The Drake Hotel

GREAT Ambience, BEAUTIFUL rooms, GREAT service, GREAT location, GREAT food, and a VERY lively bar, made our stay at the Drake a most enjoyable experience. I stay exclusively at Hilton Hotels, and, in my opinion, the Drake rates MOST competitively with the Waldorf Astoria in NYC and the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC. It's where I'll stay again the next time I'm in Chicago.

First time staying here and I will be back. Located to almost everything and in walkable distance. I had a Lakeview room and wow! Will definitely be back.

Location and hotel history

Very Run down ! Major need of remodel. old lumpy pillows and mattress. Couldn’t sleep because of reality of how worn out pillows were thinking of how many people had slept on. Bathroom had a rigged toilet situation with a knob that came out of wall to flush. Never been in jail/prison but from the movies this bathroom could be equal to that caliber. Wallpaper peeling off walls in room and in hallways. Lobby bathroom was in terrible shape. Digital key for elevator never worked. When we got in room there was a pole left with sticky tape to gather hair off floor. Kinda gross. Lastly if you have room facing lakeshore you will hear cars racing all night.

Beautiful vintage charm, excellent staff, very convenient baggage storage, good (but pricey) restaurants.

Nice plugs/USB but on only one side of the bed, no walk-in shower (shower inside of tub --difficult for elders.

Roomy , comfy, close to everything

Too much expensive

Beautiful hotel

Lobby bar closing early

We enjoyed our stay at the Drake. We arrived early, stored our luggage, had breakfast and were notified within one hour that our room was ready. Fantastic front desk and bell service! This historical hotel is beautiful, well maintained and combines the old charm with a hint of modern vibe. The room was clean and comfortable. Take the time to walk around and explore this hotel. The key packet includes a QR code that takes to a well designed site about this unique hotel. We enjoyed the Lavazza coffee shop, ate breakfast at Cafe on Oak. The hit of our stay was Coq d’Or (hotel bar/ speak easy). The atmosphere with live music on Friday was amazing. We planned to go there for one hour but ended up staying until quite late, chatting with guests, locals and bartenders (Katia). Some of the team members have been there for 20+ years. Just wow! Book it to give yourself a unique experience. Also, the location is fantastic: near the beach, jogging area, close to many attractions, shops. Do the architectural boat tour - no need to book in advance.

One of our favorite hotels in Chicago. This was our third stay. Special kudos to the Excellent service provided by Chris the Doorman and Liberty at the front desk who made us feel so welcomed.

My spouse and I stayed here for our mini-spring break…..I really liked at ALOT!!! We had the Vista Suite, which as an absolute BLAST. You can see the glorious, glamorous and grandiose history of the hotel all around you at every step! They even have the signatures from numerous celebrities. These range from Muhammad Ali to Princess Diana. They truly are a must see and highly recommended!! Now the only serious feedback I could offer is the following: - Some SERIOUS renovations are needed throughout the entire building. Once they do this, The Drake will be a MAJOR COMPETITOR with its surrounding neighbors such as The RITZ Carlton and Waldorf-Astoria - The water pressure is SERIOUSLY out of control! Best way to describe this is LITERALLY hot and cold as that’s what it was. The fluctuations got so bad, we got burned on our backs. - Food options are terrible! Did you know an illustrious hotel such as The Drake doesn’t even offer breakfast except only weekends?! They also have a restaurant called The Oak Room, but the experience left ALOT to be desired!! Overall I would still recommend the place and give it high stars for the amazing management they have from Tate and German. There were also NUMEROUS AMAZING people such as Liberty and others who worked the front desk. Despite all the follies, I would highly recommend The Drake Hotel!!! :-)