We just returned from a 3 night stay at the Hotel Sax and we had a great experience. We got a fantastic steal on it through Priceline and we were worried at first after reading the mixed reviews here. Yes, its not your typical boringly decorated hotel...its fun and hip. I thought the room itself was beautifully designed and the entire hotel has a cool vibe to it. The Microsoft studio was a lot of fun and completely different than any other hotel lounge. In addition, I loved having the free use of computers in the lobby, as well as in the Studio to check maps and restaurant menus. The concierge was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. She recommended a restaurant about 2 blocks away - Vermilion - that was amazing. We would have never chose this restaurant on our own, but it was probably one of the best meals we've ever had. Oh, and the blueberry ricotta pancakes at Bin 36 in the hotel are totally worth the price!! This is a great place to stay in downtown Chicago--close to everything and completely safe.

I stayed at the Hotel Sax from August 14th - 17t h and enjoyed my stay very much. I had stayed here 3 years prior when it was the House of Blues and appreciated the redecorated rooms. I felt like i was staying in a gingerbread house when it was the House of Blues.
Check in was super quick and friendly. Benjamin was the bellman who brought our bags to the room and he was not only friendly but was quite knowledgeable about the happenings in Chicago that weekend.
In the lobby, they had a small table set up with a water pitcher for a refreshing glass of lemon water one day and cucumber infused water the next. Nice touch.
All in all, we enjoyed our stay very much and would stay here again.

My husband and I stayed at the hotel sax for 2 nights in August. I have mixed opinions about the hotel. While we were kind of neutral about our experience (and wouldn't stay there again), I can understand why others would love it. The hotel is very trendy and chic. We stayed in the deluxe king room.

The goods: The bed and pillows are super comfortable. Prob the best I’ve ever had in a hotel. The staff was very friendly. Both check in and check out was seamless. The rooms were really clean. The hotel has a really cool & young atmosphere. It’s in a great location. It’s only a block away from the downtown nightlife, and if you’re planning on a trip to the house of blues, it’s pretty much in the same parking lot. It’s a little further from Navy Pier and such than other hotels are, but it is walkable (we walked it) and/or taxis are cheap. Great flat screen tv.

The negatives: The rooms were small and dark compared to what I’ve stayed in before. There was zero counter space (or hair dryer) in the bathroom. The ‘atmosphere’ wasn’t really our style. It kind of has the atmosphere of a ‘party’ hotel in that there’s a pretty well rounded bar in the room, the ‘Studio’ - which is like a high tech game room, Crimson Lounge is downstairs (a very popular club), the House of Blues is across the street, etc. There was nothing wrong with this, but, for example -it wouldn’t be a place I would ask my parents to stay. Our telephone wasn’t working and the a/c started clicking really bad for awhile. They missed our wakeup call but called and apologized. The walls are a little thin and we could sometimes hear the tv in the room next to us.

Besides the hotel, cool things to do in Chicago: of course go to navy pier and stay for the fireworks. Take one of the boat tours. We took the sail boat one. Looking back, probably would have done the more traditional ones. The zoo is only so-so but good for kids. Look for the hot tix location to get discounted theatre tickets. The staff pretty much know what’s showing at every theatre in town. We saw ‘Alice’ at the looking glass theatre. It was fantastic and great for kids and adults. The green mill was a really cool jazz bar with a lot of history (I guess it was Al Capone’s old hub). Don’t go there if you want to drink and party though. They ask people not to speak while people are playing. Wrigley field was AWESOME. Andy’s Jazz Club was tons of fun and there’s other bars in its proximity (that was our one night of staying up too late and drinking too much). Overall, I would definitely go back to Chicago. I feel there’s a lot we didn’t get to do.

Swank, sophisticated, and grown up... They really did a great job remodeling the former House of Blues Hotel. Flat screen TVs in the rooms were impressive but what we really enjoyed was the Crimson Lounge. We had such a great time relaxing at the bar while listening to some fabulous music! What sold us on booking this hotel was their really cool virtual tour.

url=http://www.hotelsaxchicago.com/]The Hotel Sax[/url]