The Villa Toscana Guest House - Chicago, Illinois

Diana G.

I'm super grateful 🙏 that I found this adorable and extremely cozy B & B hidden away from Halsted street. I decided against renewing my apartment lease in Lakeview and I've been a nomad in the Chicagoland area since September 5th staying in various pet friendly hotels within Evanston and Schaumburg. |It was super nice to discover Villa Toscana in my old neighborhood and my pets really enjoyed the ambiance of a home environment instead of a hotel vibe. |This Victorian home 🏡 is extremely cute with beautiful furnishings so my pets felt safe. A sweet pomeranian even greeted my cat and dog and the three interacted beautifully in the living room area. |I chose the wandering room because I have a large pyrenees service dog and I'm so happy I did because both of my fur babies had ample room to sprawl and there was a roll away bed, two cute antique chairs, beautiful lighting, a chandelier, and a very beautiful antique bed with beautiful velvet sheets and an extremely comfortable mattress. |I wasn't extremely thrilled with the cable TV options because it didn't have the channels i normally watch but the room itself exceeded my expectations. |I also had issues with my smartphone wifi because I normally like sleeping with my music selections on YouTube but the wifi here kept competing with my Verizon wireless wifi.|Breakfast is fruit on the countertop, various cereals, bread, pb & j self serve or you're welcome to cook your own breakfast if you bring in groceries. I'm not a breakfast person so I saved my appetite for the Chicago Diner which is a vegan restaurant just a few yards away.|My second night here i accidentally locked myself out of my own room and forgot my room combination code. It was about 5:30 AM and I was absolutely embarrassed but hey stuff happens and it taught me a huge lesson because I had to wake up a guest across the hall from me and he had to wake up Brandon who wasn't even angry at me. Folks if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night 🌙 Don't close your door all the way shut and or make sure you don't push in the button from the inside of your room.|Fortunately I was allowed a late check out. I had a ton of things and the extra time was appreciated. If the house hadn't been booked for a private party I would have extended my stay here. Also the bathroom is incredibly clean and there's an antique clawfoot tub to shower or bathe in. I was initially worried about sharing a bathroom with other guests but there weren't a lot of people on my floor and I had the bathroom mostly to myself so it felt private.|All in all the neighborhood is fantastic, the other guests here were super sweet and my dog Troika found a new Friend to play with.|If you need a very reasonably priced B & B in one of the liveliest neighborhoods you should give Tosca villa a try.

Alex R.

I was first met with quaint paintings of dogs in Victorian-style dress, along with a delicately distressed picture of potted flowers. The breakfast was divine, with perfectly aged Lucky Charms, each piece chewy like a gelatinous form. The bed sloped down like the pristine slopes of the Swiss Alps. The bathroom, incidentally trapezoidal in shape, had an ethereal and almost haunting quality. The ambient whirring of the fan provided a beautiful sonic backdrop for my morning routine. The sound replicated the mating calls of ravenous falcons splitting through cool spring air.

To address the stark controversy in other reviews, The Villa Toscana has repaired the banister since a former guest took an unfortunate tumble, claiming with her the decorative newel cap atop the banister by the stairs.

The necessity to procure my own parking exposed me to a wider array of what the city had to offer. In the end, Villa Toscana is an aged relic nestled into the bosom of downtown Chicago.

anniez1022

Quirky bed and breakfast centrally located in Boystown. Location is great. Easy walk to Lincoln Park and environs. Rooms with private bathrooms are located in the basement, adjacent to the main home. My basement room, Room 6, was small but comfy. Bedroom and bathroom were clean. Breakfast on Friday was sparse. Thankfully, there is a great café 700 feet to the left! Check-in and check-out were virtual and seamless.

Abby C.

I regret ignoring the bad reviews I read about this place. We were notified just a few hours before our check in that there would be 15-20 college students filming on the property until 9pm, well after we had to confirm our stay. We get there and the front door is wide open, garbage is everywhere, and the students were apologetic because they didn’t even know people were actually staying on the property. I understood that this would be a self check in place, but it seemed very careless to not make an exception and have at least one staff member on the property when there’s an additional 15-20 students there to make sure things were somewhat clean inside and to ensure the security of the place. The living room and kitchen was packed with people and their food and equipment, our shared bathroom was also being shared with 15-20 other people. Obviously this is a unique situation, but the way it was handled by the staff was very disappointing. The security of the house was a concern of ours and we didn’t really have access to any of the amenities outside of our room so why we were paying the full price we were paying seemed ridiculous (we were not told of the filming crew until after we had confirmed our stay, we would have had a few questions before confirming if we had known beforehand!). The staff member I spoke to on the phone said “well we’re pretty much always booked so we’re not concerned about bad reviews”. Cool, so you guys can laugh at this one! We ended up booking a hotel room last minute because we would have rather wasted hundreds of dollars than stay there with the fear of finding some creep in the shared bathroom in the middle of the night who snuck in because there would have been nothing stopping them from doing so!

Steven R.

Great location and friendly staff. Great option for post concert overnight. Chuckles the dog is bonus treat! Rooms are comfortable and clean. Recommend lower floor with private bathroom versus shared. Outside court yard adds charm to overall experience. We did not stay for breakfast so cannot comment. ||Steve and Renee

Kat K.

Villa Toscana was an amazing place to stay in the heart of Boystown! The room was clean and comfortable and it was very clear on how to get in touch with the owners if needed. Check in and check out was very easy and I was able to do all of that online so very convenient. We received multiple emails leading up to our stay that allowed for special requests (such as requesting parking passes) and also included a very clear map on where we were okay to park. The little garden in front was very tranquil and pleasant to sit and relax in. I cannot speak highly enough of the villa and the owners - we will definitely be back next time we come to Chicago!

Weixin L.

Especially given, the price we paid, we honestly had a great experience. The bed was extremely comfortable, we didn’t run into any other guests on premise, it was hassle free, the breakfast was a great self serve spread, bathroom was clean and had no issues, door codes worked exactly as they should, and owner was very friendly when we bumped into him walking into breakfast. The front yard/outside seating area was so dreamy and lush, and it just had the best quaint little romantic bed and breakfast vibe. Air conditioning worked great, location was hard to beat, and with quiet hours enforced for all guests after ten, we slept so peacefully. Def would recommend for travelers looking for good places to crash for the night.

Sara S.

Incredible and unique experience! Everything was really clean and was really comfortable. Remember to bring your own shampoo, conditioner and other self cleaning stuff you might need. Everything was really well explained so you’ll never feel lost with something. Highly recommend!