This is a tired hotel in a great area, it's apparent the owners aren't spending much on this place. The cleaning person should be fired. I was excited to stay here close to my daughter's new apartment we were moving her into. The rating on Hotels.com is 9.2. No way this is a 9.2 hotel. We checked in with four people and had reserved 2 rooms. They were both the old motel rooms apparently. We checked out both, one smelled horrible like dirty diapers, had crumbs in the drawer, dirt on the floor, the window had dust and dirt behind the curtain. We looked at two other rooms, they were just as bad. The man at the desk gave us the vibe that we were interrupting his meal. He upgraded to inside the main hotel. When I opened the door, there was suitcases and clothes making it apparent this was occupied. Went back to front desk and got another (5th room now...) key and decided at this point, it's not going to be much better. It was better than the garden suites, but old and tired. Remodeled in like 1993? Won't be back which is a shame because this could be a great hotel with some decent housekeepers who actually clean and some upgrades to rooms. read more

The Carleton Hotel is a classic, historic location. It's surrounded by shopping and food venues that are within walking distance. Tip: The hotel offers free parking, which is especially rare at hotels in and around Chicago. I stayed here for just a couple of nights, and had a very pleasant overall experience - my suite was both comfortable and spacious. That said, this is an older hotel and there are a few drawbacks to staying here: 1) The elevators are what appear to be original equipment; while they've obvious been well-maintained, they're small and feel very crowded with more than two people at a time in them. 2) The AC units are individually mounted in the room windows; they work well enough, but they cycle on and off frequently and tend o be fairly loud. All the staffers I encountered during my stay were friendly and helpful, and the room rate was fair given the space and the level of accommodation. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again :-) read more

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Convenient location. Reasonable price. Stayed in the one story motel. It needs repair and updating but was comfortable. They informed us housekeeping was limited due to staffing but not an issue for us. First snow of the season while we were there. read more

Carleton Hotel - Carlton Oak Park. One story motel view. First snow of 2025 - Hotels Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Accommodating staff, clean and thoughtful rooms with an old world feel. I appreciated the kitchenette with a mini fridge, microwave, dishes and silverware, and a Keurig (though you should go across the street to Black Bottom Baking Co. for excellent coffee). Beds were comfortable, the bathroom was small but clean and with plenty of towels. read more

I stayed in the motel outside in room 123 In January. I'm leaving this review now to see if anyone else has had ghost encounters at this hotel. Do NOT stay in that room. I didnt believe in spirits or ghosts up until then. I actually ended up running out of the room after the 3rd weird thing happened. What happened was completely real to the point where I teared up when I left the room. I still get chills thinking about it. The reason I'm giving 4 stars is because they upgraded me to the main building for free. It's a great hotel that I'm sure most everybody will love but I will not be going back out of fear. If anyone else has experience something weird Please reply. read more

We have a wonderful stay while in Chicago. It is a very clean, well kept boutique hotel and the staff were very pleasant and cordial. We were surprised at having a kitchenette and small dining area, and see why others enjoy the stay. We will return on our next trip to the area. read more

stayed in Oak Park with some friends, so we were in 3 rooms total. The hotel was nice. The location was good and very close to the L station, so it was amazingly easy to get to loop and downtown. We didn't use the restaurants. The hotel is vintage. This means dated to some extent but the overall it comes together nicely. Very clean. The bath lacked much vanity space but my chest was right beside the bathroom door so no issue. I rated an 8 because I did experience that there was no service. I stayed 2 nights. I am fine not changng the towels for 1 day but would have liked a re-stock of the coffee. Also the coffee maker leaked which created a mess to clean up. I did fnd the walls thing and the room next to me had the TV on all night. I called at 4AM and the desk person said they would call then to have them turn it down but it didn't happen. (I could hear the TV clearly so would have heard if their phone rang.) The people i was travling with had a car and the parking was very close and convenient. I would definlty stay here again. read more

Had an oppurtunity yo visit this place in Oak Park. The building looks kinda old. But it is well kept and maintained. More like a reception venue hotel. But its look very nice. read more

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We were staying at the Carleton Hotel for a wedding. The wedding party and guests had a block of room in the hotel side. I never got to visit/see the motel side. The hotel is an older "boutique" type hotel in Oak Park, IL. Parking is available for guests in a couple different spots. We were able to find a spot on the North side of the building. There is no valet. There is a spot to park in the front if you have to drop off luggage. When you check in, you get a pass for your dashboard so you can use your car as much as you want and not pay valet to go in and out. The Front Desk is a challenge to find from the outside. There are multiple doors to the lobby from the outside. We found an entrance on the East side of the building that takes you through the attached restaurant/bar Poor Phil's. (review posted separately). We were greeted at the front desk and given our room keys. The staff member was polite and professional. He directed us to our elevator to the 4th floor. Certain parts of the hotel are only accessible by certain elevators so you have to make sure you use the correct one! The room we were in was a tad small but had a dorm-sized refrigerator and a microwave. There was a hair dryer in the bathroom and toiletries. Some of the other guests we talked to had a bigger or a smaller room which happens in a boutique-type hotel. The A/C worked well and the room was quiet!! The hotel has banquet rooms and there was a wedding that held its reception there. There was a breakfast served for that wedding party. There is no breakfast for guests, however, the neighborhood has plenty of places to eat or get coffee. The area is really nice with a lot of shops and things to do and see. Overall, the hotel was a good choice of places to stay and was decently priced for Chicago-land. If we were staying in the West suburbs again, we would consider staying here. read more

Carleton Hotel - Hotels Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

It is 2 in the morning. It is a beautiful 70 degrees outside with a slight breeze. However, it is 95 degrees in my hotel room. The heat is blasting and it cannot be turned off. The front desk lamented there is "nothing to be done" and "try opening a window". I want to leave this as a final record of what happened when I am found tomorrow cooked like a Thanksgiving turkey in my hotel bed! Beautiful hotel though. read more

Stayed at the Carleton a few summers ago (pre-CoVid) so consider possible changes since. The hotel has two separated portions; the "traditional" hotel at the corner of South Marion St and Pleasant St and an annex, resembling a motel, across an alley to the west at the corner of Pleasant St and South Maple Ave. Rooms at the annex are offered at an approximate 10% discount from the "hotel's rack rate". Our room in the annex was pleasantly, almost eerily, quiet. My sister knocked on the bathroom door as I showered to check on my health because there was no sound. Now that's what I call quiet! We breakfasted once or twice in the hotel's restaurant, rating it with 4-stars. The only low mark on the room's excellent cleanliness were the child's soiled shoe prints on the closeted extra blanket (see photos). After a call to the hotel desk, the blanket was quickly exchanged for a clean one. read more

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great wedding/reception venue option in Oak Park for small weddings! Katie was a wonderful coordinator to work with, attentive and able to handle a couple last minute surprises without breaking a sweat! The staff were great and food was delicious read more

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I would've given a 5 star if it wasn't for the very very tall, thin, brunette, Caucasian woman at check in. We'd just driven 4 and a half hours from out of state, and were only going to be there a single night for me to go to my mother's funeral the next day. I only speak English. I only really understand English- since I was born and raised here in America. All I wanted to do was pay for our room once we arrived, since they wouldn't allow us to pay by phone the week before. I couldn't do it online since they didn't have the room we wanted. I wanted to simply pay. Park the car, and head back to my room to put away our suitcase and then leave for a movie we'd brought tickets online to see. She was so rude, and she embarrassed me so bad. She immediately tried to pick an argument. After four in a half hours, noone looks their best! I said, "Hi. We have a reservation that I'd like to pay for." She says, "So you're trying to change your debit card?" What? I said, "Well, I'm just here to pay for our room? We called and made reservations a week ago, and they said to pay once we arrived." She then asks, "So you've arrived?" I'm thinking to myself, I'm really confused by the question because I'm standing right in front of you, speaking with her face to face.. and you ask me if I've arrived to the hotel? So I say, "Yes. I'm here. I'm trying to pay for the room, because we made reservations by phone because I reside in a different state. They said to pay once we arrived. So I'm trying to pay for the room." She rolls her eyes. Smiles. And with a skary voice asks,"So you're trying to SWITCH the payment card." I just stare at her even more confused. Noone said anything about switching a payment card. Does she not comprehend that someone is saying that they're here to pay, NOW, because they couldn't pay by phone? No one is saying ANYTHING about switching a payment card. What?? And on top of that, she said it LOUD, as if trying to embarrass me. There were people hanging out in the lobby area, and began watching all of this happening... because she got loud. So I said, "No I am not trying to switch a card payment, I'm trying to pay for the room NOW.... since we're here! " Then she gets mad "ExCUSE ME MA'AMMm??! YOU need to calm down!" THEN, the guy to her right finally hears what's going on and he takes over. , she walks off and throws her hands up and says, "I'm not gonna-" and walks away and refuses to help me. Has her arms folded with an ATTITUDE. The guy at first thinks I'm the issue. He hears me out, hears what I'm saying, and immediately is like, "Oh! Ok. " and immediately helps me, no issue. NONE. Because of HIM, Is the reason why I'm not giving this place a 1 star. Because she then helped the next person and was as nice as can be to THEM, and didn't ask them any questions she asked me. She made it easy as pie! She's going to be single handedly responsible for bringing down this hotel. I am SO upset! She was wayy too comfortable talking to me in the manner in which she was. As if this is common practice for her to do. My money spends just like any other person in that hotel, and we don't HAVE SEVERAL PAYMENT CARDS. We have ONE. One bank account, two cards. One for him. One for me. SHOCKER! The manager explained to me my card was already on file from when I called to hold the room, and that payment would just be subtracted from that. She could have just said that instead of making life harder for no reason! I don't want a refund. I don't want a discount. I don't want any money. I just want to be treated like anyone else that walks in. That's it. Simple good treatment. Thank you to the gentleman who helped me. You are a diamond in the ruff sir! Will from now on stay at an Airbnb if I come into town again, even if it's $500.00. That private person at airbnb would be more than happy for my money, since it does spend like everyone elses, including hers. You will never do this again! I want to give a two star, but because of that manager who cared, I'll hold back. But something needs to be done here about how she's speaking to people. Because I seen for myself by the way she interacted with the other guests, that sye COULD'VE chosen to speak to me right, but didn't. She made a conscious decision to be selective of who would receive her kindness , and that tells me she's well aware of how this looks. read more

The room smelled of old, caked on dirt. The room smells like an old, filthy, musty basement. They clearly haven't actually cleaned this room in years, and it shows. I found a long hair in a towel while drying myself. That was pleasant. The entire experience made me feel like I was staying in a depression-era flop house. I'd avoid this place, unless you really need a place to sleep. read more

I have been walking past this place for years. I've spent a few eves at Poor Phil's, but never stayed in the hotel. So, I was happy to have a chance to stay! The room was large and comfortable. Nothing fancy, but clean and bed was comfy. I was hoping that it would feel more antique and mean into the Oak Park vibe. read more

I have stayed at this hotel a couple of times while visiting chicago. Most recently to celebrate my grandmother's 95th birthday. We reserved two suites. The hotel was very accommodating and didnt have any issues with us having a few visitors to help her celebrate. The rooms were spacious and affordable. I also love how the location is walkable to many local shops and restaurants. There was a street festival outside so we had fun with that too. This place is great for solo travelers or people wanting to visit chicago but stay in a less chaotic location. read more

Stayed at the Carleton for three nights this past weekend and have mixed feelings. I liked the interior of the hotel. It was cozy and had a cute restaurant/bar attached. The room was very basic, but I loved the large bathroom with two sinks and several mirrors. Some of the staff members were unprofessional and rude...We had an issue with our room one night and were unable to get assistance until the morning. You have to ask to have your room cleaned which I didn't love. The experience was so-so. Liked the location and interior, didn't love the interactions with staff. read more

Beautiful hotel! I held my wedding reception here in the Foxburrow ballroom and had a WONDERFUL time. Maura was the coordinator and was on top of everything! The room we stayed in was also fantastic. Clean, roomy, bathroom was HUGE, bed was super comfortable, and all the staff was friendly and accommodating. WiFi was fast, there's lots of parking for guests, and it has a great location in Oak Park. Very pleased overall. read more

Carleton Hotel - Kitchenette - Hotels Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

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We stayed at your hotel last weekend for 2 nights, May 19/20. The Carleton has a nice location very close to shopping and food. Also since we were there for the Frank LLoyd Wright home tour, it was also convenient for that. The hotel had obviously been an attractive "historical" property in it's heyday. It looks a little tired now. It could use some refreshing. The customer service was fair. The clerk does not get up and come out of their office when you walk in. You have to get right up to the desk and then request them to check you in. At that point they come out of their office. Not very welcoming. The rooms are a nice size but again worn and tired looking. Bathrooms were clean, as were the rooms. There were no data ports for cell phones and computers. you had to unplug your light to use the outlet. Coming back to customer service. there was never a friendly greeting from the desk staff. they remained in the office. No good morning, This next part is something which I am forever perplexed by, during pandemic of course room cleaning was off the table. Is that the way it is always going to be now. Our rooms were not cleaned, I had to request clean towels. Are the days of coming back to your room and having the beds made, clean towels in the bathroom and chocolates on the pillow just a thing of the past? I know they say it's staffing, but I don't buy that anymore. Also if it is staffing then I am not getting all that I paid for and there should be a reduction in my bill. I should not be paying for full service. The Carleton was fine, but it definitely is not a 4 or 5 star hotel read more

We stayed at The Carleton Hotel of Oak Park for my son's wedding weekend! It was so charming. The rooms are lovely and everyone that works there is delightful and helpful! Katie Fox is so great. We had a block of rooms for my son's wedding, and she could not have been more helpful or delightful to deal with! Thank you, Katie. The location is fabulous! We walked to wonderful, coffee shops and bakeries every day. The surrounding neighborhoods are just stunning. The Frank Lloyd Wright, home and museum is a mere five blocks away and all the surrounding historic homes are just breathtaking! We are going back to spend a weekend to enjoy the area. We have not been to Oak Park for 40 years and we had forgotten how gorgeous it is! We had dinner at La Notte, at the hotel, and it was out of this world! Giovanni is a gem! read more

I attended a workshop at the Carleton Hotel and stepped in to the hotel for the first time in over thirty years. I felt as if I were stepping back in time to a well preserved and updated hotel for the twenty first century. Try them out as a hotel or as a place for a meeting. They are intimate and close to downtown Oak Park. read more

Carleton Hotel - Carleton Hotel Oak Park - Hotels Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Clean and safe environment. Friendly staff. Conveniently located Ina very walkable area. Two restaurants on property. Both places have nice outdoor areas. Excellent food! read more

DLW and I wanted to do a vacation in Chicago, but the hotels downtown are unbelievably expensive, and they charge out the wazoo for parking. Although I hadn't done much time in Chicago, I knew enough that the best strategy would be to find a place near public transit, so we wouldn't have to drive around town. Finding this place was just what we needed: a block from the Green Line's end, in a historic neighborhood that's becoming gentrified and with plenty of things to see within walking distance. Even Frank Lloyd Wright's studios are close enough to walk. All this, and the hotel is a good $50 a night cheaper than downtown. One thing to note is that there are actually two options for staying here. The hotel proper is a 1920's vintage building with a beautiful lobby, and the attached lodge has a motel sort of setup where each unit has its own entrance. Apparently business persons like the lodge setup; one guy we saw in the parking lot said he stayed there for a couple of weeks at a time every month. We wanted the regular hotel experience, and our room was smallish but perfectly nice, and with all of the architectural details you get from an old building. With vintage you have to expect some workarounds, like a wall unit air conditioner. Two restaurants are attached, a nicer one only open for dinner, and a casual one open all day and late at night. We used them mostly to have drinks during happy hour, but the food will do in a pinch. In short this fit our needs pretty much perfectly. If and when we do another trip to Chitown, this would be a go-to option. read more

I came from Washington DC for a two day trip. The hotel was ok (a little outdated) but nice for a get away. I came to get a procedure done from a place near by. I will say I will come back thanks to a bartender/ server named Louise. She works in the Italian restaurant in the lobby. She has 5star service and It's very hard for me to give a 5 star. If you visit be sure to try the restaurant. The food and drinks are amazing. read more

The Carleton Hotel was the venue for our wedding and it was one of the many great choices I made for that day!! (in addition to my husband of course :)) I was on a tight budget and Meghan, our coordinator, worked with me to find something that we could afford for my 150 guests :) My husband is also Indian, and she and the chef adopted one of the recipes I sent for an eggplant curry to serve on the day of, which was very nice and showed how much they cared about us and our guests preferences. All their food was delicious and we received many compliments. The ballroom is beautiful and not-at-all like a cookie cutter hotel room-- it was actually built in the early 1900s for the World Fair, and it has so much charm for our vintage-themed wedding! There was so much included as well. All of the linens, the dance floor, cake cutting fee, and the service and bar staff all were included for one low price and not a bunch of extra charges. She also let us come the day before to set-up, which was really nice! If you are looking for a beautiful, unique venue with a lot of charm, that has delicious food, great coordinator support, and all at an affordable price, please choose the Carleton! You won't be disappointed. read more

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Location location location. In walking distance to green line train to Chicago, downtown Oak Park, Frank Lloyd Wright homes, and tons of restaurants and shops. Staff is friendly. I wouldn't say the hotel is "dated" per se, it's more of a historic building so it's lacking in some modern amenities. Outlets in the room were hard to come by, wall unit AC (but they did the trick), slow-as-molasses and tiny elevators. Would for sure stay here again, mostly because there are no other options nearby. Should one of these new Oak Park condo buildings offer modern lodging options, the Carleton will need to make some some improvements. read more

LOVELY HOTEL - This review is long overdue, I've been meaning to write forever. We stayed here on our wedding night in the Hemingway suite and also took our pictures inside and outside this lovely historic hotel. The suite was amazing, it was perfect in every way, the staff even surprised us with complementary rose petals adorning the room and a bottle of champagne. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone, there is no need to look anywhere else! read more

Thank you to Maura Wais and the staff at the Carleton for a wonderful wedding weekend. Everything was perfect! Maura works with you on every detail, and is then available the entire day of the event. Guests raved about the food, especially the salmon and stuffed pork chop. Carlton at the front desk was welcoming and extremely professional. And the staff were amazing at helping us pack the cars. Thank you so much!! read more

My parents come maybe 5-6 times a year to visit us and my daughter and because of its convenience and location from my condo they always stay at the carleton. Unfortunately every time they come they always end up either switching rooms or asking the bed sheets he changed. There's always several hairs on the sheets, either under the covers or on yhe pillows. They find this appalling, as do I. It's obvious they know they are the only hotel around, so they can do whatever they want to cut corners. Shame on them. 1 star review. I really hope management takes steps on improvement. This is really unacceptable. I may have to get them airbnb from now on... read more

Perfect for a classy, understated event. Free parking, too. Sure helps when the host and hostess are the classy, driving force behind the event! (xoxoxoxo Lisa B and David!!) read more

I stayed at the Motor Inn section for one night prior to an interview. Staff was very helpful, prompt, and had a good sense of humor. There are two parts to the hotel - The Carleton and the Motor Inn sections. The Motor Inn section was very old timey hotel and reminded me of the ones i've stayed in in northern Wisconsin. I could not find the thermostat in the room but that may be because I'm an idiot... the room was a comfortable temperature anyway so it didn't matter to me. Internet is free but for some reason it didn't work at all. I had to use the internet at an attached restaurant (also free). I couldn't pull up directions the next day because they were both down and it was really frustrating. I don't really know what else to say about the place. There was a big bed, a TV with cable (thank you espnews!) to keep me company. There was enough soap that I could have showered 183 times and not made a dent in it. Very spacious room. Parking was easy (I came back after 11pm and still had a spot). read more

The hotel and rooms are beautiful. For the most part, the rooms are quite comfortable and clean. There are two reasons why I cannot give it 5 stars: customer service, and room temperature. After entering the room and finding it quite warm, we turned on the air. After a couple of hours, when it was now hot in the room, and our family members staying on the same floor were complaining about the heat in their rooms, I called the front desk. They explained that the air conditioning was set to neutral and would not be set to cool until the summer. When I asked, "so what do we do about the heat?" They said, "open the windows." We were staying on the 4th floor. The windows had no bars or screens. In our party, we had children ranging in age from 1 - 9 years old. They were also doing construction on the hotel at the time and had a wedding party which went until late Saturday night. Open the windows?! We chose to overheat instead and it was extraordinarily uncomfortable. The costumer service was shocking. I once waiting over 10 minutes for someone to show up at the front desk (in all fairness, I had lost my key). When they arrived, with plates full of wedding banquet food, neither person apologized. If there were two people on duty, why did both leave for 10 minutes? Enjoy the food, but someone could easily have covered the desk. When we checked out, we were patiently waiting for the person at the desk to finish with another costumer. She shouted into the next room, "these people need something!" At which point someone else came out to help us. It was uncomfortable. My husband pointed out that for people who have large family events in the area, the Carleton is the only game in town for a nice hotel. Probably why they get away with it. read more

Aside from the slow elevators and slow internet I enjoyed my stay here even though it was under crappy circumstances (displaced by fire in my apartment building). Luckily the owner of my apartment building (right up the street) owns this hotel so we got a free room for two nights and a few other perks I wont mention. I was surprised to find a room with two sinks in the bathroom and a small room with a fridge, microwave, sink and a coffee maker. The bathroom was better than the bathroom in my apartment and not at all with a generic hotel look. If I ever move away from Oak Park and come back needing a hotel, this is the place I will stay! read more

I'm surprised to see a review of the motor lodge that says the rooms have an "old but clean look". I'm not sure if the rooms have been redone recently or not, or if the motor lodge that others have reviewed is a totally different section. From my understanding, however, my friend did stay in the motor inn section. The room was pretty modern, with a flat screen TV, kitchenette, and a pretty nice bathroom when compared with your average motel-type rooms. We were both believing he would be staying in the main hotel, yet were both somewhat impressed by the room, which he described as "artsy". For the price, the room was great. I'm not sure if his price was lower because he placed his reservation online or not, but it was a pretty sweet deal. The room had two beds, a table with four chairs, a flat panel TV, a kitchenette with coffee maker and comp coffee, dishes, silverware, microwave, mini frig, and cabinets. The room had a little hallway which led to both the closet and bathroom. There's no dresser in the room, but a wall with drawers in the back of this little hall. The closet has more than ample space, plus two extra pillows, two extra blankets, iron, full sized ironing board, an extra roll of toilet tissue, and plenty of towels is the bathroom. The only "bad" thing was that I saw no ice machine anywhere. There was however a soda machine outside. The beds were fairly comfortable as far as motel beds go, and he had no problems with anything in the room, aside from the wifi being slow. Everything worked, the front desk staff was incredibly helpful, and everything was just great. I've stayed in a few motels, as well has motels pretending to be hotels, and this is by far my favorite. The next time I want to just get away for the weekend, it's nice to know that I don't have to leave the state or even Oak Park, to find a nice, relaxing hotel at a fair price for a night or two. read more

My husband and I got married and had the reception at The Carleton Hotel of Oak Park on September 28, 2013. The wedding coordinator, Annie, made everything so easy leading up to and the night of our wedding. We received so many compliments on the venue. Our guests loved the space and loved the food! The entire night, I felt like I never needed to worry about a thing. We had donuts catered by Glazed & Infused and Annie made sure those came out right when we wanted them. Honestly, everything went perfectly. Also, Annie had an idea to have food upstairs when we arrived, which probably SAVED the night for us. That was the only time we could really eat without worrying about being photographed or interrupted to talk to a wedding guest. It was brilliant. I would recommend that to everyone. It made it so much easier for us to go downstairs and enjoy the party. In addition, we used Barclays bar next door for an after-hours party that was completely ideal. We had a number of people spend some time there, and it allowed us to hang out with them and get in conversations we couldn't have during the party (because we were dancing like crazy). Finally, having access to the entire space throughout the night worked out so well. The dance party in the hall was pretty loud, and our parents and their friends were able to spend that time in the front, which worked out wonderfully. (because that space is beautiful and they had easy access to the bar) The Carleton, and especially Annie helped us have the best night of our lives - seriously. It was amazing. We will never forget it, and we will never forget how great they were to work with. read more

We just had our wedding in Oak Park and did a room block at the Carleton. Katie in the sales dept. couldn't have been nicer to us, and the hotel was very accommodating to all our requests. The guests loved their rooms and the groom's suite was very nice. The bridal bathroom was perfect for getting ready! There were a couple lovely places for photos too. All in all it's a great deal and I recommend the hotel to anyone staying in Oak Park! read more

I was born and raised in Oak Park, and my dad still lives there, so I had actually never been inside the Carleton until I booked a block of rooms there for out-of-town guests that attended my wedding in June of 2011. The Carleton is pretty sweet! It is old-fashioned without being run down. Our guests enjoyed staying there. It's in a nice part of Oak Park, with lots of restaurants and shopping nearby (as well as the Harlem Green Line and Metra stops- easy access to Chicago). I liked the variety of rooms (and prices) that were available for our guests to book. My husband and I booked the hot tub suite for two nights before and after our wedding. The hot tub was really nice and the room was perfect for all of the hair and makeup needs of my bridal party. The front desk staff was so nice and accommodating of us and all of our guests. Everyone recognized me as "the bride" and was especially considerate of my needs throughout the weekend. Their customer service made me feel special and very taken care of. We definitely brought the party back to Poor Phil's on Saturday following the wedding, and all of our guests had a blast. Thank you to the Carleton for putting up with us. We had a great experience there during our wedding weekend, and I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone staying in Oak Park! read more

So dirty! I'm contemplating not staying here. My husband and I stayed here two years ago while looking at houses in the area and really loved the charm of it. However, that stay was in the main building and it's now obvious there is a big difference between that and the creepy motor lodge rooms separate from the actual hotel. I was excited to come back and stay here but was soon met with disappointment when I checked in and they told me I was not booked for the main building. Upon walking into my room I was met with gross, moldy carpet I wouldn't walk barefoot on, tattered bath towels, and a bathroom that looks like it needs five hours of serious scrubbing. Not to mention having an exterior door to your room as well as some weird adjoining door that doesn't have a lock I'm able to adjust. As a single woman staying here it's very creepy. The only reason it gets 2 stars is because of our experience from our last stay. This visit gets a 1. read more

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Classy, beautiful, surprisingly affordable. We booked our room at Carlton last minute. We actually couldn't find anything in our price range anywhere outside Chicago, so we ended up expanding our search field until we found the Carlton at Oak Park. Customer service was polite and professional. The neighborhood was beautifully charming. The hotel itself was grand but not overly ostentatious. Our room was impeccably clean and well decorated. A word on parking: They had multiple small lots, which might have made parking daunting, but they were in close proximity to the hotel. They were private lots and they gave you a pass. They seemed fairly safe. The hotel was within walking distant of a quaint downtown area and the public railway. Overall, although the hotel was on the high end of our budget, they accommodated our same-day reservation, the hotel was affordable, lovely and definitely worth the stay. read more

Stayed in the motel part of the hotel, but attended a marriage ceremony and reception in the main building. The motel is a real throwback, with multiple versions of patterned wallpaper, bright colored bedspreads, and drapes all mixed in with a combination of carpet and contrasting tile. It's a good thing I could give a s**t about decorating. The bed was comfortable and clean, and overall, the place is very nicely kept. Bathroom is tight for two (really, it's tight for one), but a nice, hot shower. The accommodations for the marriage ceremony and reception were top notch, and everything from the bartenders to the hors d'ouevres were excellent. And the dinner was incredible -- not sure I've ever seen a kitchen send out this much food -- and complicated food (beef wellington), no less -- and have it come out hot, crispy and delicious. Kudos to all for being spot on! TIP: Don't forget to ask for the WiFi password when checking in -- and the WiFi password expires in the middle of the night, so don't waste too much time trying to figure out why your network connection is gone in the morning... read more