I've just returned from four nights at Omni Chicago. Although we chose the hotel because it was hosting the meetings my spouse was attending, it proved to be a perfect location for my tourist activities. The hotel is walking distance to many Chicago attractions, and its location on the "Mile" means it is in the thick of the restaurant and shopping district. Staff were polite and professional if not overly-friendly, and the concierge desk is staffed long hours by knowledgeable people who recommended tours and attractions to suit my interests, and made reservations at a number of great restaurants while respecting our request to be sent to local eateries rather than popular tourist traps. In fact, the only "trap" we encountered was the hotel's own restaurant, where I had breakfast. I guess high prices are par for hotels in tourist areas, but $5 for coffee is just plain gouging. With coffee, even lighter menu choices add up to near $20 -- same price as the full buffet.
We booked a suite with doors between the bedroom and the sitting area, to allow one to get ready for early morning meetings while the other slept in.The room assigned was small, looked well used, and did not have the requested doors. The staff did relocate us to a larger suite with doors, but could only give us a lower floor, facing noisy Michigan Ave. This affects my rating of the hotel -- we called three times to ensure our specific room requests were noted, but still ended up with something different. And as other reviewers have mentioned, the rooms are soon due for some refreshing, although quite comfortable and very, very clean. (Even when towels were hung up to re-use, they were replaced, sometimes twice a day -- not very environmentally friendly.)
We enjoyed a low rate due to the associated meetings, which offsets some of the disappointment. And the super location makes this, and other downtown hotels, a good choice for anyone visiting Chicago as a tourist. (Tip: the Chicago Trolley hop-on, hop-off bus and the architectural boat tour are each "must-do".)
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