Freehand Chicago

Comfortable beds, nice bathroom for the 4 bed dorm.

The man at reception with short hair and a scar on the right of his upper lip was extremely rude and sarcastic. When asked simple questions each one was met with a rude & sarcastic response both to me and the guest in front of me. Two other guests also expressed the same experience with him. Please have him put a little more effort into treating guests like people.

Professional staff, great location and environment.

"Parking" on the website merely referred to an expensive nearby parking garage. I spent over $1500 just to have a vehicle in chicago which was 3× more than I thought I'd be paying. Just wish the Freehand website section that says "parking" were more specific at first glance to avoid certain expectations.

Beds where comfy and plugs right next too them. Housekeeping does a amazing job. Lobby is beautiful and has a bar and restraint attached, as well as a cvs next door

The location is a little hidden due too all the structures around it. No tv in room and ac while it works fine is in a area that makes cooling the room difficult. No soap like hotels give ya but with a cvs next door that was alleviated

Location was great cocktails at broken shaker were good.

It would have been nice to pick a top bunk or lower bunk. My room didn’t have anyone in the bottom bunk the first night. I had trouble with the ladder. Didn’t feel as safe climbing up and down. Bags should be placed in the rubbish bins in the rooms. There were used tampons in the bin in my room from the other bunkmate. Quite gross.

The bed was comfortable and the shower had great water pressure. Water was hit like I like it.

I felt like staff were entitled douchebags. Also walls super thin. Could hear others. As well door was HARD to open. Just heavy.

The bar was lovely and atmospheric, drinks were great! The room itself was really nice, the bed was good. I would resommend stating here to anyone who is looking to discover Chicago and not stay in the room the whole day. Staff was very accomodating!

The bed is low to the floor, and there wasnt much floor space, but it was nothing unreasonable.

everyone was super friendly and the place was very cozy. we had the private quad and the beds felt super comfortable to sleep on. the room was small but we didn’t feel suffocated/crammed. i also liked the bunk bed style bc each of us had our own space to sleep/hang out.

we found a stranger’s pants in the bathroom when we checked in but we told someone at the front desk and they had someone come up and take it right away. the curtains separating the beds weren’t the cleanest, some had a couple stains. one of the bathroom hooks were also broken but that wasn’t a big deal to us. parking was expensive but that’s just how chicago is. you get a parking discount for staying there which is nice. it was around the corner so we did have to lug our stuff around but you can also bring the car up front if need be. we worked with it. room was small so our luggage was kind of piled in the corner and had to walk around it but also wasn’t a big deal to us

It is cool that there are 4-bed-rooms, most other big hostels only have 10-bed-rooms, so there is a bit more of privacy. And the beds are really nice and luxurious for hostel standards. They all have curtains for more privacy, they are solid wooden beds and have extra shelf space, two outlets and a light. They also have lockers and sell locks for it (5$). The fluctuation of guests is really high, most people only stay one or two nights. I stayed for 9 nights and really enjoyed it here. I had everything I needed, the wifi was good and fast, the bathroom was alright (showers are a bit small though), I was lucky with the view from 12th floor on some nice skyscrapers (other guests were facing walls), and the location is perfect centralized. It is a 15-minutes-walk to Navy Pier and the beach including a small park with meadow areas which was perfect for my daily Yoga. At the end of the park there is a good seating option from which you can enjoy the view on the little bay area with some boats anchoring and others passing by. On the way to the beach I recommend Bockwinkel's supermarket on E Ohio Street for best fresh and organic fruits (the mangos and peaches were the best I have ever had, big, soft, sweat and juicy). The maintence guy came right away to fix the clogged toilet and the rooms are cleaned daily with fresh towels and floor mats. There is also a 3-in-1-shampoo-body-wash-conditioner in the shower. The price of the hostel was mostly the cheapest on booking, so this will be my choice again in the future whenever needed.

Pros: friendly, very helpful and cooperative staff, clean and comfortable beds, clean towels, the location is great (near to everything, near to bus station and redline), many nearby restaurants, bars and groceries, safe neighborhood, there is a Gem at basement available 24/7 with water filter inside, prepaid washer and dryer at the basement. AC/heater inside rooms.

Cons: The Quad room is small, no space if you have large luggage. Only, A good place to sleep and wash after a long day of exploring the city. No kitchen. No coffee machine or boilers.

Really great value-for-money hostel in a great location if you're looking to see the city. The room and bathroom were clean and had all the basics. The staff was definitely a highlight, as they were really welcoming and kind. I had asked a lady in the laundry room for an iron and she was really helpful. The photo booth in the lobby is also a cute touch for a personalized souvenir.

The only large fault was that I don't think I received my deposit back. From previous reviews, I saw that a few other people had the same experience. I called back well past when I was expected to get it back. The lady that I spoke to said that on their system, the deposit had returned. Was a downside as this is a cool hostel. If you're worried about getting your deposit back, then this is maybe not the hostel for you. The rooms are also a little small but wasn't a huge personal issue.