Cocktail bar

Reviews of Freehand Chicago

4 out of 5
Freehand Chicago
19 East Ohio Street, Chicago, IL

Reviews

7.8

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 429 out of 1014 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 268 out of 1014 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 121 out of 1014 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 97 out of 1014 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 99 out of 1014 reviews" "

8.0/10

Cleanliness

8.2/10

Staff & service

7.6/10

Amenities

7.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Vanthian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Amazing location, clean rooms and well appointed staffs
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

6/10 Okay

nathalie

Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Cleanliness
Need a deep dusting in the room mostly ceiling lamp and behind the bed ornements
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

8/10 Good

Steve

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great vintage funky spot to stay! Love the casual chill bar and old charm. Small room, but comfy. We feel like this place has some real history that I’d like to know about.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Stephen, Elkhart

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The check in was friendly and fast. The staff really cares.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

4/10 Poor

Dalia

Business traveler
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The rooms were VERY dark and stuffy. Izzy at the coffee bar was the absolute best!
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

8/10 Good

Wilson David

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
I had a really good experience at freehand, loved the vibe of the place and the staff was really kind. However, there are things to improve, for example, my bed's outlet wasn't working, nor my nightstand lamp. PS: It would be a plus to have a mini kitchen or at least microwaves in the place.

4/10 Poor

Olivia

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

2/10 Terrible

Almighty

Traveled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was bad the rooms didn’t have microwaves or fridges it was loud all night you hear your neighbors and doors owning and closing and people yelling find somewhere else to stay! The rooms are extremely tiny like you’re in a closet
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Nerissa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very nice
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

6/10 Okay

Daryenne

Traveled with partner
Disliked: Staff & service
The lamp next to the bed didnt work. The door to our room was hard to close. The whole building smelled like sewage.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

8/10 Good

Melissa

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great hotel in a great area.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Audrie

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
love it
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Yojanny

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Very centric place with an interesting vibe. It's clean and affordable.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

6/10 Okay

Gabriel

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Daniella

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Angelica

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2024

6/10 Okay

Mary

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Not the cleanest by any means… very slow elevator, not the friendliest staff, no towel rack, many strong, unpleasant smells.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Cristian

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
THEFT is a major problem here and staff will do NOTHING about it! They have a tiny locker in the room for each guest that only fits a backpack and so if you have even the smallest of luggage it will not fit which means your co-guest(s) will steal from you when you're not in the room and when you report it the staff will say "There's nothing you can do about it", they don't even take a report, NOTHING! DO NOT STAY HERE! You're better off spending a little more somewhere else with your own private room.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

6/10 Okay

Sarah

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Cleanliness
Stayed in a shared female quad had no issues with the people I shared the room with, bathroom was fine but didn’t have a lock. There were STAINS on the curtain to the bed and on my duvet and sheets which was really gross. Convent location feel like I got what I paid for.
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2024

6/10 Okay

Nicole

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Amenities
The property is older however clean but very noisy and small rooms. Be prepared to get no sleep. Sirens, garbage trucks and construction. This made the stay very unpleasant however very convenient to the downtown amenities.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Shanice

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
First time in Chicago I enjoyed the vibe.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Nattanai

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very convenient and good location
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Denise

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I read a number of reviews for this property and I was nervous. It turns out that I didn't really have to be. I stayed in a premium queen room. While it was a bit dim like others have said, I wasn't bothered with it. The room was smaller than expected, but it was well appointed. The bed was comfortable and clean, as was the bathroom. There was hand soap, bath gel, shampoo, and conditioner in the bathroom and the towels were clean as well. It was relatively quiet aside from when a police siren was going through the area, which only happened once. The shower had good water flow and appropriate water temperatures. The elevators are small and slow, but very secure. You can't go to any upper floors without a functioning room key. There are lots of shops near the hotel and at the moment there's even a casino across the street. I believe it will move in the future after construction is complete, but for now it's a nice little activity if you're into that. There are a number of restaurants, a CVS, a Jewel/Osco grocery store, and even a Trader Joe's within a couple of blocks. Even my parking was around the corner from the hotel, with an additional facility across the street from the casino. I can't say anything about the shared spaces, but I am highly satisfied with my stay and would stay there again when i need to come into town for work.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Adalberto

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Decent area and decent room. Hotel was nicely designed.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 26, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

SELFY SUSANA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The place is clean, safe, and walkable around the downtown area.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 26, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

Therese

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was great! I was welcomed with so much warmth that I felt like I was at home.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

8/10 Good

Beatriz

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
The room and the bathroom are good but the problem is that is too dark, also all the hostel. On the hallway, it's kinda of horror movie.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

8/10 Good

Jazmin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

Nataly

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We had a great time at this property, would recommend to stay here.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

4/10 Poor

Philip

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The photos oversell this property. The private rooms have no sunlight and inadequate artificial light considering that. The staff made check in stressful and one individual was aggressive when I attempted to switch rooms, even when their website was showing availability. Another person at reception ended helping me, unfortunately the second room wasn’t much better than the first facing an HVAC unit directly on the other side of a broken window shade. Wouldn’t recommend
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience about your recent stay at our property. This certainly isn't the level of service we wish to provide to our guests here at Freehand Chicago. We would love for you to give us another chance next time.Freehand Chicago

4/10 Poor

Nayoon

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience about your recent stay at our property. This certainly isn't the level of service we wish to provide to our guests here at Freehand Chicago. We would love for you to give us another chance next time.Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

Yinlin

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good choice for the price. The location is surrounded by lots of other hotels, and is close to downtown attractions.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate your feedback and are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again very soon! Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

Jingyi

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Sergey

Traveled with family and small children, Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property in in the close proximity to downtown, lake, riverfront. Subway is in 3 minutes walk from the door. The room was pretty small. I think it is my mistake that i didn't look for a size in the description. Just know that it's smaller or than it looks on the pictures. Stuff is pleasant and friendly.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate your feedback and are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again very soon! Freehand Chicago

6/10 Okay

Tristan

Business traveler, Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Kind of the story of downtown Chicago in 2024. A lot of money for a pretty average place. One major thing was that no one mentioned to us that our view from our 8th floor king room would be the 24 hour neon lights of a parking garage! No joke, there was a parking garage directly outside our only window- with super bright neon lights, and of course a lot of noise throughout the night and into the morning. That would have been nice to know. When you stay in downtown Chicago you are kind of expecting to see it out of your window! The room was nice, but very small. The cocktail bar in the hotel was absurdly overpriced- $20 for a tiny cocktail! Wow. There was also some street riff raff that ventured into the lobby and the cocktail bar while we were there and made things a bit uncomfortable. Oh, and to get a discount on parking you have to scan a tiny qr code in the lobby BEFORE you go into the garage- except no one tells you that. Even when your wife goes into the lobby and asks "We're checking in, where do we park?" So we ended up paying extra for the parking. The staff in general was nice though- the guy at the check in counter was a character and was really cool. Overall it was a mediocre hotel that had been decorated in a real hipster chic meets ShangriLa fashion to cover up its defects. For half the price it would have been ok.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
I'm sorry to hear about your experience with us. Please be sure that we are taking your complaint very seriously, we will do our best to rectify the situation and ensure that it will not happen again. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us as it helps us improve our standards everyday. Freehand Chicago

8/10 Good

Yue

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate your feedback and are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again very soon! Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

Gabe

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Sebastian

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Brian

Business traveler
Liked: Property conditions & facilities
I like the way it's decorated. Wish there was more food inside.
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate your feedback and are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again very soon! Freehand Chicago

8/10 Good

Zach

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

8/10 Good

Michael

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

8/10 Good

Naseem

Stayed 6 nights in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

8/10 Good

Jairo, Houston

Liked: Amenities
Great great front desk agents
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Feb 21, 2024
Thank you for your review, Jairo! We look forward to welcoming you back again soon.Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

Dominique

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

ML

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Feb 21, 2024
Thank you for your review, ML! We look forward to welcoming you back again soon.Freehand Chicago

6/10 Okay

jason

Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Mar 22, 2024
Thank you so much for the positive review. We would love to welcome you back again soon! Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

Olivia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Comfortable and clean!
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Feb 10, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate your feedback and are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again very soon! Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

Ricardo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from JM on Feb 21, 2024
Thank you for your review, Ricardo! We look forward to welcoming you back again soon.Freehand Chicago

10/10 Excellent

adrian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I will definitely come back again in the future, it's cheap and worth it. However, the outlets weren't functional on my bunk (509-2), please fix.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from JM on Feb 10, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate your feedback and are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again very soon! Freehand Chicago