Shae and her mom’s birthdays are a day apart, so her mom and stepdad came to visit us in Illinois so that they could celebrate their birthdays together.
One of the things they’d planned for their birthdays was an introduction to mermaid swimming class – tails and all! One of our friends loves all things mermaid-related, so she came to join us for a few days too.
I searched on Airbnb for an apartment or house large enough for the five of us, but everything was too expensive. We ended up finding a much better deal by booking a two bedroom suite at the TownePlace Suites Chicago Naperville.
We booked in for seven nights in total, so here’s a review of our week-long stay at the TownePlace Suites Chicago Naperville, IL.
Check-In
We were all glad to get to the hotel as it had been a crammed drive from the Kimpton Gray Hotel. We’re on a 5 year, 50 state road trip and so pretty much everything we own is in our car. For this journey though, we also had Shae’s mom and stepdad in the car along with their carry-on luggage, so we’d barely managed to fit the four of us and our stuff in the car.
We’d booked the room in Shae’s name, so she went to check-in while I loaded up the two luggage carts. The check-in process was quick and easy, so Shae had the keys to room 310 by the time I’d unloaded the car and parked it.
Room
As mentioned earlier, we’d booked a two bedroom suite. When entering the room, the kitchen was on the left and the living room straight ahead. The two bedrooms were on opposite sides of the living room.
Living Room
The living had a sleeper sofa with a movable side table. In front of the sofa was an ottoman with a lap tray / desk on top.
Opposite the sofa was a wall-mounted TV which could be moved to face different areas of the room. In the corner was a fairly comfortable armchair. I appreciated the wooden armrests as it meant I could balance my large water bottle on there without worrying about it tipping over.
Kitchen
The room had an open-plan living room / kitchen. There was a well-equipped kitchen with a full-size fridge-freezer, microwave and stove top. While we appreciated having the stove top, the burners were fairly small.
On the opposite side was a peninsula with a couple of seats on the other side of the countertop. Beneath the countertop was a narrow dishwasher, along with cupboards and drawers containing dishes, plates, cookware, silverware, etc.
Slightly strangely, there were only enough place settings for four people, even though the room – when taking into account the sleeper sofa – could sleep up to eight people. As it is, there were five of us staying there, but it wasn’t a huge issue for us seeing as we travel with our portable kitchen.
Bedroom 1
The bedroom on the left side of the suite had a king bed in it. There were bedside tables with drawers on both sides, along with lamps on either side.
To the left of the bed was a closet containing a luggage rack, iron and ironing board.
Opposite the bed was a wall-mounted TV.
Bathroom 1
Both bedrooms had their own bathroom. The first bathroom was off to the left of the bed and had the vanity and sink straight ahead when walking into the bathroom.
There were small bottles of shampoo and conditioner, along with a couple of bars of soap, all of which were Paul Mitchell-branded.
To the right of the bathroom was the toilet and a bathtub with shower.
Bedroom 2
On the opposite end of the suite was the second bedroom which is where Shae and I stayed with our friend. This second bedroom had two queen beds but only had one bedside table between the two beds.
Opposite the bed on the left side of the room was a desk and office chair, as well as a dresser with a TV on top.
When entering the second bedroom, the room’s closet was straight in front of us. Similar to the first bedroom, this contained a luggage rack, iron and ironing board.
Bathroom 2
This room’s bathroom was to the right of the closet. This had a much longer countertop which is helpful seeing as this is likely to be the bathroom used by more people given there are two beds in the adjacent bedroom. The same toiletries were in this bathroom as were in the first bathroom.
To the left of the bathroom was a bathtub with shower. The shower was fantastic and had great water pressure.
Breakfast
Breakfast is included at no additional cost for all guests at the TownePlace Suites Chicago Naperville.
The hot options were exactly the same every day of our stay. On the one hand, it’s nice to know what to expect. On the other hand, it was a little boring having the same hot options all seven days of our stay – most hotels rotate their hot breakfast options to avoid this issue.
On the positive side, the turkey sausage patties were pretty good. The pork sausage patties were OK and were better than many other pork sausage patties served by hotels as they weren’t super-greasy.
The other hot option was fried egg with cracked black pepper.
To the right of those was a fridge containing various types of yogurt and cartons of milk.
There were a couple of waffle makers with batter that made tasty waffles.
If you’re more of a cereal person, there were six different cereal options, all of which were Kellogg’s-branded. To the right of those dispensers was hot oatmeal with a few topping options.
They didn’t have freshly cut fruit, but there were bananas and apples. There were also a couple of containers with English muffins, bagels and breads.
To the right of those were cream cheese and butter, sliced cheese, hard boiled eggs and muffins. Shae loved the blueberry muffins as they were much more moist than many hotel muffins.
For breakfast beverages, there’s a juice machine…
…and a coffee and tea station. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had Tetley teabags. My favorite tea is PG Tips, but Tetley is a solid option and my second favorite tea brand.
There was plenty of seating in the breakfast area and we never had an issue finding space for four or five of us.
Amenities
Seeing as many guests likely stay at the TownePlace Suites Chicago Naperville for an extended period of time, the hotel has several amenities with that in mind.
There’s an indoor swimming pool which was a good temperature, along with a whirlpool.
At the back of the hotel is an outdoor basketball court. Next to the basketball court is some outdoor seating and a grill. The grill was covered up during our stay, so I’m not sure if it was out of commission or if it just remains covered when it’s not being used.
Inside is a fitness room with a few pieces of equipment and weights.
The hotel also has guest laundry facilities with two washers and two dryers. All of these cost $1 per load which is very reasonable.
If you need to use the internet during your stay or print something off, there’s a business center in the lobby consisting of two computers and a printer.
Also in the lobby is a pantry area where the hotel sells snacks, frozen meals, beverages, etc.
Pet-Friendliness
The TownePlace Suites Chicago Naperville is a pet-friendly property. That’s another reason we chose it as we’re traveling with our dog Truffles.
They do have a pet fee of $100 unfortunately. This wasn’t too bad for us seeing as we were staying a week and so worked out to be just under $15 per day. If you’re only staying a night or two though, that fee would be excessive.
The good thing about the hotel is that there are plenty of grassy areas. At the back of the hotel there’s also a large pond / small lake with a path around it which is perfect for walking your dog or jogging for your own benefit. It’s about 1/3 of a mile around with benches along the way.
If you want somewhere to take your dog off-leash, Truffles enjoyed visiting Whalon Lake Dog Park. It’s a 25 minute drive away, so there might be other off-leash dog parks closer to the hotel.
Service
Other than checking in and out, we didn’t really need to have any contact with the staff during our stay. Having said that, they nearly always wished us a good day when leaving the hotel and welcomed us back upon our return. This is a small touch that makes a hotel much more welcoming.
Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi was pretty good for the most part. Something that was a little frustrating is that when sitting at the desk in our bedroom, the internet connection didn’t seem to work. I therefore always had to work in the living room in order to have a good internet connection.
Location
The TownePlace Suites Chicago Naperville is, depending on traffic, about a 45 minute drive from downtown Chicago. The hotel is just off I-88 and is only 10 minutes from Chicago Premium Outlets to the west and 15-20 minutes from The Morton Arboretum to the east.
Cost
Our two bedroom suite with one king bed and two queen beds cost $166.14 including tax per night. In my opinion, that was a great price given the size of the suite, the fact that it had so many beds, had a separate living room and kitchen and included breakfast.
At the time of our stay, this was a category 2 Marriott property requiring 10,000 points per night. This would’ve provided great value if we’d been able to use points, but it’s 10,000 points for one of their smaller suites – the two bedroom suites with the king bed and two queen beds weren’t available using points.
Final Thoughts
We had a great stay at the TownePlace Suites Chicago Naperville. Our suite was a very good suite and priced well given its size and the hotel’s relative proximity to Chicago.
Their free breakfast had a good spread, although it would’ve been nice to have different hot options on some days. There are good amenities including a fairly warm swimming pool, while the large pond / small lake was a nice feature to have which Truffles and I walked around a couple of times a day on most days of our stay.
If you’re looking for somewhere to stay in Naperville, this hotel is a great option. It’s also a good option if you’re fine with a 45 minute drive to get into downtown Chicago.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles gives this hotel four paws out of four – pawfect! She loved the fact that we always brought her up a few small pieces of turkey sausage from breakfast each morning, plus it was great having the grassy areas and lake by the hotel to walk around.
Our Rating
Room = 4.8 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.7 / 5
Food = 4.6 /5
Location = 4.4 / 5
Service = 4.7 / 5
Overall Value = 4.5 / 5
Total = 4.62 / 5
Address
TownePlace Suites, 1843 W Diehl Rd, Naperville, IL 60563
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