Courtyard Chicago St. Charles

I must give this Courtyard hotel 5 Stars for excellent Customer Service. The Manager Barbara drove my family to the train station when the Marriott Van was not available. We enjoyed our family reunion in downtown Chicago, visiting museums and restaurants for more hours thanks to her.
I have never seen such dedication in the hotel industry!
This hotel is clean, the lobby modern, with a tasty breakfast café. I used the gym weights treadmill machines and inviting pool. I especially liked the hotel feature having the elevator and restroom next to the gym and pool, as I always feel uncomfortable crossing the Lobby in my bathing suit or gym clothes.

Décor is modern.
Room 307:
King room with pull out couch only accommodates three. The pull out is a single bed.
The king mattress was terrible and every move of my companion could be felt.
The gap in the door is so wide I kept checking to see if it was open. It let in a lot of light at night.
While on the third floor, could hear steps above like at grandma’s rickety old house.
Clear room, but sleeping wasn’t ideal or comfortable.

I had to give myself a few days in between my experience with the Courtyard Mariott and writing this review, so I could have some semblance of objectivity as someone who uses Unilocal almost daily, I wanted to try and maintain my integrity…
My husband travels for work consistently, and has platinum status with Marriott, so we actually have experiences with several other Marriott locations to compare this St. Charles location to, and it comes up painfully short (especially to their competition!).
I will start by saying the room was clean (a few cobwebs over the bathroom light) but overall, it was clean and comfortable. The rooms were recently renovated and the décor was very modern– I loved the art! Water pressure was great (I rarely ever forget to bring my own shampoo, but i had to use the hotel amenities and they were actually fantastic!), beds were comfortable, AC worked fabulously, lots of convenient free parking.
My positive input regarding this hotel ends with the facility itself, the management and overall experience were horrible. My friend had her wedding block (at least 15 – 20 rooms including a suite) at this hotel this past weekend, along with 2 other couples. The way we were all treated by management and security staff was absolutely appalling. The security guard was just plain unprofessional and downright disrespectful. We were all respectful, responsible adults (not to mention, paying customers). We quickly realized that our rooms were spread all over the hotel, and there was no actual «block» of rooms that may have fixed the issue from the beginning… It started with the bride’s aunt and cousins were asked to leave their own room (5 people were in their room after the reception, waiting for the bridal party to return). We witnessed the security guard putting her ear to the door after the 5 family members went down to the lobby. If you can’t hear anyone without sticking your ear to the door, what’s the problem?
The lobby was crowded with all 3 weddings worth of party guests being forced out of their suites, due to their policy. We respectfully left our suite and went downstairs, where she stared at us, and repeated the policy at least 5 more times while we were socializing (in the lobby as requested), like we weren’t already doing what she asked of us. She even tried to limit our access to part of the lobby indicating certain parts are closed because it was used for breakfast (mind you it was midnight, and we had 3 weddings worth of people there). When the lobby closed at 2:30am, we respectfully asked if the few remaining people could go back to hang out in the bridal suite (we had friends from out of town, that were only there for the weekend) the guard literally told us «no, everyone needs to go to their rooms» and mumbled something as she walked away. After 2:30a, while the bride was heading upstairs, in tears because she couldn’t spend more time with her friends, and that her guests were treated so poorly, we caught the security guard again putting her ear to doors, completely unnecessarily! If you can’t hear it without trying, it’s not disruptive!
I could go on for pages about the issues we encountered with this incredibly rude and overbearing security guard, but I’ll cut it off at stating; I have never in my adult life had a hotel that I’m paying for, make me feel like I’m an underage drunk in my college dorm. She was looking for anything she could, and in my opinion, a hotel should be accommodating to a wedding party, doing what they can to make sure they have a good time (like the Hilton property we used for my wedding block).
The next morning when it was brought to the manager on duty, she laughed and admitted to the bride and her MOH that she constantly gets complaints. After some serious enforcement by the MOH and serious tears from the bride, the manager finally tried to rectify the situation and comped the charge for the suite they were not able to use. Anyone that laughs when they find out their staff made a bride cry on her wedding day should not be a manager, and probably should rethink their career in the hospitality industry all together.
BRIDES BEWARE— find another property, you don’t want to deal with this stress on your big day!

Clean, recently renovated, comfortable hotel. Nice lobby area. Fitness room small but does include Dumbbells in addition to the usual cardio machines.

IF you’ve been to one Courtyard it’s pretty standard that you’ve seen them all. Only the super good ones stand out and this one isn’t one of them.
Everything here was nothing different than the rest. Same olé basic fitness room — a rather small indoor pool/​hot tub — same basic bistro with over microwaved food!
However, not even the front desk staff were consistent — there were some good ones and than some that might be better off at a bad McDonald’s — I really don’t know what has happened to service!

This hotel has obviously been updated, and looks great. The lobby area looks snazzy, and has a restaurant/​bar/​coffee shop. The pool is small, yes, but is indeed a pool.
Our room was gorgeous, with modern wallpaper and carpeting. It was clean and comfortable, and the shower was nice and hot.
There is not a free breakfast, but they certainly do offer a decent one for around $ 8. Starbucks coffee, some fresh fruit and a plate of eggs can be had by all.
The front desk staff members were friendly, as was the person who got my breakfast.
If you happen to be in St. Charles, I would recommend staying here.

I felt that the rooms were a bit old and did not match the big splash and nice look of the lobby. The lobby is great and has the new Courtyard look. But I would rather the rooms be upgraded. Also if this is suppose to be a hotel for business users, there needs to be a better chair for the desk. I spent several hours in an uncomfortable chair at the desk in my room. Finally it appears that there are two sets of towels. Some of my towels were a bit old and rough. While some of the towels were newer and nice and soft.
I would like to point out that all of the staff was very nice and very helpful.

Courtyard Marriott in St. Charles is the place to book for your wedding guests if you are getting married in St. Charles. Very helpful staff, allowed us to provide gift baskets to guest as they checked in. The lobby is very very nice, something you wouldn’t expect in STC. They had a nice outdoor area where the after party took place. The wedding discount price was well worth it because depending on how many people booked, they provided a shuttle bus service for all of my guests to get to and from the reception site. My guests who stayed at this Marriott were very happy. I as the bride was very happy as well. In the morning, the bridesmaids and I got ready in the suite and the room was the perfect size. They even provided us a long length mirror to use. Highly recommend this place without a doubt!

Hotel management contacted me after my stay and was very friendly and accommodating about the issues. I was not vocal about them when staying there and seems like if you are having an issue with noise, or whatever else, they will go out of their way to alleviate the problem. Also, they are updating their rooms in 2013 so they should be up to the standards of the lobby and other courtyards.
So upped it to a 3 star, will be a 4 pending the room update!

When they redesigned the lobby, it seems like they should have kept going in some areas. The pool is a 7×7 foot square that you can hardly tell the difference from the hot tub. Our air conditioner didn’t work, and there were some random spots in our carpet that always felt wet. Why did I still give it 4 stars, you ask? The simple answer is the window shades.
You know in some (who are we kidding, most) hotels, the window shades leave cracks or gaps, defeating the whole purpose, and those cracks allow the light to shine directly on your face at dawn, no matter what? At Courtyard in STC, you don’t know what I’m talking about. It was 11:30 AM and it was pitch black. Amazing. The layout of the room is unusual, but I thought it was refreshing.
Also, I came for a wedding, and went to a hotel after party. Because of noise complaints, they asked us to leave the room, but offered the lobby with no restrictions. It was very accommodating of them. Overall, a great experience.

The staff here is really helpful and the lobby is quite posh. It reminds me of a boutique hotel with a splashy color palette and a smart combination of stainless steel, architecture tables and more natural-​looking uniquely shaped chairs. However, the pool is roughly the size of a large SUV, meaning you and three very close friendly could, in theory, tread water in place together and try not to think about the fact that you would most likely brush each others limbs in the process. The hot tub is even smaller and I would guess even more awkward and best not undertaken amongst strangers … unless you want it to get really strange.
I missed the gym, but there is one. There is free coffee in the lobby from 5 to 11 a.m., but when I rolled out of the hotel at 4 a.m. for a race this morning, there wasn’t a soul to be seen. A little creepy.
With as updated as the lobby is, the rooms are a bit lacking. The bedding was flat and tired, and the pillow were not at all plush. I hate rooms where the sink is not in the bathroom because I end up waking up my husband getting ready, and of course, this was the case here.
My biggest gripe, which is not the hotel’s fault but sealed the deal for me nonetheless, was that there were three wedding parties staying there that night. At roughly 2 a.m., we were treated to the melodious sounds of a rather spirited argument that our fellow guests wisely undertook in the hallway of our hotel. I’m sure this robust intellectual debate hosted in such an appropriate venue was in no way influenced by any beverages consumed by said philosophers. And I’m also positive that the flowers lovingly strewn about the hallway the next morning had nothing to do with said discussion.

Renovated lobby with the new Courtyard design. Check-​in process was quick and the staff friendly.
Rooms are the old layout with some new furniture.
Property was well kept, and the doors automatically locked after 9pm (big fan of security)
Exercise room was clean and had updated equipment.
Service was excellent!

I booked a room at Courtyard the night before my marathon in St. Charles. I picked this hotel because of my past experiences with the Courtyard chain and it happened to be one of the cheapest hotels under our race’s group rate. It did not disappoint.
The fact that the front desk extended our late checkout a half hour so that we could shower after our race tempted me to give them 5 stars right out of the box, but I didn’t want to be one of those annoying reviewers who bases a rating solely on one minor (to you, not me) aspect.
The hotel seems to be going through the tail end of a renovation. It’s not quite complete, but looks good so far. Aside from some obvious aspects of the lobby that are still a work in progress, I think (hope) the bathrooms are still in need of some work. Most of the bathroom looked updated, but the the finish on the sink’s faucet was worn off in parts and mildewy and the wallpaper in the shower had started to peel, only to be repaired by some white caulk. Minor details, but obvious blemishes in an otherwise nice room.
The rooms have nice flat screen TVs, free wifi, coffee makers and mini fridges. In this day and age where you have 2 – 3 devices that require charging, this room had no shortage of conveniently located outlets; two were located on the wall lamps next to the bed making it easy to charge my phone and use it as an alarm. The beds were also quite comfy, I think each bed had 6 pillows on it.
The location is very convenient to downtown St. Charles, the nearby mall and a strip of chain restaurants. There’s also a grocery store a block away if you need some last minute items.
TIP: If you’re heading east on 64 toward the hotel, turn on left Industrial Dr.; the Dunham Rd. side is partially obscured by a tree.

I’ve been working with the Courtyard while reserving rooms for my upcoming wedding and I’ve been nothing but satisfied. Every employee has been pleasant on the phone and has respond to my emails quickly and in a professional matter. I couldn’t be happier.
Unfortunately, I’ve never actually been in the hotel so I’m unable to comment on rooms (sent my Dad over there to check it out).

Clean, neat, very comfortable bed, and fast/​efficient services. I NEVER leave anything at hotels, but for some reason, I left my new (and most expensive) pair of shoes at the hotel (Dolce & Gabbana pumps), and they made the effort of calling me, putting them in the manager (Barb’s) safe for pick-​up. I am SO THANKFUL!!!
the only thing I didn’t like was their outdated curtains. otherwise, the place is perfect for the price. very convenient location too!
also — even though checkout was 11am, they didn’t rush us at all!

It seems as though the Courtyard in St. Charles has been my home away from home lately. I stayed there two different nights this week.
I’m a Courtyard fan to start with, but they really impressed me last night (this morning) when there was still someone there to check me in when I arrived at 2:30 AM! It just sucks that there was road construction around O’Hare and it took me that long to get there at that time of the night/morning…but that’s another review.
I would give this location five stars, but they haven’t updated the rooms to the latest Courtyard layout. The newer configuration is much better for getting work done and you don’t have to sit at the desk and have the heat/​air conditioning blow directly on your back.
Other than that, it’s one of the better mid-​range hotels I’ve stayed at in the area and the staff is very accomodating.