Residence Inn by Marriott Chicago Lake Forest/Mettawa

This is a great hotel for a weekend visit. We stay here while visiting my daughter in college. It is fun for my older kids with a pool table to enjoy and a nice size pool for swimming. Rooms are comfortable and clean, and the breakfast in the morning is great, especially the waffles and toppings. The service is also excellent here.

Making a move from Illinois to California and we had a great experience here. We checked in around 9:30 pm on 04/10 and the front desk associate knew exactly how to handle a service dog and was generally friendly and knowledgeable.

Room was tidy and large enough for us. Breakfast was quick and tasty. No service issues whatsoever.

Had an extended stay at this residence inn, the staff were all wonderful, friendly and accommodating. I’d like to specifically mention Miriam the breakfast host- she was a highlight of my stay! Always so friendly, kind and thoughtful. She clearly put so much love into her work and it shows. She made my mornings a little brighter! I would recommend this hotel to anyone, not only for cleanliness but for superior hospitality.

I have been staying at this location weekly since January 2022. The staff has been nothing short of incredible and welcoming. In particular, the night lead, Jared, has been very kind and thoughtful, ensuring my stay is the best it can be. He even goes the extra step to include things like extra water and towels, upgrades when possible, and evening putting out my favorite candy in the front desk candy dish when I am there! The rooms are very clean, the property is well-kept, and the breakfast areas are safely maintained. While I initially chose to stay there due to it being close to my work location, I now regularly go back there because they truly take care of me. I recommend staying here if you are in need of a long-term stay option!

My stay, here was excellent, My children and family absolutely loved it. The service was impeccable We wanna thank Patricia and Miriam for the hospitality The breakfast was just amazing 10 out of 10 would recommend.

I stayed here for my daughter’s Navy boot camp graduation. Approximately 20 miles from O’Hare and 10 miles from the Naval Base it is convenient to both. Costco is a 5 minute walk with dining and shopping a 5 minute drive away. The area is nice and the hotel is like new with a comfortable bed and a furnished kitchen. The included breakfast time, 06:30, on graduation day worked well for getting to the event on time and the offerings included breakfast sandwiches to go. The staff was friendly and very accommodating. I highly recommend this hotel.

Staff at front desk excellent. Place very clean, and great accommodations.

We stayed at this hotel for our son's graduation from Navy boot camp. The hotel is 21 miles from O’Hare International Airport and 9 miles from the Naval Base making it convenient to get to both locations. There are plenty of dining and shopping options 5 minutes away and Costco is right across the street. If you get in late, and need to step out for dinner or drinks, their sister hotel is in the same parking lot, has a full restaurant & bar & is open till 10pm. This hotel is an hour from downtown Chicago.

I was so excited to stay at this hotel after reading the reviews because I just had to meet "Miriam", the lady who is responsible for putting out the continental breakfast Monday-Friday.
Miriam is everything the reviews said she was and more. She really is the heart of this hotel! I went to her early one morning with an empty hydro flask and asked her where the ice machine was. She was in the middle of trying to set up breakfast, but she took my hydro from me and filled it with ice, then handed me a bottled water. I told her I didn't mind walking to the ice machine I just wanted to know which end of the property it was located at. With a big smile on her face, she said, "it's all the way down at the other end of the building, why am I going to make you walk all the way down there, when I can get it for you right here." One day at breakfast the waffle maker had turned itself off, so it was cold and taking a long time to heat back up. Miriam offered to stand there and watch/listen for my waffle to be done, so I could go sit down and eat the rest of my breakfast. Miriam tries to switch up the breakfast throughout the week so items can vary to include belgium waffles, 2 different kinds of breakfast sandwiches (a sausage one & a bacon one), fresh fruit, yogurt, muffins, cereal, scrambled eggs, potatoes and of course coffee, juice, hot chocolate etc. There is no reason you should go away hungry. Miriam continuously goes out of her way to make every guest feel like they are her top priority. I watched her do this with multiple people.

Jared at the front desk is amazing too! He went out of his way more than once to make sure we had all the comforts of home. Late one night right before Jared was leaving the property, I went to the front desk to buy a small box of Ibuprofen and a small box of Tylenol (if your going to Chicago, you're gonna need it. Plan on walking 10+ miles each day). I was going to pay for it with my credit card. I'm not sure what the issue was at the front desk, but for some reason they were not able to ring me up for the medicines. Jared told Leo (the other front desk employee) "it's ok, just give it to her, I'll take care of it". Jared paid for these two boxes of medicine out of his own pocket when he very easily could have said, "I'm sorry our system is down right now", or something along those lines, and sent me back to my room without the medicines. If I could give this hotel 10 stars based on customer service alone, I would.

Now for the more mundane stuff....The hotel provides complementary water bottles (just tell them how many you need at the front desk). They do provide 24 hour hot coffee and hot chocolate, though we found the "hot water" to be cold or completely out on most days. That's ok though because the hot cocoa pouches are sitting right there and you have a microwave and water in your room, so it's easy to make it yourself. :)

They have housekeeping clean your room every other day. The rooms are spacious & clean with everything you need to include a full size refrigerator, a stove top, microwave, dishwasher, coffee pot, ironing board, blow dryer etc. There is a pool table, indoor swimming pool, hot tub, gym and a small convenience store inside. The hotel is right next to the freeway, but for the most part we couldn't hear traffic and it wasn't an issue.

The next time we are in Chicago to see our son, we will absolutely be guests of this hotel. In fact, I'm really looking forward to it.

Nice area, Great Beds n Showers. Perfect for visiting the Great Lakes, Il area. Beautifully done suites. Clean kitchens, dishes, pans available in suite.

*Hot/cold breakfast each morning. Great selection. Coffee, tea, and assorted juices

***Easy to get around to bootcamp and A school for USA Naval or Marines graduation.

****ADA disabled parking, rooms, and showers

Very clean and excellent staff that talk to you! Pool and hot tub was available and not crowded. I recommend this place to anyone. Thank you for a great stay!

Rooms are clean and staff friendly but the real reason for the 5 star review is Miriam who runs the breakfast every morning. She is a saint and makes everyone feel so welcome! She goes above and beyond and I’m appreciative of all her hard work. Breakfast is always hot, early, and delicious thank you Miriam!

I thoroughly enjoyed my 4-week stay at the Residence Inn. The staff was very friendly, especially Jared at the reception desk. He made sure my stay was comfortable and warmly greeted me. I also utilized the shuttle service to and from work every day. Ari, the driver, was a great conversationalist, punctual with pickup times, and respectful. He even had a bottle of water waiting for me every morning! It is the excellent customer service that make me recommend this place to anyone staying in the Lake Forest/Vernon Hills area!

nice cheap hotel with complementary breakfast and clean beds and with a pool

Quality hotel What truly makes this a 5/5 stay verus any other Marriott hotel is the INCREDIBLE staff. In particular, Miriam (the breakfast host/chef) has the best hospitality and kindest soul. Some mornings I would arrive after the breakfast was closed from an overnight shift at the hospital and she would save me a breakfast sandwich in a bag to make sure I didn't miss out. She is something special!!

The Staff were lovely and friendly, the rooms were always kept clean and tidy. Great service and an all round good experience

Absolutely loved our stay! Clean and quiet rooms. Leo & Jared had great customer service 👏

I stay at a decent amount of hotels for work and this has very quickly become my new favorite. The rooms are spacious & very clean. Facilities are very nice and the front desk staff is top notch! Will definitely be spending many more nights here.

I travel with pets (2 Cats) - so when I'm in Lake Forest to visit with friends, this is the perfect place to stay as they are very Pet Friendly.
But this trip, there's a new staff at the Front Desk and right from the moment I checked in, they've been nothing but "solution minded". Nothing has become a problem because anything that was an issue has immediately been remedied by the Staff.
Stephanie has been the "go to" at the Front Desk ... I think they glue her feet to the floor behind the desk as she always seems to be there, morning, noon and night. Her willingness to get right to a solution - not just a solution that works for the staff, but will orchestrate the staff to work with my schedule for the most efficient solution that works for everyone.
EX: When I called in for a minor maintenance issue the night before, the following morning I stopped by the Front Desk to arrange a time to be in the room when Maintenance showed up (gotta make sure the cats are secured), she knew my issue without looking at the computer and scheduled Maintenance to work with my 'in-and-out' schedule! That's being "on game".
Another person who's been helpful is Katie. Not only for me, but I've seen another guest who can best be labeled as 'annoying' (even to me in a previous encounter with him), put on her best forward face, continually engage with that man till eventually he had run out of things to bother her about.
And a strong mention to Mascha. Always a smile, a hello and a "what can I do for you today" in her greeting. She's been a helpful resource for advice on things in and around the Hotel.
I am enjoying my stay here ... I always do, but this time it's better because the staff members.
Thank you Stephanie and Katie.

Room was spotless and large. Best price I have ever paid for this quality of accommodations. Front desk staff was exceptional. Our son was graduating from boot camp and they were helpful with recommendations. Breakfast bar was great. Lots of choices and quality of food was good.

I really don't know where to start with experience with this hotel. Me and wife was out in Chicago for a weekend to see someone graduate from Navy bootcamp. We decided that we were going to stay like an 5 min drive from our first hotel. Needlessly to say we had to change locations in order to feel safer. That is when we came across the gem. This hotel reminds me of a timeshare that I will never own. However, the service here is our of this world. For a moment I thought I was at a Myrtle Beach resort until the cold hit me. The room is one of a kind. We stayed in a resort style room feel. No balcony, but the view and the experience was something that I will never forget. This hotel is now my go to stop when in Chicago.