Overnight Getaway – Hilton Indian Lakes Resort

Overnight Getaway – Hilton Indian Lakes Resortwebsite
Phone: 630-529-0200
Parking: There is free parking in the large attached lot.
Check-in & check-out: Check-in is at 3:00 pm. Check-out is at noon.
Price: I depends on the date and room type (obviously), but rooms can start at about $129 (for standard rooms) and go up to about $700 (for a presidential suite). Packages are available as well; see below for more information about packages and specials.

Accommodations: Rooms have a King or two Queen beds. Some have a golf course view. All rooms have high-speed internet access; Monday-Friday delivery of USA Today; 37″ flat-panel tv with 40 channels, premium HBO, & 4 ESPN channels; room service 6:30am – 11:00 pm; 24-hour Raid the Refrigerator snack program (front desk); bath amenities; work desk; arm chair; clock radio with MP3 connection; mini-bar; and coffeemaker. Suites are available as well; the Hospitality Suites include a sitting room pull-out couch and a second tv; the Business Suites includes a board room; and the Penthouse Suites include a sitting room with a dining room table, a second tv, a wood-burning fireplace, a Jacuzzi tub and marble surround shower, wet bar, and microwave.

Bathrooms: The bathroom in our room was very nice and large. Cooper had a difficult time reaching the sink. There were public bathrooms available as well and they had changing tables.
Nursing area: There were no designated nursing areas.
Stroller/Handicapped Accessibility: The hotel was very handicapped and stroller accessible. The only difficulty would be the hallways; there was plenty of room to wheel a stroller in the halls, but because of the design of the hotel there are lots of turns.
Food:
Master’s Clubhouse – The Master’s Clubhouse is located in the center of the resort and offers indoor and outdoor seating. You can view the breakfast menu and lunch/dinner menu online. There is a children’s menu for lunch & dinner.
Shiraz on the Water – Shiraz on the Water is located across the parking lot (or through the underground tunnel) from the hotel. It’s fancier than Master’s Clubhouse, but has no dress code. The dinner menu can be viewed online.

Cave Bar – The Cave Bar is exactly that – a bar in a cave. It’s located in the atrium and has a waterfall flowing around it. A menu of cocktails and appetizers can be viewed online.
Izzy & Moe’s Speakeasy – Izzy & Moe’s Speakeasy is a bar located below Shiraz on the Water that offers a DJ, dancing, live entertainment, karaoke, and other entertainment. 
Splash Bar – Offers poolside beverages.

Room ServiceRoom service menu is available online.
Entertainment/activities:
– Heated indoor pool

Heated outdoor pool
Blackhawk Trace Golf Club – 27-hole course.
Outdoor mini golf & putting greens
Spa Vargas – Massages, skin care, nail and body treatments, waxing, and hair and makeup services.
– 24-hour Precor fitness center

– Tennis courts, sand volleyball court, game & billiards room, and horseshoe pits

Specials & packages:

Family Fun package – includes food voucher, dive-in movies, a round of mini-golf for 4, discount admission to Legoland Discovery Center, movie tickets for 4 at Hollywood Boulevard, and a goodie bag for kids. Book for two nights and also receive 4 passes to Oasis Water Park & $25 gas card

Bed & Breakfast Package – includes breakfast at Master’s Clubhouse

Brookfield Zoo Package – four passes to Brookfield Zoo, 4 passes to the Children’s Zoo, 4 Motor Safari passes, 4 carousel ride passes, one free parking pass for Brookfield Zoo, and coupons to Zoo shops and restaurants

There are also other packages available, including Stay & Play (golf) packages, a Date Night Package, a Slumber Party Spa Package, and a Romance Package.

Upcoming events:
August 13-14 – Pretty Princess Weekend Book this package & receive late checkout, a goodie bag for each child, & access to all princess events, which include snacks, drinks, and Swirlz cupcakes. Package price for 4 people is $129/night, but book Friday, August 12 and Saturday, August 13 and receive a rate of only $79/night.
Additional amenities: The resort offers complimentary shuttle service to anywhere within 5 miles of the resort. There are also dive in movies offered at 6pm and 8pm on nights when the Family Fun Package is booked. There is a 24-hour “Raid the Refrigerator” snack program, which means that you can purchase snacks and beverages at the front desk at any time.
Our experience:
We arrived at Hilton Indian Lakes Resort on a Sunday night and stayed until Monday morning. I loved the location; it’s just a short drive to Legoland, FireZone, Medieval Times and all the other great places in Schaumburg, plus the Morton Arboretum, and only half an hour from Brookfield Zoo. When we arrived I was pleased to get parking really close to the entrance (John and I drove separately so I had to get in with our luggage and the two boys). The front desk staff was friendly and we were checked in quickly. We headed to our room and walked through the gorgeous atrium with a waterfall, pond, and the Cave Bar. Cooper was really impressed too. 

We headed to our room and it was a bit of a walk (although I had our luggage, a stroller, and a child walking so it may have seemed longer than it was). The shape of the building is really cool and unusual, but the hallways are a bit unusual too; lots of turns rather than a straight hallway. The way the building is designed also gives each of the rooms more windows and a better view. We had huge windows, a great view of the golf course (I’m no fan of golf, but who doesn’t love rolling green hills?), and we could see the outdoor pool from our room. The rooms are hexagon shaped, which I really liked; I’m just always a fan of unusual things like that. The bathroom was huge and everything was very clean. John and I were both a little surprised by the room; the outside of the hotel looks a bit old, but everything inside looks new.

The boys were really excited about the pools. After settling into our room we changed into bathing suits and decided to check out the indoor pool first. It was heated and beautiful, with plenty of lounge chairs, some kid sized chairs, towels, and a hot tub that looked very inviting (but sadly, I never made it into it). There’s a tv mounted above the pool for dive-in movies. We loved the indoor pool, but decided to head outside before dark so we could try out the outdoor pool, which was also heated. Again, lots of lounge chairs and towels. The boys really enjoyed both pools.

After heading back to the room and changing, we went to the Master’s Clubhouse for dinner. We considered Shiraz on the Water (especially because when you check in on FourSquare you get 20% off your bill there!), but we decided we wanted something more casual. We sat outside near the golf course. It was gorgeous and the service was good. I had the “Bavarian” – smoked ham, havarti cheese, and mustard sauce on a warm Bavarian pretzel roll. (They had me at “havarti”. And then again at “pretzel”!) Heavenly. John had the Reuben with sweet potato tater tots. Yummy. I was really please with the food and was less than $40.

After dinner we headed to the Dairy Queen down the street for dessert (there were great looking desserts at Master’s Clubhouse, but we were hoping to save a little money and the boys were getting restless) before bedtime. Just a note: our room was a bit noisy. I’m not sure if it was the mini bar refrigerator or if we were close to the ice machine, but there was some noise throughout the night. It actually didn’t bother me or my family at all (but we live between an airport and rail yard so nothing keeps us awake), so I didn’t complain about it or request another room or anything.

The next morning, John was off to work and the boys and I slept in… for a LONG time. I think they were tuckered out from all the swimming and there was a storm so it was pretty dark outside late into the morning. When we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, we headed to the Master’s Clubhouse for breakfast at about 10:00 am. I was hoping for the breakfast buffet, but it was already shutting down. We were able to order off the menu, and I was really pleased with the Eggs Benedict I ordered.Afterward, we headed back to the room to pack up and check out.

Just a few things I didn’t like:

  • The mini bar policy. Of course, mini bar prices everywhere are ridiculous and I expect that ($6 for a candy bar), so I generally just avoid the mini bar altogether. There was a note on the mini bar that the charges were determined by sensors and it warned not to try to use the mini bar as a refrigerator or you’d be charged the refrigerator rental fee. Like I said, I avoid it, but I have two young, curious boys so I was pretty concerned that I’d turn my back only to find they’d emptied the entire fridge. Luckily, that didn’t happen (and I would have a hard time believing they’d charge if I explained the situation), but I kept the mini bar blocked by the stroller to minimize the chances of having to deal with that.
  • The mattress was way too soft for me. I’m sure this is a personal preference thing so it may be an advantage to some, but I woke up sore in the morning. I often co-sleep with my youngest son so he was in the bed with me; the mattress was so soft that I sunk into it a bit so he kept rolling into me. 

Here are the things I really liked:

  • The heated pools. They were clean and at the perfect temperature, and we had a great time in both of them.
  • Location. I mentioned this several times already, but I just love that they’re so close to so many great activities. I also love the free shuttle service. We didn’t have an opportunity to use it, but I think it’s a great service to have available.
  • The food was excellent. I really enjoyed both dinner and breakfast and I felt like the prices were very reasonable. 
  • I was sent an email after my stay requesting that I complete a survey about my visit. I completed the survey and mentioned that we weren’t able to get the breakfast buffet. Within a couple days I received an email apologizing and offering to make it up to us during our next stay. I really felt like they were anxious to get feedback and very willing to actually listen and respond to it.

My suggestions:

  • Check out the specials & packages. The upcoming Pretty Princess Weekend looks fantastic if you have girls, and the prices for the packages seem really reasonable. Price may vary, but I chose a date at random and the Family Fun Package and Bed and Breakfast Package were only about $20 more than the best available rate, and the Brookfield Zoo package was only about $60 more than the best available rate. The all seem like a great value for what you get.
  • Check in on FourSquare (if you don’t use FourSquare yet, you should check it out; there’s a great post about it on EliRose.com). You’ll receive 20% off your bill at Shiraz on the Water.
  • Sign up for the email list on the site to receive information about specials and events.

We were provided with a complimentary overnight stay. All opinions expressed are my own.

Comments

  1. robert cole says

    Would like a brochure

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