My wife and I stayed at Ray's the first three and last three days of our honeymoon roadtrip, in the Da Vinci room. We stayed in quite a few B&Bs during our trip, so were able to make some good comparisons. Despite staying in some great places, Ray's was the best. The small staff of Ray, Jessica and the two girls who cook the amazing breakfasts are a delight. The laid back nature of the place makes you feel like you really are at a home from home. The two cats have wonderful personalities. The sauna and steam rooms (that's right - in a B&B) are a fantastic addition. The neighboorhood of Bucktown is vibrant with a huge selection of great bars and restaurants. It is a blueprint for any successful B&B and we miss it already.

I traveled to Chicago early this month to help my college age daughter move into her apartment. After reading the reviews here, I decided to try a B and B for the first time. I ended up traveling to Chicago with my two daughters, ages 20 and 10. Due to illness, my husband was unable to make the trip with us as planned.
We arrived at Ray's via cab from the airport and met Ray and Jessica when we checked in. We informed Ray of our changes in occupancy, and immediately, he volunteered to adjust our billing for one less person. We also discussed our plans for the day with him. Lo and behold, Ray was heading in the direction that we were going and generously offered to drop us off at our destination and volunteered to pick us up on his return trip! his kindness even extended to the point of driving us to daughter's new apartment and carrying her luggage up to the third floor. This was all way above and beyond.
Our room at the B and B was in the annex, on the third floor. The master suite was spotless and comfortable and roomy, and included a washer and dryer which came in handy after two HOT days of moving. Even detergent was provided...
We enjoyed delicious cooked to order breakfasts each morning. My gluten-free diet was accomodated with many choices of delicious baked items to consume along with the freshly prepared breakfast foods. The 20 year old daughter returned from her apartment each morning to have breakfast with us, as it was so delicious.
The location was great. It had easy access to public transportation including the train to the airport (which was an inexpensive ride of $2.00 each, compared to the $40 cab ride when we arrived). The train went straight to O'Hare and was easy to navigate). The B and B is in easy walking distance to a great variety of restaurants and cute shops which we enjoyed.
On his business card, Ray refers to himself as a Simple Innkeeper. Don't be fooled by that title. It takes incredible attention to detail and skill to provide such an enjoyable lodging situation for guests. Ray has decorated the B and B with the things he loves and the setting is both creative and comfortable. It was enjoyed by both the adults and child in our family.
I'd highly recommend Ray's to anyone going to Chicago.

We stayed here for a week while visiting Chicago. The room we had was very spacious and had a really great shower, lovely after a long day sightseeing. Breakfast was incredible, the food was plentiful and very nice. The two cats Rocky and Maggie were nice company to have while away from home also. The location of the B&B is very good about a 15 minute stroll to the train and there are plenty of bars and places to eat in the area. Ray has compiled some great info on the area so finding our way around was very easy. Don't be worried about walking around here at night it is a very safe neighbourhood. All in all a great stay.

My husband and I have raving reviews about Rays B & B. We stayed there for 3 nights in July. Ray and Jessica were extremely accommodating, so as much, to supply hairsprays, lotions, shaving cream, to make our travels lighter and easier by plane. We were served breakfast in bed 3 mornings in a row without hesitation. The staff and Ray never once showed an inconvenience in helping us with directions and sites o visit. He also allowed us to use his available garage for our rental car. We loved our "Room with a view" and would have no other room to stay in. We highly enjoyed viewing pedestrians from down below. It was defintely not your "Parents Bed and breakfast"..

Thank you Ray for making our second honeymoon memorable and and we will be back again!!! :)