Stayed here for a wedding and the hotel is a lovely piece of history with spacious rooms (the suite the bride stayed in was ENORMOUS). Beautiful lobby, charming rooms. The issue was this hotel has thin walls and we could hear our neighbors clear as day. It was comfortable but impossible to get a good nights sleep for light sleepers.
Great location - walk to shops in downtown Oak Park and walk to Green line/Metra to get to anywhere in Chicago via train. Rooms are comfortable. Hotel restaurant - Barclay's - is a nice spot to sit and have dinner.
Though we haven't stayed at the Carleton, we frequently go to Poor Phil's, the casual sports bar/restaurant in the hotel. We're big fans of their burgers, the Bomb Burger is our favorite. They are more well-known for their seafood. The Catfish Po'Boy is excellent. My friend who frequently does raw oysters, says theirs are some of the best.
Very authentic boutique hotel with tons of charm in a building with amazing details and modern upgrades. Great location. Excellent service, friendly staff, and solid attention to details. Free parking. In a super cute neighborhood away from traffic. Great find!
Update: I received a follow up thank you from the Carleton, so I responded by explaining my disappointment (see below). I just received a response that was much more appropriate, and have therefore changed my rating.
Definitely NOT worth the $$. Front desk personnel mostly great, but I upgraded to an actual hotel room, instead of the crappy overpriced motel room (because you don't realize that's the room you booked until you get there) and there weren't enough blankets, so I was uncomfortable. Biggest downside was that I specifically spoke to housekeeping and told them I did not want them to clean my room. There was no 'do-not-disturb' sign to hang, and so when I came back, I had a scolding note from housekeeping telling me I had to keep my bed clear. When I reported this to the front desk, they did nothing, I mean literally nothing. The next day when I was checking out, I asked again if anything had been done about my privacy being invaded and all they would say was "oh sorry, miscommunication."
My experience at this hotel was great.Rooms are very modern. All staff at the front desk are caring and respectful. Highly recommended
This place is a place I would recommend to anyone that is coming to the area. Staff are all great at helping you out. My room was very clean. I didn't feel the need to have to clean it before I could get comfortable.
Stayed here in July, photographs and description show a beautiful old hotel on a quaint street. Our room was NOT in this beautiful building but in what appeared to be a 1950's motel around the block serviced by an outside balcony, no elevator and a bathroom so small you had to literally open the door in order to dry off from the shower.
On the positive side, the hotel was located walking (less than a mile) distance from the train that takes you into the city and the quaint downtown of Oak Park and walking distance ( about a mile) from the Frank Lloyd Wright home and office. The room was clean and the staff very friendly when I spoke with them directly, but my room was not made up after the first night stay and a request for towels went unanswered.
I guess I felt tricked having seen a beautiful old hotel in the photographs and descriptions and then ended up in a Motel around the block.
We went to an excellent wedding there and the service/food was great.
Nice surroundings generously catered for a community event. Good food, nice people.
Be aware when booking that some rooms are in a motel next door. Room was clean and minimally serviceable, but not anything I would actually want to stay in again. There are much better options for the same price or less in the Chicago area.
Service was wonderful. Dinner was really nice as well. Very clean.
I was delivering food to one of the guest at the hotel. The hotel itself is very beautiful inside. They had a bar/restaurant (it wasnt open yet but looked nice as I walked by). The lobby was clean and the furniture was even nice. Overall It appears to be a good place to stay and it looks clean.