We stayed here for 2 nights during an Army conference. Overall the hotel is very nice. The lobby is huge, nicely decorated and has ample seating. In the evening they set out flameless candles for mood lighting. They have a restaurant, a bar/coffee area, a gift shop, and valet parking ($51 per day). We assumed the prices we saw for all those things are considered "normal" (expensive!) for the Chicago area.
The conference rooms were nice, but the air was too cold in one thereby causing everyone to freeze all day. We were told that the hotel staff was working on it. I am still wondering if they figured out the problem. Our gov't contracted meals were acceptable, but probably not a good representation of the skills and quality of the hotel kitchen staff.
The hotel staff was nice, friendly, efficient, well trained, quick and focused. Valet parking was a bit disorganized when picking up in the AM. We called ahead and waited maybe 5-10 min downstairs, which was great, but we over heard other people complaining that they were still waiting and others had their car already, even though they got down there first. Maybe they didn't call ahead....or maybe they couldn't find their car! Otherwise, valet parking was awesome!
Domestic services was good, they always said hi and told us to enjoy our stay. My only complaint in this dept is that they only put the bare minimum number of towels in the bathroom and when it's 90 degrees outside, it's not unusual to need 2 showers after walking all over the city.
Our room was kind of small, but clean and comfortable. The wall paper was a little loose at the seams and there were a few other minor cosmetic issues, but nothing too terrible. The one thing we really disliked was that the windows were dirty!!! Such a beautiful view, but it was nearly impossible to see due to the dusty windows. They don't open either, so that wasn't an option.
The TV was big, the phone and all the lights worked, but it would be nice to have a smaller wattage bulb near the beds for reading or just softer light while watching TV.
There wasn't a fridge or microwave, but there was a one person coffee maker, blow dryer, ironing board, small wall safe and bar fridge filled with exceptionally overpriced wines/soda/alcohol. A small, highly overpriced snack bar was provided on the desk. We were told that the items are sensored so if you remove them for any length of time, you'll be charged immediately. Not sure if that's true, but if so....that's pretty advanced technology for making sure someone doesn't steal the snack sized Pringles (priced at $5 a can). If they would have priced that stuff somewhat reasonable...such as $2 for the pringles...I might have undulged in those items, but they are priced unrealistically.
The feather blankets were nice, a bit of an overkill during the summer, but much nicer than any other hotel I've ever seen.
I wish they would have put some printed info about the hotel in the room. Such as, checkout time, how to call valet for picking up a car, parking for visitors, and other info about things the hotel offers. I'm sure we didn't take advantage of all the things they offer. For people that don't travel much, they might not know where to find this info.
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