Hampton Inn Joliet

Very very nice hotel! Couldn’t be happier! Wonderful employees, very clean and modern up to date rooms. Great pool and breakfast! Check in and out was super fast and safe area for parking.

I’ve made several reviews of Hilton affiliated hotels because I stay in them for work and well as my personal travels. I stay in Hampton’s more often than not because I find them to usually be decently priced and quite consistent.
This location was 139.00 per night which is higher than I usually pay for Hampton’s. I arrived 4 hours before check-​in and the lady behind the desk was very friendly with allowing me to check in so early. Thank God because it was –18 with the wind chill. My room was what you’d expect from a Hampton; comfy big bed, flat screen tv, desk area, sofa and great wifi reception.
The place seems to be an older hotel from another brand that Hampton took over. I’m not sure this is the case just get that feel. There is an indoor heated pool, a workout room and a free hot breakfast in the morning. There were no bananas though. GRRRRR. The staff is really friendly but the price is really too high when compared to other hotels in the area.

Things to love: Soft fluffy towels; Stepford Wives level happy staff (I mean this in a good way!); back stairwell carpeted, wide, and well lit; Neutrogena amenities, cute rubber duck, clean rooms, comfy bed, clean gym.
Wish the gym was bigger but I never had to wait so really can’t complain.

In October 2012 I blocked rooms here for my guests to stay for my wedding that was being held at the Patrick Haley Mansion up I-​80. Karen Young was wonderful to work with from start to finish! When we were at the PHM for one of our wedding planning appointments, we called ahead to see if we can tour the hotels (Karen also works with the TownePlace Suites across the parking lot) and speak more on the room blocks. Karen showed us both hotels and was so friendly to work with!
The rooms at the Hampton are really wonderful. Very modern, clean, smells great (no musty mildew smell you sometimes in hotels), super comfortable beds! The rooms were a perfect size, no complaints there. I took a bath the day before my wedding with no problems. I was worried that with my bridesmaids, family, and hair & makeup team using my room the morning of, but we fit in just fine! Pleasantly surprised about that! We were on the parking lot side, so no complaints about highway noise for me. The breakfast each morning was perfect. They had just enough to keep everyone satisfied and happy. The woman who works the breakfast bar is adorable, too.
We had one fluke with one of the girls who works the front desk. We asked if they could display a sign letting our guests know that we had a shuttle service to take them to and from our venue the day before, but the day of no sign was to be found. The other girl working the desk had no note about one but was extremely helpful and made one quickly to display! Awesome customer service and easy to work with employees for a block of rooms. Well worth the money and a great stay overall!

So there was a festival and every hotel in the entire 30 mile radius was booked. I thought I scored by getting a Hampton but I felt more like it was a Best Western. The location is great, we weren’t by the highway so no noise complaints and the McDonalds and sports bar & grill nearby were nice to have. Easy to get to for our cab drivers although they seemed a lot more familiar with the I-​55 location. Beds were pretty comfy with good pillows. AC/​heat worked great. Shower had a really nice showerhead & good pressure.
Cons
— Maid service seemed to just make the bed and replace towels. It’s an outdoor festival and it’s been raining for 3 days. I think sheets changed and vacumning is a must. We had stained sheets the first night and were mildly grossed out but figured they would be changed so didn’t do anything. Crawling into bed at 4am the next day we were greeted by our friendly bed-​stains! Tried to find a maid the next day as we were leaving and then found the front desk was empty as well so we cuddled up with Mr & Mrs. Stains on night 3 as well.
— Key cards took about 10 – 12 tries to get to work at all times. At night the lobby is locked and entry is by key card. I waited out the swiping action by sitting on the luggage cart because it took so long. Again, we thought about asking for new cards but when we went down the next morning there was a line at check-​in and only one person behind the counter. (By morning I mean 1pm and we were actually dying of starvation so we had to get to the car to locate fooooood.)
— I think I wanted to feel more catered to since 90% of the hotel was festival guests. Breakfast from 7−10am? We just got back at 4−5am, could that be moved later to accomodate 90% of your guests? We asked about a hotel shuttle and was given a curt «No shuttle!» and then as we walked away, found guys sitting in their lobby who were guests there and had come especially to run a shuttle serivce. Did they not tell hotel staff that? Perhaps. But they were right there in front of the staff’s noses and were obviously picking people up and dropping them off. No late check-​out was available on Monday because of Memorial Day but that was not communicated until Monday morning. Again, late hours of the festival would mean we have been asleep for about 5 hours so late checkouts were going to be asked for. Anticipate this and advise accordingly.
Okay it’s the first year this festival took over Joliet so there are going to be learning curves but we had friends at other hotels and they adapted pretty quickly. I would recommend this place for old people going to a wedding and who don’t drink or need a shuttle and who get up at 6am regularly. Festival-goers=no.

good price. building rather old but I heard they are renovating.

Pros:
Good price
Great free breakfast
Recent renovations
Super comfy beds
Rooms are very clean
Nice fitness center and indoor pool
Really nice employees (especially the one working the breakfast area!)
Con:
Really close to the highway, but the noise level is much worse on the closest side. I didn’t mind the noise and slept completely fine, but if you are easily bothered by the roar of trucks, make sure you request a parking lot side room when you make your reservation.

The hotel was just recently renovated and all have a «heavenly» fluffy bed type so guests will rest well after a long night of partying. There were a million of these type of hotels in the area because the casino is one of the major attractions in Joliet. After spending a night and «testing» the hotel out, we felt very comfortable in going with this one, only 8 minutes away from the venue. We ran a shuttle (booked separately) to and from the venue on the wedding day.. The hotel is very clean although they do not offer any suites. That would be the only mentionable item. A full hot breakfast was available for guests as well in the morning. The hotel staff was ALWAYS extremely friendly when we had to call and check on room blocks and do rearranging, etc. They were also kind enough to hand out welcome bags for all 30 rooms without a charge. Note you get one comp room with the wedding block. We didn’t stay there, but I gave my comp to a friend.

Pros: Nice pool; a Cracker Barrel and McDonald’s are within spittin’ distance.
Cons:
— The maid service did not replace the coffee packets every day – this is a major problem when you travel for business! Sometimes, the ONLY coffee you get comes from the in-​room coffee maker. Deduct 2 stars!
— The hotel is within a few yards of I-​80, so if your room faces the highway, you will hear the traffic all night. Deduct another star!
— The night Check-​In staff is completely inept. She had me confirmed for 1 night – but I was staying for 4 nights! She had me in a double Queen-​bed room – but I confirmed a single King-​bed room. Her response: Let’s see if you can switch with one of your friends. Deduct another star!
— The «free» hot breakfast was decent and the hotel is well maintained. Add 1 star!
Overall, if you need to stay near Joliet, I would choose the TownePlace Suites next door. They are much better.