Location is great - especially if you want to take the family to Navy Pier (or the beach in summer). Rooms are typical 'W'. The opening between the bathroom and sleeping area is a combo of 'chic' and slightly odd. Views are great. Parking is expensive, but it is Chicago. Pool is great. Has a deep end and was warm - even in February. Kids voted it their favorite hotel pool in Chicago (and we've done almost all of them). All around great hotel. The difference maker here is the staff. Everyone that I have dealt with in my multiple stays has been friendly and helpful. I would put the staff close to the Ritz or Peninsula, but the W is a fraction of the cost. If there were a measure for "service/dollar", this hotel would be tops in Chicago. I don't know how others reviewers could have had issue with the staff - I think it's more an indication of them, not the hotel.

I stayed at this hotel over New Years. The hotel is up to the "W" standards. The room was small, but modern and comfortable. The bathroom does not offer a lot of privacy. The hotel lobby bar and the bar on a higher floor, Whiskey Sky were both great for getting drinks. Nice lake views and views of Navy Pier. Close walk to Magnificent Mile. The room gets very dark with room darkening curtains, good for anyone trying to sleep in! Be careful when settling your bill before checking out, they charged us for parking, and we didn't even have a car! They were quick to take it off, so it was not a problem. Overall service was friendly, and the hotel was clean, and modern. I would not recommend this hotel for anyone traveling with young kids. Also, rooms near the Whiskey Bar can be loud with the music from the bar.

Came here for business in early February. Staff was real nice and accommodating. Rooms for business receptions were nice but small for our group size. Got very loud. Food served at functions was good. Nice selection offered for non-meat eaters. Wave restaurant on the first floor was great. Choose the large plate options to share at dinner. The truffle French fries are amazing! I'd go back just for those! Everything we tried was amazing: shrimp, chorizo and fingerling potatoes with chimichirri sauce, mushroom ravioli, scallops with risotto. Small plates we tried we the calamari (wow) and blue crab cakes (actually about golf ball size). Rooms were nice, Bliss amenities were nice. Only issue was that you could hear everything happening around you. From your neighbor flushing the toilet to the construction workers across the street. Still, it was a good experience all in all.

We've spent a couple of weekends at the W Lakeshore and the W City Center in Chicago. I will admit, I'm generally a Starwood loyalist - they usually have a property (Westin, W, or Sheraton) that fits our travel needs. In Chicago, this is my favorite Starwood property for a weekend visit. The Lakeshore location is great - you are close to Michigan Avenue (after enjoying all of the great Chicago food, I like the 5-6 block walk back to the hotel) but also have a great view of the lake and Navy Pier.

The rooms are average to above average size for the W - certainly larger than rooms at City Center and Midtown ATL W where we stayed recently. As with all W properties, the bed and linens are fantastic - the perfect place for a sleep-late relaxing weekend. Also, the room gets very dark - they have a great room-darkening shade you can pull down to block out the light. One watch out: we had a great room on a high floor, but if you are within a few floors of Whiskey Sky, you may hear music. It wasn't a huge bother, but we did notice it. However, not enough of an issue for us to ask to move to a lower floor.

Staff was friendly and helpful - I requested a refrigerator to store some leftover Giordano's deep dish pizza and it was quickly delivered to our room at 10:30pm. :) I also found the scene is this hotel to be less uber-trendy, perhaps because it's the midwest, but everyone was cool, but down-to-earth. All in all, a great stay, and we'll be back soon.