Upon arriving at the Freehand, we were met with a very smooth check in process.
The room was small, relatively clean, and cozy (e.g., “euro pension house” cool) . Unfortunately, the bed situation was VERY uncomfortable — had a concave metal spring mattress.
No glassware was present in the room, so we thought a quick call to the front desk would solve this issue…unfortunately, after we called and waited for 30 mins, we gave up and left for our other scheduled plans.
The hallway to the room was also not welcoming; it was dark and dingy, with extension cords taped to the floor. Seemed kind of sketchy.
Don’t expect a quiet night of sleep; between the abnormally loud water pipes turning on and off to bar-time stragglers, it made for a night with earplugs.
Plenty of night life (including a swanky bar in the main level), close to many options for shopping and dinning.
Overall the place was ‘okay’ with the exception of that mattress. Just know that you’re really paying for the location of downtown Chicago.