I was in Chicago this past weekend for a wedding. The wedding and the reception were held in the Grand Ballroom at the Intercontinental on Michigan Avenue.
There were about 260 guest attending the wedding. I was one of approximately 100 that were from out of town that also stayed at the hotel. I arrived around noon, used the valet parking and was able to get into my room in the “north” tower. I’ll go over my experience in the room later.
I’ll cut right to the chase, this wedding was by far the best I’ve ever attended. I give the hotel & it’s staff a 5+ star rating for the event. Food was excellent, service was unparalleled, and the décor was exceptional!
The wedding started at 6PM in the Grand Ballroom. The room was divided in two, with rows of chairs for the guests. The aisle was adorned with glowing white candles in various sizes. There were also white rose displays in between the candles on both sides of the aisle. Visually the room was stunning. After the wedding we were escorted across the hall for our cocktail hour.
There were 3 bars set up. In addition servers passed trays of white wine. You never waited for a drink that’s for sure. There were six hand passed appetizers, two were chilled, while four were warm. There was a tomato, buffalo cheese, & red onion, skewered appetizer that was marinated and honestly to die for. A chilled chicken salad was served in a pastry cup.
The warm appetizers were crab cakes that were shaped like ocean scallops, lobster that was dipped in a tempura batter and deep fried(delicious beyond description), a crab stuffed rice paper roll that reminded me of sushi, and the fourth slips my mind(perhaps too many Knob Creeks!).
About an hour later we were escorted back to our tables, which were stunning. I’ve attached a photo of my table before we sat down. Chargers(inscribed with the IC logo), were placed at every seat and included a damask napkin, with our menu inserted in a fold.
We sat down and a server came around and took our napkin and placed it in our lap, then another server came around and took our order, finally another server came around and removed the charger. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people wait on a table. We started off with a toast, champagne was provided to all. Then the wine service started, we had our choice of white or red. If you ordered white wine, they removed the red wine glass. Amazing attention to detail.
Now comes the food… We started with a butternut squash puree, & squash and pine nut saute. It was simply divine. The first server came along and placed a soup plate in front of us(from the left of course). The soup plate had some diced squash and some pine nuts in it. Almost immediately another server came along and ladled the squash puree into the soup plate. It was wonderful, almost like eating a warm pumpkin pie.
Next we had a bibb salad with grilled pear, stilton cheese, caramelized pecan & a dark balsamic vinaigrette. It was wonderful. Everyone loved it.
For dinner we had our choice of blackened sea bass with potato and leek napoleon, green asparagus with a veal and merlot reduction, or mesquite seasoned filet mignon, stilton crust potato vegetable strudel, green asparagus with sour cream jus. I don’t know how they were able to accommodate 260 folks ordering at the table, but they pulled it off. They must have one heck of a kitchen.
I’m a steak fan, but decided to try the sea bass and I was glad I did. Should clarify that the one thing that makes a meal go from extraordinary to mediocre is the temperature of the food. Entrée should be hot, and the salad chilled. Well that was the case here. My sea bass was piping hot, and frankly indescribable. It may well be one of the finest meals I’ve ever eaten. Rest assured my plate was cleared, it was that good.
Coffee was served and a dessert station was available, but I never visited that, no room for anything else. Event went on until about 12:30, it was certainly a magical night. All in all, I again want to thank the staff of the Chicago Intercontinental for making this a night to remember.
On to my room. I stayed in the North Tower on the 8th floor. Room had a view of the south tower. Not a great view, but not that I care either. I’m in the room to sleep & clean up not look out the window. Room was small, bathroom was quite tiny, but for a downtown hotel in an older building I’ve dealt with worse. I’m 6’5” and walking through the hallways was a struggle, I kept having to duck, as I thought I was going to run into the head of the sprinkler system, an exit sign or a door frame.
Other complaints I heard was the high cost of wireless, well I never needed it. I used my IPOD touch through out the city using free wireless provided by numerous restaurants, shops & stores.
I did use the valet parking which was pricey, $57 a day. Another person I met at the wedding told me he parked out by the airport for $8 a day and took the subway into the city. You certainly could do that, but I would rather pay the extra money, have valet service and not have to lug my suitcases all over the city on the subway, moving up & down stairs.
All things considered, including the staff, from the bellhop, concierge, guys in the garage, to the check out clerks, all were all professional & courteous. My stay at the Intercontinental Chicago was excellent, with one exception. I’m rating this a 4 star hotel rather than a five star hotel because of….. plastic cups in the bathroom. Shame on whoever made that decision. You’re going to charge downtown hotel rates yet provide items that I would expect at a truck stop motor inn? Well this was a true let down.
Just a suggestion to anyone that is thinking of having a wedding at this hotel, I would suggest that you buy a couple cases of glasses and have the hotel put them in the rooms of your out of town guests. This will save you much embarrassment.
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