I’ve made several recent trips to Chicago and my go-to hotel has been the Hyatt Regency Deerfield. It’s nothing fancy, but does the job and is quite convenient to the northern suburbs of Chicagoland.
Hyatt Regency Deerfield Review
My most recent stay was at the tail-end of my road trip to Chicago, but this review represents a compilation of four different stays in 2024 and 2025.
At $125/night, the price is right (and since it moved from Category 1 to Category 2 last year, I find paying cash better), parking is free, and it is right off I-94 making it easy within reach from O’Hare Airport.
The lobby is spacious and filled with natural light…
Check-in staff are very pleasant and I am always thanked for my Globalist status.
Rooms
The hotel has six floors and I prefer the top floor. While all the guest rooms have been recently updated, only the 6th floor has refurbished hallways and I find the dark walls and green carpet a lot more pleasant than the red carpeting that looks older than me….
The rooms are not large, but spacious enough to include a desk and couch in the front half the room.
Depending on the room, you may find a powder area and then the toilet and shower in a separate area or everything in one room. But if there were bathtubs here, they have been removed.
Shower toiletries are from Pharmacopeia.
There’s a refrigerator and Keurig coffee machine in each room.
As an aside, if I’m here I’ll usually avoid going out and just head to the nearby Whole Foods in Deerfield, get some dinner, and warm it up a microwave located between the vending machine and ice machine on each floor.
Food + Drink
The hotel has a restaurant, bar, and grab-and-go Starbucks coffee shop.
The coffee shop is open from 6:00 am to 1:00 pm and has a full range of Starbucks coffee drinks along with grab-and-go items like pastries, sandwiches, salads, cereals, fruit, and yogurt.
I don’t care for the coffee here and would recommend a place called Newport Coffee in nearby Bannockburn.
The restaurant serves breakfast until 10:00 am and has a buffet unless occupancy is low as well as an a la carte menu.
The breakfast buffet includes cereal, toast, bagels, croissants, sweet rolls, bananas, apples, sliced melons, yogurt, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, French Toast, oatmeal, a special of the day, and also omelets on request, which is all I usually eat when I am here anyway.
My only complaint is that at 10:00 am the staff kick you out…they don’t like stragglers sitting and looking at their phones or with their laptop open. On several occasions, I have been asked to gather my things and move out, which strikes me as unnecessary.
There’s also a bar that is open in the evenings that seems to do well…I haven’t tried anything here, but I always see people sitting at the bar.
Pool
Chicago is a bit cold for an outdoor pool, but the hotel has a large indoor pool. Sadly, no sauna or steam room.
Fitness Center
The fitness center is adjacent to the pool and includes strength training machines, free weights, and cardio (ellipticals, treadmills, bikes). While the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Airport has a much better gym, this does the job.
Business Center
Computers and complimentary printing are available in the business center, located in the lobby area near the check-in desk.
Grab-And-Go Store
There’s also a small store (a few shelves really) with snacks available for purchase.
CONCLUSION
I’ve seen a lot of this hotel over the last several months and come to appreciate its convenience and reasonable price. I’d probably skip breakfast if I was not a Globalist, but overall this hotel has worked well for my needs.
hotel does not provide a la carte breakfast to globalists…insists that you get the buffet which isn’t consistent with the terms and conditions.
They say that, but I pushed back and was able to order off the a la carte menu.
I always thought that was the benefit, but there are multiple properties, including Hyatt-managed properties, that claim it’s their choice and they chose to provide a buffet. These properties include the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center (franchised), Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars (Hyatt-managed), Hyatt Regency DFW International Airport (Hyatt-managed) and Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment (franchised).
The applicable section of the World of Hyatt terms and conditions is c.iv.v.d:
“When staying at a participating hotel or resort that does not have a Club lounge (or if Club lounge is closed), Globalists will receive daily complimentary full breakfast (which includes one entrée or standard breakfast buffet, juice, and coffee, as well as tax, gratuity and service charges) for each registered guest in the room, up to a maximum of two (2) adults and two (2) children.”
“Per the health department” you can’t bring in a bag of chips and eat it in the lobby… that’s rich. More like per the catering sales manager.
How or why is this a Hyatt Regency? It could be a Four Points by Sheraton, Delta, Crowne Plaza, Doubletree — you name it. It’s incredibly basic. I don’t see any newspapers, magazines, robes or slippers, bellman or valet, club lounge, etc. I don’t think I would pay more than $125-$150 per night.
Did you bring your own plate to heat up the Whole Foods ?
This might explain why the hotel is sad:
And Chicago-based Phoenix Development Partners sold the 301-room Hyatt Regency Deerfield for $21.5 million, after buying it for $31.5 million in 2018 and putting $14 million into renovations.
https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2023/09/12/goldman-sachs-phoenix-development-take-losses-on-deerfield-hotels/
And the operator is Blue Sky Hospitality Solutions, LLC, a management company that mostly operates low-end hotel brands. Here’s their portfolio:
https://blueskyhospitalitysolutions.com/our-portfolio/
I’m surprised that a management company that primarily manages low-end limited-service and extended-stay properties was approved by Hyatt to operate this franchised hotel.
Does this hotel actually have a pool? Doesn’t show up on their site as amenity
Yes. I didn’t make up the pictures.