Checked in for 3 nights late in September. The location is very good - it's next to Lincoln Park which is wonderful for early morning running/jogging and is less than 10 mins walk from Michigan Avenue.
The hotel rooms were nice - roomy, typical W hotel decor, but there was no bathtub! The bathrobe was pretty old and looked as if it had shrunk after being washed a zillion times. When I complained it was promptly replaced by a different, much nicer brown and white bathrobe.
I am a Starwood Platinum member but did not get a suite upgrade because they were full. Instead I had a lakeview room with wonderful views, but traffic noise came through loud and clear even 25 floors up.
However, this hotel's main drawback is its service, which comes nowhere near to the level one might expect when paying over US$280 a night.
I had breakfast one morning, and the croissant that I ordered took ages to arrive. When it did, I was told it was the last one available, and that the waiter had to go upstairs to get it. Breakfast at 10 am may be late, but it does not warrant that sort of comment.
Dinner from room service one night was a comedy. I picked a Goose Island beer from a list that was recited to me. 30 mins later I was told it was unavailable, and I then picked a Stella Artois, once again from a list that was recited to me. Lo and behold 5 mins later we had a replay of the earlier phone call. I ended up with a Sam Adams.
2 days later I ordered a Smart Breakfast from room service, but requested that the muffins be substituted for Danish pastries. I ended up with both the muffins and 8 pastries, and got charged extra for the pastries in spite of the waiter saying that they would not be charged!
I shall stay at the Westin Chicago River North in future.
hotel reviews