I'd never stayed in a Radisson before, though my impression of the brand is that most were old tired properties that had lost their Starwood or Hilton franchises. When I checked into the Radisson Blu Aqua in Chicago, with a group of hotel industry folks, Iwas extremely impressed. The property, about 6 months old, occupies the first 19 floors of the architectural marvel Aqua building in the chic East Shore side of Chicago. The room was amazing - hardwood floors, wood and stainless accents, what I termed "Ikea Chic" decor. Unfortunately, beauty was indeed, only skin deep.
The difference between a good hotel and an excellent one can be seen in how the hotel reacts to the unexpected crisis. For 2 days of my stay, only 1-3 of the 4 elevators in this 19 story building were operable. While this is obviously beyond the control of management, how they choose to respond (or not) makes all the difference in the world. The only interaction I had with any hotel staff at the elevators was one employee who said "these aren't working" when I pushed the button at the front elevator bank. That's it. No apology. No explanation. No attempt to communicate to guests what the problem was or how/when it would be resolved. Management knew they had a group in house (of HOTEL industry people, no less!!!!) which means that there would likely be large masses of people flocking to the elevator at the end of an event - yet no hotel employee was ever to be found. Waiting time for an elevator ranged from 7 to 31 minutes and not once was a staff member on hand to offer an apology or direct
guests to a staircase.
I don't mean to sound arrogant but, as a hotel industry professional, I would expect the hotel to be on it's "best behavior" when they know hotel folks are in house. If this was the best they could offer for hotel folks, I certainly don't hold much hope for how they'd deal with "regular"guests. Alas, despite the gorgeous physical building, my opinion of the Radisson brand remains unchanged - this is indeed a weak, B-grade brand that will never compete with the likes of Marriott, Hilton, or Starwood. Pity.
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