The Chicago Hotel Collection Ambassador Gold Coast

We recently enjoyed a wonderful staycation at the Ambassador Hotel in Gold Coast, and it exceeded all our expectations. My husband and I loved how perfectly located it is — just steps away from shopping and the beautiful lakefront. The hotel itself has an upscale yet charming old English boutique style that makes it feel both elegant and cozy. Our room was spacious, spotless, and incredibly comfortable, making it the perfect retreat after exploring the neighborhood. One highlight was their current special — which included two drinks, a delicious breakfast buffet, and a generous dinner credit at their on-site restaurant. It was such a lovely touch and made our stay feel extra special.

The staff & service is wonderful. I love the pretty bag with a generous amount of bottled waters given upon check in. You can tell effort was put into the decor of the lounge areas, restaurant, & rooftop lounge. (That gave a luxurious feel.) I had a room change because the 1st room’s carpet wasn’t very clean. The bathroom could have been cleaned better as well. A sincere apology was received, it was explained that the hotel is very old, was just purchased, & the owner is still working on things. You can look & tell that the hotel could be REALLY good, romantic, & luxurious - especially being close to the lake.👌🏾

UPDATE (in response to the hotel’s reply): This was for a stay in April. I avoided leaving a poor review until now in hopes that I could resolve the charge issue with the hotel directly - they ignored me, even months later. The charge I am referring to is not the doubling of my stay upon arrival (because they claimed that the third party didn’t disclose their fee structure when it was actually the hotel failing to disclose accurate prices to the third party), but additional charges issued during my stay without explanation - I asked several times about them. The reception staff even told me I’d be refunded, which the hotel seems confused about in their reply. Over a month and a half after the stay, after the hotel stopped returning responses to my requests for a refund, I had my credit card dispute the charges. Again, this was after they said I’d be refunded. They just didn’t refund me. The only charge back issued would have been after the hotel failed to refund what they agreed to. This was the worst hotel experience I've had to date. When I arrived, I was told that I needed to pay double my original booking cost because the hotel incorrectly reported the fee structure to the third party I booked with. This was NOT the fault of the third party as numerous other guests using different travel agencies had the same problem. Other reviews confirm this. The hotel also nickel and dimes you for everything and the staff is often rude about it. The free drink pass didn't even work for most drinks (they'd cost extra). The room also was never cleaned while we were there and there was constantly a huge reception line (so you could never get help with anything). Our room passes randomly broke halfway through our stay of two days forcing us to sit in the reception line for 30 minutes to get it fixed (this happened to numerous other guests we met). And the worst part - they randomly charged us $300 in junk fees that the receptionist couldn't justify or explain. They just claimed "they'd be refunded." That never happened, even after 4 separate calls to the hotel and an email. Eventually American Express went after them for it and won. This is nothing short of complete fraud and poor service. Stay far away!