We stayed here for an out-of-town family wedding, reserved a suite and double room for various family members and held the reservation with one of my credit cards. Our plan was to split up the bill for the rooms at check-out between 3 of us. While the rooms themselves were fine for the 2 nights we stayed, our front desk experience was bizarre. When we went to check out, we were told our bill was already "taken care of" by the bride's family. No amount of questioning would convince the 3 people at the desk that they might be mistaken, and were they sure, etc., couldn't give us a receipt as it was already in the hands of whoever paid, so we left it at that. When I questioned my sister (mother of the bride) later that day, she was astounded, because she certainly hadn't "taken care" of our $800 bill. We found out 2 other people in our family were told the same thing when they tried to check out. We spent some time speculating about whether another mysterious, benevolent family member might have picked up the tab, but never found out a thing, even after my sister called the hotel. Upon returning home, I called my credit card company to be sure I hadn't been charged for the bill and I hadn't. I explained the story to them and they said they'd be on the lookout for anything from The Orrington. Sure enough, one month later, someone at the Orrington must have realized they goofed, so billed the entire caboodle to my credit card. Happily, my credit card company took care of it for me.

I'm fairly certain the billing debacle was due to the central reservation system Hilton hotels employ, although the fact that the hotel was home to at least 12 wedding parties in 2 nights probably didn't help. The only other negative thing that happened was a report of bedbugs in someone's room.

I have stayed at this hotel many times over the past 17 years. It has changed ownership and name but always remains good. Over my most recent stays, the front desk service has been notably good. I can't recall any issues over the years. Some of the rooms are oddly shaped and have very small bathrooms, but not a big deal. It is an older hotel that has been updated well but they can't or havent done much with the bathrooms.
The location is great for business in Evanston and northwestern guests. Lots of restaurants close by, walking.
Will go back every time!

My wife, son, and I stayed at the Orrington Dec. 28-30th. We found it to be a very nice, fairly elegant hotel. It has been updated in a tasteful manner, despite being an old hotel. Other reviewers' comments about the small bathroom size are true, but we didn't find it to be that problematic. The bed was very comfortable. One complaint would be that I had called ahead a day or two prior asking for a crib in our room and was disappointed to find it missing when we arrived to our room. I was pleased, though, with how quickly the housekeeping staff brought a crib and a mini-fridge to our room. I also found the front desk staff to leave something to be desired, as they were bordering on rude when I called them from my room a couple of times. I thought the $22 a night valet charge was a bit excessive too.

I got an excellent rate on Expedia, which made the hotel seem like a great value. It is undeniably a great location for the hotel, nestled amidst the myriad restaurants and stores of downtown Evanston and next to the Northwestern campus. All in all, we were definitely pleased with the Orrington and would stay there again.

Great location and a nice, clean hotel. The staff is friendly and helpful and the rooms are not huge but comfortable. The bathrooms are small and do not have great lighting but otherwise the rooms are nice. The word here is location, location, location as there are a ton of dining spots and most everything else you would want in downtown Evanston within a few blocks in any direction.