The Golden Arm

Room was nice, plus was small kitchen on third floor.

Stairs.

Do not stay at the ruby room. I contemplated leaving a review but as I revisited others who had terrible experiences and saw the replies from the staff at the ruby room stating that it’s hard to rectify issues when they’re not made aware in the moment.. well I’d like to state very clearly that the staff and management team of the Ruby Room were made abundantly aware in the moment of our issues during our stay and did nothing to make things right. After the hike up four floors of very steep stairs we were met with a lackluster room to say the least. It was frigid at about 50 degrees.. there were exposed wires where the smoke detector was meant to be, the door padlock was broken off exposing the batteries, the carpets were stained, the paint on the walls were chipped and the desk was still dirty with someone else’s makeup. Not to mention that the pitcher of water on the desk still had leftover water in it from the guest before us. At least that’s what I’m assuming considering there was no indication of it being fresh and clean for us? It was weird. The window sills had clearly not been dusted in a long time and the shower didn’t drain. The lights also flicker in the bathroom when you turn on the faucets. I let the Ruby Room know pretty immediately when we arrived that the room did not meet our expectations for cleanliness to which I received a text reply (text is the only way to contact anyone btw) that stated they had a temporary cleaning staff in because they are understaffed. I’m not sure there was anyone who cleaned that room… we were on vacation. I didn’t want this experience to ruin my trip so we went about our day only to find that when we returned to the room later in the afternoon our codes for the keypad no longer worked to get onto the 4th floor so we were stuck in the hallway locked out from all of our belongings. I text several times and called several times with no response until finally another guest ended up letting us in through the door. When I was finally able to get someone on the phone they suggested that perhaps I wasn’t competent enough to use the keypad. Totally downplayed my concerns and explained that all other 700 guests that day had no issues with the key pads. That’s right.. he said 700 guests. Now I’m not a rocket scientist but this is a small boutique building and there is no way that they host that many people on any given day. He also reassured me if we had issues there was another door entrance through the garden. Well just so you know they lock that gate so that was also a lie. The team at the Ruby Room did absolutely nothing to improve our stay. I will say that the next night we stayed in a different hotel, and had a much better time

I feel I’d be doing other travelers a disservice by not mentioning the Ruby Room was nothing like the photos. After climbing four very steep floors of stairs with all of our luggage we were met with a room that was lack luster to say the least. The ceiling had exposed wires where the smoke detectors were meant to be, the lock box on the door was broken exposing all of the batteries, the carpets were stained and the wall paint was chipped…. The shower didn’t drain. The desk was dirty and had someone’s smeared makeup on it.. the water pitcher had water in it? Who knows if it was fresh and supposed to be for us or just left over? A gross mystery. The window sills were as if they hadn’t been dusted in months and the room was maybe 50 degrees tops when we got there. I mentioned right away to the manager? that the room was dirty and did not meet our expectations to which they made 0 effort to make things better. Also the only way to contact anyone is via text so if you have any real issues (which we did) beware because you cannot reach anyone to help you. After we left our room and ventured out for lunch and shopping. When we returned to the ruby room we were able to get into the building but our code did not work on the floor we were on. We were stuck in the hallway for 15 minutes calling and texting with no response.. eventually another guest let us in. The managers attempt at customer service was to suggest I wasn’t competent, he wasn’t helpful or considerate. Do not stay here.

Very convenient for Wicker Park visit.

Communication with John was very simple and straightforward. That was a relief since there really isn't a "lobby" or attendant to check you in. The location couldn't have been better and the room was cozy, clean and extremely comfortable. We will be back.

Location and character

Good location. Lots of dining options

Well located.

This "hotel" doesn't have a 24h reception and operates next to a spa that with the same name, which is a separate business entity from the hotel, but offers some services to hotel guests, which makes it all very confusing. The unit I was given reeked of humidity and so the AC was blasting when I got in. I was very cold all night. The next morning, I couldn't find the reception so went over to the spa. I asked if I could leave my luggage and the lady working the spa was quite rude, saying the spa was a separate business from the hotel, but still offered to look after the hotel guests' luggage. I'm not sure how the information regarding the spa and the hotel being two separate business entities was relevant to my particular situation. I didn't feel welcomed at all as a guest, and there is some structural moist in the building. This was a very expensive night considering all this.

Great location central on Division, awesome room, great value. Easy in/out, team was very attentive / present

This was my 4th stay at Ruby room. Clean spacious rooms with a nice bathroom. Great neighborhood. Note that there is no reception desk, and that all of the arrangements including check-in are done by text and email. However it’s very easy as you only need a code for the keypads on the doors and no physical keys. Communication was good and they are responsive to questions by text.