near guests' conversations in the rooms surrounding mine.

Very nice hotel. Nice rooms.friendly staff would.stay again