We were with a group for a wedding, so supposedly we received the "preferred" rate because of that. Other members of the group had been shown 2 rooms several months earlier and they were impressed by the spaciousness and lovely furniture. When we checked in, credit card information was written by hand on a paper form, completed by me with number, security code and my signature. No credit card machine was used. Arriving at the room, it took some figuring out to know which of the the 5 keys on the keyring to use to open the door. Upon entering the room, we were quite surprised to be in a small room, No lovely seating area or even a comfortable chair. There was a small table with 2 straightback dining room type chairs. As mentioned in other reviews, there was a kitchen behind a door with microwave, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, coffee pot with a broken lid, and cabinets with basic supplies. In the bathroom, the toilet tissue holder was useless because there was no rod for the middle of the roll, so it sat on the toilet tank. The 3-way sliding shower door had every door off lhe track'; we never did get all the parts on the track so it was easily operable. The alarm clock was unplugged, and, of course, the outlet was behind the immovable headboard. There were no directions anywhere about how to dial room to room. When I called the front desk, I was curtly told to dial 7 first. Paint, wallpaper, and furniture was in need of sprucing up. We used the valet parking at $35 a night, and upon our return home 2 days later we discovered that the driver's side inside door handle had been broken as if the valet didn't know it was automatically locked and snapped the handle. The continental breakfast was adequate, the quality of the bakery being better than average. Upon checkout, I had to fill out another credit card slip for the parkiing, and when I asked why this was needed again, she desk clerk said because the other paper was in another folder. No receipt was given for either payment. Positive side-great location. We were directly across from the plant conservatory and zoo and could see some of the lake above the treetops. The hotel was quiet and the lobby beautiful Value?? We have had far better experiences at the HIlton and Congress hotel on Michigan Ave. at much less cost. All in all, we were disappointed after having made the reservations months earlier based on our friends' tour and the pictures in the brochure that came with our confirmation.

We arrived at the Belden and were very pleased. It looked very nice like it did in the pictures. We tried checking in at about 1:00pm-because our flight arrived into town at 12-and were told our room wasn't ready. We weren't real please but it's understandable. We left our bags there and came back at 3:30. At this point there were 3-4 other groups waiting for rooms as well. We were finally granted our room about 4:15-even after others arrived, despite us having been "first on the list" to check in. The young, fat receptionist was rather rude but the older lady with a man's name (cannot remember the exact name) was really nice. Sorry for the odd sounding descriptions but that's the best I could do. The room was pretty basic. It had a dated kitchen but a nice bathroom. The toilet paper was in a VERY inconvenient spot-minor detail, I know, but wait till you see it too. All in all, the room was decent and clean. I only received a paper on the last day but I'm nitpicking. The bright spots? The location is great-in a very nice part of Lincoln Park just a couple blocks from Clark. Right across the street is the park and the Zoo. The staff was all very nice, save for the one. The breakfast was basically juice and assorted pastries and bagels. The atmosphere of the hotel was very calm and relaxing. There were very few young people around, even late at night. I think it's because the place is actually a condo complex with a few rooms that they rent out. I would definitely recomment this hotel for someone looking for relatively cheap lodging in the Lincoln Park area. Other than the initial problem everything else was pretty good. Granted, I'm not the pickiest traveller but it was very clean, nice atmosphere, and quiet. And the location is perfect.

The hotel is currently undergoing a major renovation. We were staying in the hotel along with a large group of wedding guests. The rooms that had been renovated were gorgeous. It is incredible that they can charge so little for such spacious accomodations. The rooms are really small apartments complete with kitchens and living rooms. Our room had not been renovated. It had the feeling of a grandparents' condo in the 1980s. But, the renovation will likely take care of that. We had a little trouble with the AC-- either it was too cold or too hot. We could never get it just right. The front desk staff always seemed to be on the phone on personal calls. It was a little annoying but something the manager will hopefully address. Other than that, no complaints.

We had a big family event in Chicago, with people coming from all over the country. My wife booked two suites and two regular rooms three months before the event and paid for the rooms in advance. When we arrived at the hotel, the receptionist told us there were no rooms available and we would have to wait for the manager to explain it to us. She then refused to speak to us until the manager appeared--which he did after 10 to 15 minutes. The manager did not explain why all our reservations had been cancelled, merely that they had been and we were being redirected to another hotel. When I demanded to know why our reservation had been cancelled, I got a long, condescending explaination that if I knew anything about travel, I would know that this sort of thing happened all the time. In fact, in more than 50 years of travel, I can't recall it happening before: having not but four paid-for rooms being cancelled. We were told the new hotel was "a couple of blocks away." I asked for a map to guide me to the hotel and was told that none was available. I asked how to reach the new hotel and was told "just drive north and you can't miss it." We finally found the new hotel--at least 12 blocks rather than "A couple of blocks" away. The hotel was decent--even charming--but it had none of the features I needed. There was no restuarant or coffee shop, no valet parking, no suites, no childrens' beds, no cot so children could sleep in the same room as their parents. Parking was in a public garage--reached from the hotel by walking down a dark alley. We found other people in this hotel that also had been sent over from the Belden-Stratford. One party was told that because of a computer error the hotel had overbooked. Another was told that a big convention needed more space than expected. One party said they had spent two nights at the Belden-Stratford and were told after breakfast that they would have to move to the new hotel by noon that day. By my estimate, upwards of 15 people either had their reservations at the Belden-Stratford cancelled or were ordered to move after they had already spent a night or more there. I found the staff of the Beldon-Stratford arrogant and unhelpful. I felt they did nothing to improve a bad situation. This was a family event that had been planned for years and our problems with the Beldron-Stratford cast a pall over everything. I feel anyone who trusts this hotel risks being badly disappointed. There are many hotels in Chicago and no reason to risk having your trip ruined by attempting to stay at the Belden Stratford. If you need to be convinced, read some of the other harshly negative reviews other people have written.