Blueground | Furnished Apartments in Chicago

I have done corporate housing for years, worked in management consulting and have always had a great experience. When looking for housing in Chicago for my MBA I came across Blueground, which seemed to have pretty nice furnished apartments. What drew me in most were the good reviews about good customer service support. After moving in on Jan 1st into their apartment in Chicago (at the Fisher Building) I was taken aback to say the least. The cleanliness was subpar - with the sheets, towels and floor all not just unclean, but also torn, stains on the walls, and sticky. Specific to this location (the Fisher Building) the train is SUPER noisy and is right outside your window/building, and runs every 5 minutes, with the announcers making loud announcements regarding the train schedule and delays... this is not something ear plugs or a fan can fix. Lastly, the fees are insane. Utilities are $300 PER MONTH, which for a 5 months stay came out to $1,800 ... crazy. Then there is a $450 cleaning fee after you leave, and then there are up charged taxes on top of that. And this is with every apartment you book... anywhere. So you're basically looking at $1K+ PER MONTH additional to what you see on their website. The utility and cleaning fee are just ridiculous to say the least. Lastly, when I reached out to Blueground a day after moving in to help me relocate or terminate early (with a 30 day notice per their policy) they had hidden a clause in the agreement that they will charge $5K+ FOR EACH MONTH if terminated early, and not the $2400 which I was initially paying. Which meant that even if I moved out after giving them a 30 day notice, I'd be out $8K... FOR JUST ONE MONTH. Borderline SCAM. I'm still surprised to read so many good reviews, I'm assuming a lot of them were shorter term rentals like a week or so, and then the rest were from family/friends of management/employees. If you are a professional, in school or someone who just appreciates good customer service, please look elsewhere. I guarantee you the annoyance and bad customer service is not worth it. I'd rather pay a bit more to just have a decent experience than pay $15K to have a HORRIBLE experience. Never. Again. I will post this to my universities page (UChicago/Booth) and other groups to warn people about Blueground since you're unable to see reviews about specific properties and that is why they've been relatively under the radar. I also asked a few people who used them in the past and the company allegedly gets some bad reviews removed, which makes sense given that 4+ stars just does not make sense for what they offer.

500 LSD. Location, location, location! No better place to stay in the summer in Chicago. Awesome building and great amenities. Great staff as well. We’ll definitely be back next summer! Useful tip: Give the front desk your phone number and email address so they email you directly when you have an Amazon package delivered or when you’re expecting a visitor.

Great location and building. Had everything I needed when moving in and only had to purchase a few extra small things. Only complaint is that you don't get access to the building's app, which is used to claim deliveries of packages. Instead you have to wait for Blueground to forward pickup codes for you, which occasionally took up to a day after package was delivered. Other than that, it was a great stay. Room was about the size of a large hotel room. Had a nice kitchen and bathroom (and laundry in unit), and had a great view of downtown. The area is nice with tons of restaurants and stores nearby, including a Target one block away for basic living needs. Overall very positive experience and would recommend this spot to someone looking for a short or medium length stay in Chicago.