Mark M.
Yelp
I am at that point in life where the past, present, and future all blend together in a surreal way. Its called aging. Last night, I stayed overnight at The Hotel Versey , a historical site on the Northside of Chicago that has always been a lodging establishment since the 1920s. In its original version, I believe it may have been affordable lodging on a long term basis.
I used to live in Chicago and I visit often. I know this hotel in a previous version did not have a good reputation. It was run down and poorly maintained. When Priceline gave a set price for a mysterious random selected hotel out of three, the Hotel Versey was one of them. I opted to save money on a overbooked Labor Day weekend and hoped for the best.
The Hotel Versey markets itself as a memorabilia/boutique hotel representing the sites history hosting bands like the smashing pumpkins and earlier artists at the time when Jazz was newish. Adjacent to the hotel is the Century Shopping Mall, which has its own history of survival being one of the few remaining movie palaces from the 1920s/1930s. You wouldn't know this though as the theater as been dissected and subdivided over the decades with Landmark Cinemas on the top floors and an Axe throwing venue on the bottom floor.
So, the Hotel Versey is like an old friend in the neighborhood to the Century Mall as both survives the decades. Historically, I"m sure performers of the Century Theater stayed at the Diversey Arms, the Hotel Versey's first namesake. With this in mind, the rooms are small and I'm not sure bathrooms were originally part of the room. The small size of the room was also reminiscent of rooms in Europe that are small compared the the usual size of hotel room in a typical mainstream hotel. There was a window in my room, but faced the side of another building giving the room a claustrophobic feeling.
The backdrop of the room was painted with famous sites/intersections in Chicago. The room was clean. The room had a Nespresso machine, but did not have a refrigerator, which I consider a standard amenity in a room currently. Other than revelers of a group in multiple rooms coming back from a wedding, the htel was quiet. Well, I guess a window facing the side of another building rather than Diversey or Clark also enhances the quietness of the room.
For a building so old and with several rebrandings, I'm surprised I didn't bump into a spirit or two. No spirits in my room or on the floor as far as I know. Overall, the Hotel Versey was clean and worth the price I paid. Let's get refrigerators in the room.