Unethical hotel, hidden fees, rude customer service
Jun 30, 2025 TommyJonesChicago Chicago, Illinois
If you're thinking about staying at the RIU Hotel in Chicago, I strongly recommend you think twice. My recent experience wasn’t just disappointing—it was frustrating and, frankly, felt unethical. This hotel exemplifies how poor customer service and questionable corporate practices can completely derail what should have been a simple family…
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If you're thinking about staying at the RIU Hotel in Chicago, I strongly recommend you think twice. My recent experience wasn’t just disappointing—it was frustrating and, frankly, felt unethical. This hotel exemplifies how poor customer service and questionable corporate practices can completely derail what should have been a simple family trip.
I booked a Deluxe Family Suite—a room clearly intended for families. Upon arriving around 10 PM with my wife and our two young boys (ages 8 and 10), the front desk's first request was for the names and birthdates of my children. This felt unnecessarily invasive and immediately raised red flags.
Then came the real surprise: I was informed that my reservation only covered two adults and that my children weren’t included—despite having booked a Family Suite. In order to “permit” my kids to stay in the room I had already paid for, I was told I’d need to pay an additional $88. To be absolutely clear: they would not check us in unless I paid this extra fee, even though the room was clearly designed for families.
It felt like I was being strong-armed. When I expressed that the charge had never been disclosed and made no sense given the room type, the front desk staff stuck rigidly to the script, repeating that they “had no power” to make any exceptions.
When I said I’d rather cancel and stay elsewhere and requested a refund, they refused—despite the fact that I had prepaid over six months in advance. I asked to speak with a manager but was told none were available. After about 20 minutes, they connected with a remote call center. I had to explain my situation to someone overseas—who then abruptly hung up on me.
They called back, but this time the front desk staff turned the phone volume down so low it was nearly impossible to follow the conversation. I caught enough to realize the call center rep wanted to speak directly to the front desk. What followed was another 30 minutes of unproductive back-and-forth, which seemed more like an attempt to exhaust me into giving up than to resolve the issue.
Eventually, after standing my ground, indicating I would share my experience publicly, and refusing to leave, they reluctantly agreed to issue a refund.
To be clear: this hotel attempted to charge extra by leveraging my children, collected unnecessary personal information, and then subjected me to over an hour of stress and delay tactics in place of real service.
RIU Hotel Chicago should seriously reconsider how it treats guests—especially families. If you're planning a visit to Chicago, I suggest looking elsewhere. There are plenty of hotels that treat guests with transparency, respect, and professionalism.
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