The stay at freehand was based on curiosity and simple location/logic—great location, no-frills, and overall a pleasant stay.
sidenotes:
I have lived and traveled around the world, usually in a nice room or suite, and found that they all get to seem to be the same while having wonderful accouterments. I started with the boutique-type space a few years ago in the USA, and it was interesting. I had never heard of freehand, but it was close to a location I had to go work at, and I figured to make it part social experiment, part crash pad. It was an enjoyable stay on so many levels. Some good, some great, some strange. The location is great. What is strange is that the little boutique spaces seem to feel the same, and all are getting homogenized with the same cookie-cutter design with a different wrapper. I wonder what they all look like with bright lighting? (perhaps it is better, I don't see it?). Call it corporate/scale/greed? Would and will I use freehand again when I go back to Chicago to prototype -yes. I hope they resolve the city's cab and public transport issues (which is not freehand fault). That's my two free cents to get all these emails to review freehand off my back.