Stayed for 5 nights in August 2011 for business

Pro
- Frequent shuttle to and from the airport / Short ride away / run until late at night
- Can take train from the airport to Chicago in an hour
- Large room
- Snack shop in the hotel can rescue your hungry stomach late at night
- McDonald across the street

Con
- Basic breakfast, and not much choice
- Not many good restaurants nearby
- Old room

Landed in this place when my flight out of O'Hare got cancelled. I picked from a list of hotels that accepted O'Hare's "pink voucher" (supposedly gets you a reduced rate when your flight is cancelled), because it was closest to the airport and my rescheduled flight was leaving early the next morning.
I really, really disliked Chicago, and especially dislike O'Hare, so I'll admit I was not a happy camper to begin with. But gosh! I didn't feel far off from camping, staying at this hotel. The "reduced" rate of $60 plus tax was too high for what I got. I was without a winter coat, hat, gloves or luggage, and was a frozen icicle when I arrived on their standing-room-only free shuttle from the airport. The front desk did their best to quickly check in the 25 or 30 of us who had just arrived, but had only allotted 2 people to do it, so it felt like we were still at O'Hare standing in one of their so-called Customer Service lines. All I could think of was getting to my warm room and taking a hot bath to thaw out. Unfortunately, my room was not heated in advance of guest arrival, and I had to set the room unit to blow on the highest, noisiest level for 45 minutes to raise the temp from 50 degrees when I arrived, to 70. Needless to say, the tub was also chilled, and a full tub of the warmest water that would come out of its faucet took 15 minutes to fill. I then had to empty it and pour fresh, because the ice cold tub had cooled the water to lukewarm without me even in it.
The cord on the hairdryer was about 16 inches long, darned inconvenient to use if you're tall like me. The in-room coffee was off-brand and weak. Breakfast becomes available at 6 AM, so I'm not able to review it---that was too late for me to get to O'Hare in time to go through security and make my flight. The hotel shuttle service begins at 6 AM also, not early enough.
The good points (see, I can be fair) were a comfortable bed, nice linens and blankets (which I used all of, from both beds, because I couldn't get warm enough), and prompt wake-up call. The room had wireless internet. A basketful of toothbrushes and travel-size toothpaste was on the front desk for us luggage-less waifs. Front desk staff were briskly efficient and pleasant, though two were not enough.

When I walked into the king-bed room, I got my camera out and decided to take some pictures before I scattered my belongings throughout. This is a really upscale room, almost equivalent to a Marriott or similar.

It was Thanksgiving day, and Vee Vee Juarez, the manager, was at the front desk. Professional check-in, smiles and a nice welcome. The room was warm and welcoming, traditional decor and seemed elegant with the burgundy red carpet and upholstered arm chair. The bed was soft, a bit too soft for my taste, and comfortable. A 42" LCD TV faced the bed and rotated for viewing from the arm chair. The bath was sparse with the toiletry amenities, but this is a Holiday Inn Express, right?

There are several restaurants in the area, from McDonald's to Harry Carey's Italian Steakhouse. On Thanksgiving, I tried the later which was about a 10 minute walk. Breakfast at the HI Express was ample and diverse, with heated egg and sausage patties in addition to the usual cold fare. No one could go hungry after this spread. As a vegetarian, I found lots to eat.

The whole hotel seems recently refurbished, as all public areas were clean and well maintained. No chipped paint, carpet stains or such. Located next to O'Hare, there was no discernible noise in the room. The hotel shuttle was prompt and the driver helpful and friendly.

There were a few maintenance items I pointed out to Ms. Juarez as she was re-filling the cheerios in the dispenser during breakfast. (This is a hands-on manager!) Most notably, there was a water drip in the bath spigot. Secondarily, there were rattles both in the ac/heating system and the refrigerator.

Which brings me to the most distinctive difference between a Marriott and this Holiday Inn Express. This hotel has the through-the-wall hvac unit which is almost always noisier than a central heating system or vented hvac in a room. So you put up with a bit of cycling on and off and the fan noise and save from 1/3 to more than 50%.

This was the type of experience I wish I had at all hotels. The staff was professional and well trained. The facility was up to date and generally well maintained. The price was right.

Spent a chilly November night here before a business meeting in the area. I stayed here for $109 compared to $180 for the hotel my meeting was at.

I do not have much new to add, I will confirm some of the prior reviews though.

Positives:

Biggest positive was the rate I paid.

The staff here was all very good, both pleasant and effecient.

My room on the 8th floor was very nice and large. I liked having a fridge and microwave in the room.

Breakfast was very good, even by Holiday inn express standards. Also, the room for breakfast is very large.

The location next to O'hare is great. This would also be a great hotel for an event at Allstate Arena, as you could walk if you were up to it.

Free parking is a nice benefit in this area, some hotels in this area charge for parking.

Depending on air traffic paterns, both sides have airplanes flying somewhat close by, which I think is cool. However, there is not really too much noise from the air trafic (or nearby highway and railroad traffic).

Nice hotel and workout room, although the workout equipment is a bit dated. I didn't go in the pool, but it looked nice.

Negatives:

As someone else mentioned, the parking is a bit of a walk, and the keycard system doesn't seem to work very well to let you out of the parking lot.

I had the same issue with really poor water pressure in my room (808 if someone from the hotel is reading this). The water in the workout room also didn't have any pressure.

This hotel is a bit old, and things like the chairs and curtains in the rooms could really stand to be updated. All of the public area's are much more modern.

I am planning to stay here again in December for another meeting.