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Freehand Chicago

Property building, Facade/entrance

Living room

Living room

Communal lounge/ TV room, Lobby or reception, Lounge or bar

Lounge or bar

7.4Good

(3,240 Ratings)

"The location is great...a block one way to the Red Line and a block the other way to Eataly and Crushed by Giants Brewery."

Verified guest

Don't miss out! Price and availability may change

7.4 / 10.0

Good(3,240 Ratings)

Hotel in River North, IL

4-Star Hotel

Reasons to book

High-end valueWell priced for this area

Book with confidenceWe partner with the top travel sites so you know you're getting a great deal on the perfect rental

Includes essentialsFree WiFi/internet, Air conditioning, Bar and more

About this hotel

Featuring a restaurant, Freehand Chicago is located in Chicago's River North neighborhood. Free WiFi access is available. Both the John Hancock Observatory and Millennium Park are within 0.6 mi of the hotel.

Map of River North, IL

city location on map

Nearby attractions

Millennium Park

Chicago Riverwalk

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Available Rooms

Things to know

Additional fees to expect

Cleaning & other feesWe include all stay related fees in the Cleaning Fee line, which may include cleaning, property manager, resort, tourism and other stay related fees. All Booking.com properties are professionally cleaned after each stay.

Booking feeNo booking fees, easy credit card payments.

Service feeThis helps Booking.com provide a safer and more secure booking experience.

TaxesTaxes on accommodation such as Occupancy Tax, VAT, or GST. May also include tourism fees.

Customer support

Customer support is handled by our partner Booking.com

$$$$

7.4Good

(3,240 Ratings)

"The location is great...a block one way to the Red Line and a block the other way to Eataly and Crushed by Giants Brewery."

Verified guest

Don't miss out! Price and availability may change

$$$$

7.4 / 10.0

Good(3,240 Ratings)

Hotel in River North, IL

4-Star Hotel

Reasons to book

High-end valueWell priced for this area

Book with confidenceWe partner with the top travel sites so you know you're getting a great deal on the perfect rental

Includes essentialsFree WiFi/internet, Air conditioning, Bar and more

Map of River North, IL

city location on map

Nearby attractions

Millennium Park

Chicago Riverwalk

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Available Rooms

About this hotel

Featuring a restaurant, Freehand Chicago is located in Chicago's River North neighborhood. Free WiFi access is available. Both the John Hancock Observatory and Millennium Park are within 0.6 mi of the hotel.

Things to know

Additional fees to expect

Cleaning & other feesWe include all stay related fees in the Cleaning Fee line, which may include cleaning, property manager, resort, tourism and other stay related fees. All Booking.com properties are professionally cleaned after each stay.

Booking feeNo booking fees, easy credit card payments.

Service feeThis helps Booking.com provide a safer and more secure booking experience.

TaxesTaxes on accommodation such as Occupancy Tax, VAT, or GST. May also include tourism fees.

Customer support

Customer support is handled by our partner Booking.com

Ratings and reviews

7.4 / 10.0

Good(3,240 Ratings)

100% verified reviews

6.0 / 10.0

Convenient and budget-friendly, but the comfort and facilities could use some upgrading

The Freehand is centrally located and overall a very clean hotel. We loved being right near downtown and close to many attractions, all without having to pay a ton for it!

We've always stayed here in the fall, but this was our first visit in the winter. Unfortunately, the heating really left a lot to be desired—the rooms were quite cold. Some of the lamps didn’t work, so the lighting was too dim, and a few pieces of furniture looked outdated or broken. Overall, the facilities could use a bit of updating to improve comfort and appearance.

10.0 / 10.0

A winning location!

The location is great...a block one way to the Red Line and a block the other way to Eataly and Crushed by Giants Brewery.

They request "pre-check-in," but it turns out the hotel doesn't see this and a third party benefits.

9.0 / 10.0

Great!

The room was clean enough and the lounge/bar downstairs was chill. The location was optimal, and the price low. There was a 50 dollar fee to pay at check in, but it was replayed after check out as promised.

The room was very cold. Got an extra blanket from reception and the tip to set the heating to 78 (instead of maxed out), which helped a little. Would still strongly recommend packing warm pijamas or thermo underwear.

4.0 / 10.0

It was an amazing building with tight halls and elevators it seemed to be the happening place with a ton of people. For

It was an old beautiful building

The room was so small. The bathroom was so tiny you had to close the door to get to the toilet then open it back up to get over to the shower o. The room itself was literally the bed.

4.0 / 10.0

wouldn’t recommend

unkept, unsafe, small, dirty, old everything, over priced

7.0 / 10.0

Good option, but check your card statement for double charges

Great location, clean and good price for the region.

The property charged me for the stay even though it was already payed in advance through Booking.com. It took me about a month to get a reimbursement for the double charge after several phone calls and emails to the Booking.com customer service.

10.0 / 10.0

wonderful and amazing, definetely going back there.

the location is great. i loved the design, very cozy and all. it made me feel like im in my own big american movie.

nothing tbh. elevators are a bit slow, but you can always take the stairs.

5.0 / 10.0

The room was small and hot

Location

Small room

8.0 / 10.0

Nice place to stay in Chicago

Clean, comfortable, well located.

2.0 / 10.0

Just a hotel which decided to put more bed in rooms, probably the worst hostel I've ever been

- curtains on the beds - window doesn't fully close (some fresh air)

- noise level from the window is insane - no separate bathrooms (it is so much easier to use while living in the hostel) - why not to have wood plate near the head to separate beds or to block the light? Yes, your head will be right at the neighbour's feet with no barrier - no public kitchen or lounge zone

4.0 / 10.0

Dear Freehand Team, I would like to share feedback regarding my recent stay at your hotel. Although the staff was kind,

In the downtown location

7.0 / 10.0

Would recommend it and great value

Great location and the bed was very comfortable

Noisy downstairs

7.0 / 10.0

Great location and friendly place to stay; wish room in better condition.

Location was awesome. Downstairs has coffee and drinks bar and then there is a larger, more fancy bar in the rear. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Large comfortable lounge on the main floor. Nice bathroom with plenty of hot water.

Our room, a private quad, was kind of 'beat up'. The wall hanging was missing, a piece of the modular sofa was missing. And the walls were scuffed and needed a paint job. The room and bedding was generally clean though my duvet cover had stains and I swapped it for an unused one in the room. Note, I was not a person expecting a high end accomodation. I knew this was kind of a hostel/hotel and am ok with that. But other rooms I saw into at the hotel were not in this condition. The one next to us, a queen room, was well appointed and in better condition.

7.0 / 10.0

Stay was comfortable-didnt like the manager particularly the evening guy.

The staff at the reception( evening receptionist) was absolutely rude to me. i requested in the morning if i can keep my luggage with them for few hours, and he agreed -later as i came back the other guy threatened me we will block you from booking further ones in future! I explained him politely that my request was agreed on by the other staff but he kept on talking rudely and loudly as if i did barge into the hotel.

7.0 / 10.0

Location is perfect!

Location is perfect. Rooms of 4 are a perfect size. Comfy bed, clean bedding, clean fresh towels, 12pm check out and free luggage storage.

A fridge, microwave, regular bin emptying, ventilation in the bathrooom, more lifts..

8.0 / 10.0

Fantastic location, great staff, solid experience

Front desk was fantastic, wonderful staff! Very accommodating and friendly. Room clean, bed clean, private room bigger than expected.

AC in hotel room was put at 60° F and didn’t get the room cold. Centipede on bathroom tile, but I took care of it

3.0 / 10.0

Great location, and you get worst than what you pay for.

This property is in a great location but that’s about all I can complement them on.

The facilities were horribly dirty, stains on anywhere a stain could exist. The bunk bed curtains were dirty and stained the sofas had mysterious white stains all over them. 3 of the 5 showers we had turned into a pool after 5 mins. There was a mysterious greasy footprint and dried liquid on the wall of one of the rooms. There clearly hasn’t been any vacuuming going on. There were crumbs and clumps of hair in almost every corner. I had to go to the jewel osco to get disinfectants and bleach to sanitize everything just to feel somewhat comfortable. Also customer service was iffy when I spoke up about one of our rooms not being clean I was told “people can’t expect to have a 5star experience. I reminded them that everyone deserves a clean environment. The receptionist was rude to other customers rushing them along and tell them they were wasting his time & when he’s was asked to send something up to the room I was asking him about the room numbers and he responded he’d never been up stairs. So yea my entire group was uncomfortable for the weekend.

7.0 / 10.0

Good location.

Location was very good. Close to the train station and about a 5 minute walk from the river. Had a bar and restaurant in the hotel.

Not the cleanest.

6.0 / 10.0

It was ok.

Good location, nice staff.

I had booked a female dorm and I woke up one morning to two dudes in my room.

9.0 / 10.0

Loved it, will definitely be back

LOCATION

Small No Small Fridge

5.0 / 10.0

Honestly a great area and hotel. Just the outrageous delays getting to and from our room was horrible.

The location was perfect and the atmosphere was great.

We had to wait at least 20 minutes every time we needed to go to our room because there was only one operating elevator and it held maybe 5-6 people tightly. We were almost late to a couple of events for it and though there were stairs, we were on the ninth floor so it wasn’t feasible to travel up and down that way multiple times a day.

9.0 / 10.0

It was a good stay and location was perfect. I’d definitely stay again. It was also nice to not be completely alone duri

Location was perfect

The shower seemed a bit moldy between tiles

7.0 / 10.0

Could be better value

Location is excellent. Two blocks from Michigan Ave.

Old. Small room.No fan in the bathroom Definitely not a 4 star hotel as I saw on Booking. Other sites had it listed as a 3 star.

7.0 / 10.0

Location was good, stay was just ok.

Great common space and bar.

The elevator is heavily used so it takes a rather long time. They had someone open the door and turn on the lights at 9am shouting "housekeeping" and left, checkout wasn't until 11am.

3.0 / 10.0

We walked in and were super excited as the bar was very nice and lively. However once in our room it was super dark and

Great location and friendly staff

Very dark and dirty rooms

10.0 / 10.0

Some Room for Improvement, but Would Stay Again

The decor, ambiance, staff, other guests, and location were all phenomenal. Have stayed there before, would stay there again.

Seemed like there was a bit of mold in the hostel shower, on the ceiling. The price for a single bed in a shared room was also too high, at $140 ($170 with fees) for a single Friday night.

8.0 / 10.0

Great for a quick stay. Wonderful central location.

Good value for money

Only two lifts me at waiting but nothing other than that.

8.0 / 10.0

Great place for a short stay and in between travels. Pretty clean, good beds and easy accessible

Freehand is a good looking place with great character. My room was high up on the 9th floor so I barely heard anything from the streets below. The hallways were quiet during the night and the room was spacey enough for two nights.

It felt a bit impersonal because of the size of the place.

4.0 / 10.0

Dirty, unsafe, and overpriced.

The location was great and the staff were friendly.

Our room was filthy. I could draw in the dust on some of the furniture. My husband found a peanut in his supposedly clean bed. My daughter found pills on the floor. The hotel did not feel safe a secure. The elevator is not visible to staff from the front desk and people travel through the main hallway past the main elevators to the bar at all hours. We saw many other guests swiping people up the elevators who did not have keys. There are no extra locks on the room doors beyond the key card lock. We left a day early because I was so uncomfortable with the hotel.

9.0 / 10.0

Great vibes in a unique stay just minutes from the Magnificent Mile.

Excellent location, wonderful historic building, neat decor. The bar and restaurant are both great, and the front desk staff were so welcoming and cheerful.

Our first morning we waited almost an hour for our breakfast to be made, only to be told that the kitchen was no longer serving food. This was the weekend of the marathon and Beyoncé concert so they were beyond busy, but better communication would have made a better experience.

6.0 / 10.0

Would stay here again for the affordable price and location, but didn’t really love it. It’s okay for a short stay.

The vibe, cool music playing, location

Room was super dusty and a little dirty. The lights in the bathroom were so dim, could not apply my makeup well the whole time. Dj on Saturday night was so loud, the 13th floor still could hear the bass until 1:30 am. Some of the staff acted annoyed if you needed a coffee in the morning, or to wait on you for a quick appetizer order.

3.0 / 10.0

Great location, be sure to triple check your type of booking.

Location of the property is in the Center of Downtown Chicago which is great.

I was in a dorm style shared room which I didn’t realise until check-in.

7.0 / 10.0

My stay was good for a one-night event in Chicago bec of location and nearby businesses like CVS.

Love the location of this hotel! Rideshare picks up/drops off right in the front of building. The staff was friendly, and there was breakfast food available on main floor. Shower pressure was good. The AC unit was super helpful bec it was a hot day/night, but I couldn't tell at first if it was on or not. It was fine after I figured it out. Parking was super close!

The lights were so dim inside the room. We were getting ready for an event, and we could barely check our makeup and full outfits. The carpet seemed dirty when I walked barefoot from the bed to the bathroom.

6.0 / 10.0

Value stay

The location is the best thing about this place

The room was extremely small and congested. The view was terrible. The don’t even provide complimentary water.

10.0 / 10.0

The best secret stay in Chicago!

The staff and facility was freaking amazing!

It was all liked with no dislikes

4.0 / 10.0

only take shared room with friends

location is great, but don’t expect good views from room

bunk beds are placed in L without solid panel separation. the little filthy curtains are a joke. they don’t provide any privacy and they are disgusting. same for the pillows on the bench. dirty! lockers in room don’t have a lock and are small! the bunk lamps were all broken.

9.0 / 10.0

On a serious budget? Check this place out...

This was my first time ever staying at a hostel. This was definitely an experience that I will never forget. I'm from Brooklyn . I liked the vibes.

Wish I had more time to enjoy myself and the food.

10.0 / 10.0

Hipster.

Location, accesss, the lounges, communication. Everything was excellent.

The amount of commercials they show on tv in between movies.

8.0 / 10.0

It’s always a good time. I enjoyed meeting the roommates I had. One lady from Brazil and the other Puerto Rico!

I always enjoy staying at the Freehand. I like the atmosphere and the diversity of people coming and going!

The sitting bench in the room needed to be cleaned, there was something on it that looked like chocolate. And they probably should check for what looks like a slight case of mold above the shower. Due to there not being a ventilation in the bathroom NOT because of uncleanliness!

10.0 / 10.0

Good stay

Quite

There’s was nothing I didn’t like

FAQs

Is parking included with this hotel?

Parking is not specified as an available amenity at Freehand Chicago. For more information, we encourage you to contact the property about where to park.

Is there a pool at this hotel?

We didn’t find pool listed as an amenity for this hotel. It may be worth double checking if a pool is important for your stay.

Is Freehand Chicago pet friendly?

Unfortunately, this hotel is not pet-friendly. Try searching again and filter for "Pets Allowed"

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