Name: Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago
Address: 221 North Columbus Drive, Chicago, 60601, US

6/10

Pleasant

05 Aug 2026

ANNEMARIE

Good proximity to the local attractions, most things were walkable in less than 20 min. The property was clean, the room was not as clean. The restaurant was ok. The staff at check in wasn't as friendly as the rest of the stay.

10/10

Exceptional

05 Aug 2026

Chino

Great time experience! Loved the atmosphere and the location. Staff was friendly and helpful!

8/10

Excellent

04 Aug 2026

Matthew

Overall a great experience and stay. I enjoyed using the amenities available. Great customer service as well!

6/10

Pleasant

04 Aug 2026

daniel

a

6/10

Pleasant

03 Aug 2026

Jourdan

Our family of 4 stayed here and enjoyed the cleanliness of the building as well as the two pools. Unfortunately the rooms are not great for families. The bathroom door is a barn door-style slider that does not latch (ours had a 2-3\" gap), and inside the bathroom is a single sliding door made of frosted glass that can either close off the toilet or the shower, but not both at the same time, and also has a 1-2\" gap. Privacy concerns aside, having sliding doors mean that there is only one dedicated towel hook, and there were an additional two towel bars that could fit one towel each. For a family of 4, that's not enough drying space for 4 swimsuits and 4 towels. We ended up having to leave towels on the floor for housekeeping to take, but every day they would leave us only 2 or 3 new clean towels, which was not enough for the 4 people showering daily. The balcony was a nice extra, but had no chairs and no privacy from neighboring rooms. We enjoyed our stay, but the experience did feel a bit \"fashion over form.\"

10/10

Exceptional

02 Aug 2026

Nancy

A clean room with excellent views, helpful staff, a great stay.

2/10

Poor

02 Aug 2026

frank

Power blew out twice. Drain in bathroom clogged the whole time. Wall paper pealing in many spots for over 400 a night.

10/10

Exceptional

01 Aug 2026

Dr

Clean

4/10

Poor

31 Jul 2026

Austin

Great location close to everything… but the roach in the room was nasty. Having to switch rooms after a full day at Lollapalooza is really inconvenient when you’re just trying to go to sleep. Roaches carry disease / germs, I wonder what it was all crawling on before we checked. I’ve stayed at many hotels in Chicago and never came across roaches. I told the hotel staff about the issue and they seemed unbothered like it’s something they deal with on a regular bases.

I did eat at the restaurant inside the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel BEFORE I found the roach in my room, if I would have seen it first I would have skipped on that meal. If there’s roaches in the room they’re obviously in the kitchen as well. Our server was very nice

It’s a big city yes there’s roaches but the amount it costs to stay at this hotel for one night you should not be finding roaches INSIDE your room, spray your property and do better cleaning.

10/10

Exceptional

31 Jul 2026

Victor

Great View and the balcony experience was amazing.

6/10

Pleasant

31 Jul 2026

Satjinder

For the price, I would've expected breakfast to be included. The light on the magnifying cosmetic mirror was broken. View from the room was nothing special, just the streets. Room was basic, couldnt access the balcony even from the small height we were at. Mediocre stay overall.

2/10

Poor

31 Jul 2026

Donielle

I use Expedia often to book flights and hotels and I must say this is by far the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in!! The service was absolutely terrible. I arrived at 3PM and was informed I could not check in until 4. I waited until 4 and the room still was not ready. They made me stand in waiting until 5:30 pm and then asked me to have a seat and wait until my room was ready at 6:20. At 6:20 the room still was not ready. I did not get into my room until 7:15!! The staff claimed they over sold late check outs for the previous night, delaying cleaning services. When I got to the room the bathroom was FILTHY!! House keeping management was even appalled at how dirt it was. We missed the event we came in town for due to the late check in and not being able to use the bathroom until after 8PM. The management staff were rude and not very apologetic about the situation. The hotel restaurant was also very subpar. They charged extra for condiments like ketchup and Mayo. They also kept the lobby bathrooms locked making it hard to use the restroom for the 4 hours we waited in the lobby. Just don’t book this place!!

8/10

Excellent

31 Jul 2026

Carlos

Good location

2/10

Poor

30 Jul 2026

Jeneece

There were piece of the shower falling off and the showers curtain was malodorous. There was trash on the floor under the chair. I arrive at 11 to check in after calling ahead to verify possibility of early check in. Arrived to find the room was not ready. The room was not ready until 445pm after their 4 pm checking. I was not given a credit. You really don’t have a choice to use the valet parking and it is super expensive at $80 per night plus taxes. I stayed 2 nights and the parking total was $221. After paying almost $500 per night. The staff at the front desk most of them were pretty rude. I have no plans to ever stay there again

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2026

Bernard

Nice room with balcony

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2026

Jeff

Awesome architecture, great outdoor space! Only thing we wish we had was an actual fridge to store drinks.

8/10

Excellent

30 Jul 2026

Nicole

The hotel was nice & centrally located. The staff is friendly and helpful. The breakfast was just okay. Overall it was a good place to to stay and I would definitely recommend it to others as well as stay again myself

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2026

Stephanie

The staff was so helpful. Our view from the room was amazing.

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2026

Andrey

Niiiice

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2026

Reginald

Nice place

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2026

Daeclan

excellent hotel! Will be staying again!

4/10

Poor

26 Jul 2026

Travis

I didn’t like that the pictures mislead the actually stay. I thought it came with a complimentary breakfast and it was a convention there so I had to wait past time for my room to get ready and it was too much traffic. Overbooked and extra resort fees that not included on the website outside of what I'm financed for through the third party booker. Room was rushed cleaned. Air stopped working in which someone did fix it after while and tub was dirty upon entry

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jul 2026

Bryant

Excellent customer service

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jul 2026

angelia

Gorgeous

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2026

Gary

A

8/10

Excellent

23 Jul 2026

James

Nice room, great location, staff were wonderful. Gym was fabulous. Loved the lool areas but thet both need a really good clean!! I would stay here again if i was back in chicago.

8/10

Excellent

22 Jul 2026

Christine

Daily room refresh appeared rushed. Bed clothes not straightened, towels hung up roughly. One day room was missed completely and had to call housekeeping to complete this late in the day.

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jul 2026

Rachel

Great stay overall.

8/10

Excellent

22 Jul 2026

Jason Donald

The hallway art designs were a bit strange, but the room designs were really nice. The views were really nice. We had some mechanical issues with our room and they moved us to a new nicer room. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jul 2026

Brianda

Loved stay with family. Also you can only get an extra bed if you have a king bed room with sofa

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jul 2026

April

Shout out to Ulysses at the front desk! We had a minor issue with our room and he personally took care of the issue and even provided a nice incentive to make up for the inconvenience. I would definitely stay at this hotel again. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Keep in mind it is a very large hotel so there is going to be some waiting for the elevators, etc, but I felt that they were very attentive and helpful. There is a wonderful park in the back behind the hotel and there is a CVS and gourmet grocery store nearby. You can easily walk to all the amenities. Will definitely stay here again.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jul 2026

Roxana

Second time at the Aqu Blu. I love it here. Customer service is excellent, rooms are clean, beautiful building, near Marianos and Alvi. Love the outfit swimming pool. Shout out to Mr.Hassan, he is amazing in making people feel welcome. I also love the views from the corner balcony.

Partner

4/10

Poor

20 Jul 2026

James

Disappointing Stay — Gorgeous Building, Everything Else Falls Short
Don’t be fooled by the striking, wavy architecture of the landmark Aqua tower. While the building itself is an architectural marvel from the street, the actual guest experience at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel leaves a lot to be desired.
Here’s why our stay fell completely flat:
Chaos at Check-In: We arrived around 4:00 PM (an hour past official check-in time) only to join a sprawling line that barely moved. When we finally reached the desk, we were informed our room wasn't ready yet. No apology, no offer to hold our luggage with extra care, just a direct request to \"wait in the lobby and check back in 45 minutes.\"
Tired Rooms & Poor Upkeep: For a property marketed as a high-end design hotel, the room was surprisingly worn down. Scuffed baseboards, a visibly stained carpet near the entry, and furniture showing heavy wear. The lighting was overly dim—presumably to hide how much the room needed a refresh.
Elevator Bottlenecks: The elevator situation is a nightmare. Because the tower houses a mix of hotel rooms, private residences, and long-term rentals, you can easily spend 10 to 15 minutes waiting for an elevator during peak morning and evening hours.
Underwhelming Service: Requests for basic amenities (extra towels and more coffee pods) took over an hour and two follow-up calls to arrive. Staff seemed overwhelmed and generally uninterested in addressing guest complaints.

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jul 2026

Rosie

Nice

Family_with_children

4/10

Poor

20 Jul 2026

Lisa

Overpriced for what you get. Loud, slow elevators, rooms are dated. Nothing more than average.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jul 2026

Ian

H

8/10

Excellent

19 Jul 2026

Magda

We had a lovely stay up until a small issue we had the last night but it was resolved by the manager who he was a wonderful person to us. We love it.

Partner

2/10

Poor

19 Jul 2026

Evan

Pretty bad hotel.

Just getting in, there are two elevators and they are slow and small.

Room was dated, tiny, and I'm glad I didn't bring my husband because the interior decorating is embarrassing.

There were obvious stains on the furniture and the ironing board was very suspiciously yellow and gross. It was also really expensive and didn't even include breakfast.

6/10

Pleasant

19 Jul 2026

Katherine

There was an error made by the front desk. They gave our room, which had a balcony, to another guest. They were able to find another room for us, which they said looked out into the back of another building. We had wanted the balcony to see the 4th of July fireworks, even if they would be just reflecting off the other buildings around us.

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jul 2026

Ron'Darrius

The location is absolutely perfect and the amenities was awesome would definitely visit again!

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jul 2026

Rachael

I am from the Chicagoland area and I am in the city often. I did not know this hotel even existed. My two four-year olds and I had a GREAT time, especially because of the indoor/outdoor pool and hot tub situation! What a blast! The room was clean and spacious and the balcony was great for the kids. I will definitely return here soon!

Friends_and_family Family

2/10

Poor

17 Jul 2026

April

Dirty rooms. Pool very strange.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jul 2026

Michael

My favorite hotel in Chicago.

6/10

Pleasant

17 Jul 2026

Toccara

It’s a beautiful hotel. Just so overpriced

8/10

Excellent

16 Jul 2026

Analia

Very nice hotel, great big room with balcony, great location,

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jul 2026

Lynnae

I loved the room with the balconies. I liked the location. It was a little run down with scrapes and may need painting. The staff was nice and helpful. My concerns were that you had to ask for a refrigerator. Also, that the food and drinks in the room were set up so that if you picked something up and replaced it on the pressure sensors, you could still get charged for it, although we didn't. And the separate alcohol refrigerator, which was in the room already, if you opened the door you could be charged. They offered to lock that alcohol refrigerator which I chose and which relieved my fear of being charged just by opening the door. We didn't end up having any extra charges, but they wanted to pre-authorize $150 a day on your credit card for incidentals. Which not everyone can do. Our room was a decent price, but then you add on all of the taxes for Chicago and it was a little bit more than I had expected. But, it's Chicago, so you know it could cost more. I liked that the hotel had a mini- Starbucks, a restaurant, a lounge, an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, and a fitness center. There was a CVS right next to the hotel for convenience. All in all, we enjoyed our stay.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Jul 2026

Stephanie

Great location, clean hotel, lots of amenities.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jul 2026

Hiyam

100% worth it. I will go back to this hotel every time I visit Chicago.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

14 Jul 2026

Candice

Parking is $63 dollars a night and managed by a different company so the hotel really doesn’t give you this info. The security deposit is about $125 per night as well. Plan accordingly.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Jul 2026

Thomas

Inadequate A/C
Heavy doors slamming all night
Room wasn’t cleaned every day
Pool didn’t have easy access

Family

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jul 2026

Sarah

Unique. Great location. Fun and comfy rooms

Family_with_children

6/10

Pleasant

13 Jul 2026

Amy

Ubers had a hard time locating hotel

Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

13 Jul 2026

Jessica

The outdoor pool could just not accommodate the amount of people there. There was no seating. Our rooms floors had stains on them. But otherwise it was a beautiful hotel and we had a great time

Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Jul 2026

Symone

The room was clean and pretty spacious. The walls could’ve been maintained better but the sheets were fresh and clean and the bathroom was very clean and kept up. That’s all that matters to me in the end. If they would’ve had a microwave in the room and a mini fridge (was able to still request one) it would’ve been 100% perfect

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jul 2026

Qwenyatta

Beautiful experience ❤️❤️

Friends

8/10

Excellent

12 Jul 2026

Chris

Room is nice, our room armchair needs an upholstery shampoo, looking a little dirty. Lobby is comfy and inviting, Lobby staffs very pleasant. Room walls are not sound proof. We hear noises, talking outside our room late night

Partner

4/10

Poor

12 Jul 2026

Yana

Terrible all around

Family

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jul 2026

Kenneth

The service, cleanliness, in-house restaurant, workout room, pool, bathrooms and of course the rooms was fantastic. Thank you!!

Only drawback and it is out of your control is the fire dept sirens at 3am.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jul 2026

Robert

The pool is wonderful and so is the gym for amenities. The hot tub wasn't working which was disappointing.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jul 2026

Kathryn

I loved our stay at Radisson Blu Aqua Chicago. The indoor pool was understandably crowded during a lightning storm, but the facilities were otherwise fantastic. Swimming in the outdoor pool among the skyscrapers was fascinating. The room and staff were all helpful and accommodating. Would love to stay again some time!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jul 2026

Paul

My wife and I enjoyed the property very much. I know it's a little thing, but they really need new coffee makers. The staff, pool, and restaurants were all wonderful.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

09 Jul 2026

Jinanshi

Loved my stay for sure!!!!! Just the fact that the air conditioning was not working for 2 whole nights and we were made to believe that thats the most ac can go up to. That part was a little disappointing. But overall, the whole stay was amazing. Loveddddddd the outdoor and the indoor pool too. Must visit if you want to spend a night in Chciago fs!

Friends

8/10

Excellent

09 Jul 2026

Nakeya

Property was clean and in a great location. My room has the biggest moth I’ve ever seen when I checked in but other than that my stay was great!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jul 2026

Tracy

Balcony is great. Pool and outdoor area really nice snd big. Staff is super helpful and pleasant.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jul 2026

Pei

very friendly staff

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jul 2026

Maria

The rooms look nicer than what’s posted online. The food is AMAZING! Staff is kind and helpful. Absolutely love that there is a balcony! Also, a very good place to stay as it’s walking distance to many attractions!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Jul 2026

Jessica

We absolutely loved our stay at the Radisson Blu Aqua. The location is truly one of the best parts of this hotel and made our Chicago trip so easy and enjoyable. We were close to so much and loved being able to walk to so many of the places we wanted to see. It really felt like the perfect home base for our trip.

The food was great, the service was wonderful, and the staff was so kind and helpful throughout our stay. Everything just felt easy, comfortable, and welcoming, which makes such a difference when you’re traveling. We had a really great experience here and would absolutely stay again the next time we come back to Chicago.

Family_with_children

2/10

Poor

07 Jul 2026

Kelly

Dirty room and rude customer service

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

06 Jul 2026

Ana

Front desk people were not friendly at all. The only friendly staff I encounter was the valet parking staff (all of them).
The hotel is beautiful and on a nice location.

Partner

4/10

Poor

06 Jul 2026

Tolanda

The balcony was dirty and so were the windows. I paid extra for that amenity, it had no chairs in order to enjoy it. They use the same pictures for all the rooms, I shouldn’t have to look up the amenities the pictures should speak for themselves!!!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jul 2026

Courtney

I called guest services for everything and they delivered every time!

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2026

Heather

Stay was GREAT!! I loved the pool and everything was easy to walk to!

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2026

Jacqueline

Great hotel!

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2026

Bernardo

Breakfast

Self

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2026

Tyler

Outdoor pool

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jul 2026

Nasri

Excellent property

Family_with_children

4/10

Poor

04 Jul 2026

Cynthia

Our room was super hot I had a technician check out the AC but it was still hot in the room. It was hard to sleep with temperature not being comfortable. The pool was was dirty and bugs leaves it didn’t get cleaned during our stay.

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jul 2026

Tracy

Great spot, staff super helpful, will stay again. 1 thing…shower/toilet situation is a little weird and shower needs grab bar, marble floors super slippery.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jul 2026

Dushani

Outdoor pool area was very pleasant and even included a fire pit and and a jogging track.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jul 2026

guadalupe

easy check in .

Family_with_children

4/10

Poor

01 Jul 2026

Jared

Pool was out of service about half the trip.

You can hear every sound in other rooms while in your room. Meaning, we could hear what was happening in other rooms.

The best thing this hotel has going for it is location, but there are hundreds of hotels to choose from.

I would not recommend

Partner

8/10

Excellent

01 Jul 2026

Garvey

Our stay was amazing. There was a big group of kids who came to swim it the pool, it was a very big group of like 20 or so kids. They were exceptionally loud and jumping and running and doing flips in the pool. They also were not respecting patrons space, splashing clientele and not staying out of the swim lane while paying customers were trying to swim laps. They also came in and took up like 2-3 of the cabanas. It definitely made our pool experience less enjoyable.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jun 2026

Christine

Amazing location. Beautiful hotel

Partner

4/10

Poor

28 Jun 2026

Martha

You don't feel welcome, and you pay $600.00 for a night, asked for a one-hour late check out, and the agent explained to you that I can only give you thirty minutes. I explained my situation thr reason

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jun 2026

Neeti

Nice well kept hotel…………..

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2026

Tiffani

We had a wonderful stay for Juneteenth weekend. The room, staff and amenities were great! Can’t wait to come back

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2026

Matine

Great hotel. Will stay again although I did have to wait an extra 15 mins to have my room cleaned but was compensated with extra time to check out.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2026

Sharon

Only bad thing.. I got there at 4:00 PM… and I was very tired.. and my room was not ready.. It wasn’t ready until almost 430… I didn’t think that was very nice

Self

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2026

Amy

The room, view, restaurant, roof top pool and garden area, AND the valet! Excellent! Left my charger in my car? No problem they went and got it for me. I will definitely be coming back. Amazing experience all around. Also delicious caesar salad! 1000/10.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jun 2026

Antonio

I had a balcony room so the view was wonderful especially at night look over Downtown the restaurant inside the hotel the food was good plus there was a wedding inside the hotel as well so the lobby was busy staff was friendly and helpful the parking garage was packed but found a few spaces available but overall I will return

Partner

8/10

Excellent

17 Jun 2026

Paige

Awesome amenities but the hot tub was kind of gross. The beds/pillows were uncomfortable and the room never completely cooled off especially at night. I told front desk and they sent maintenance to change the air filter but it didn’t help. Don’t touch anything on the mini bar or you’ll be charged because there’s a sensor underneath the items! Nice staff and great location.

Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

16 Jun 2026

Michelle

The front staff and door help were very nice. The indoor pool area needed some attention. The outdoor pool was nice. The restaurant food was lackluster and not flavorful, but the server was great. Housekeeping didn’t come unless I called. There needs to be more places to hang towels if no one is coming to change them daily. The location was nice. We had a nice patio and would’ve lived some chairs out there.

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

15 Jun 2026

Ebony

Property was very nice but the balcony area could use some maintenance. Please be aware there is no in room refrigeration just a fee for beverage fridge. Other than that I had no issues with this property! Would book again just wont bring back any leftovers lol

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jun 2026

Jalee

Great place will come back again !

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jun 2026

Fran

Our new favorite Chicago hotel !

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jun 2026

Maryjean

Nice clean hotel. Pool was more for training than for fun for kids..

Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jun 2026

Kellyn

Lovely hotel with a great staff. Very clean and modern.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jun 2026

Sara Jane

An incredible hotel in a gorgeous building. They were very nice about our dogs and we fell in love with Chicago 💙

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jun 2026

Glenn

There wasn’t anything not to like about this hotel. Came down for the Chicago Blues Fest so the location was perfect.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Jun 2026

Douglas

Enjoyed the Fire Lake restaurant and the outdoor pool with the view of the other buildings. Didn’t like having to call the desk to have the room refreshed, twice.

Family