My sister, niece, and I were in Chicago for vacation and stayed at The Wright Inn because we couldn't afford to stay downtown, and I wanted to see Frank Lloyd Wright's homes. Unlike some other reviewers, I found The Wright Inn to be a delightful old hotel with a lot of character, friendly and helpful staff, and nice amenities (jacuzzi tub, kitchenettes, fantastic restaurant -- more on that later).
Our room (#324) was in the back of the hotel with no view (the front of the hotel faces a rather busy street, so I didn't mind being in the back). Although the furnishings in the room were dated and a bit bland, the room was clean, the beds were very comfortable, and the cable TV worked perfectly. There was a hair dryer in the room, as well as a safe, iron, and ironing board. There's also a laundry room on the third floor that you can use with another iron and ironing board, ice, etc. We didn't use the internet, so I don't know about that except to say that there are two cubicles in the lobby where people can use the internet.
The hallway from the lobby to the rooms is pretty dark, and the elevator is slow as molasses, but both are about what I expected for an older hotel.
The lobby and restaurant/bar were beautiful, and I'd really recommend eating at Hemingway's (the restaurant). We ate breakfast there several times during our stay and found the food to be ultra fresh and quite tasty and the prices surprisingly affordable. I'd definitely eat breakfast there over any other restaurant in Oak Park. The wait staff at Hemingway's were cheerful and professional, which was another surprise for such an affordable restaurant.
There have been complaints about the parking garage, but for us, everything ran smoothly. You have to sign in every day at the front desk to register your car in the garage (so you won't get a ticket or get towed), and they will also validate your parking ticket so you don't have to pay. The garage is about a three-block walk through the heart of Oak Park (where all of the shops and restaurants are located and near the L). Also, there is an area in front of the hotel where you can park and load/unload luggage and a very nice steward on staff to help get your bags to/from your room.
If you don't like to walk or are disabled, The Wright Inn may not be for you because you certainly have to do some walking to get to your car, but we enjoyed making the trek and checking out Oak Park in the process.
As for location, there is no better place to stay in Oak Park than The Wright Inn, in my opinion. It's in the heart of the town, a few houses down from Ernest Hemingway's birthplace (and directly across the street from a museum dedicated to the author), a few blocks from a cluster of Frank Lloyd Wright homes and his Unity Temple, next to a gorgeous park (with tennis courts) and library, two blocks from the main street (where there are many restaurants to choose from and shops to browse), three blocks from the L in one direction and a grocery store in the other, a few blocks from the Oak Park Information Center, and a couple of blocks from a Starbuck's. The location is definitely better than for the Carleton Hotel, which is nearby on the other side of the L tracks and a further walk to the sites in the town.
Oak Park is a walking community, and you will see people long past dark walking the streets with their kids or dogs, eating at the outdoor cafes, playing tennis or frisbee in the park, or just lounging on their Victorian-era wrap-around porches. We stayed outside almost every evening walking around the town and enjoying the scene, and The Wright Inn was right in the middle of it all.
We will definitely stay here again the next time we go to Chicago. I just don't think that there's a better place to stay for the money. It's not ultra fancy and the rooms are practical but not gorgeous. However, the location is perfect, the staff is great, the restaurant was one of the best we ate at, and the parking situation is just fine once you learn the ropes.
