If you are a frequent tripadvisor viewer like, me, you probably scroll through the pictures that other travelers have taken to get a sense of the property. By doing this and observing the photos that other people took of the stay, by the 10th picture of this property, I was sold. You can tell by the sleek, chic room décor how awesome these rooms are. I was inspired and booked my stay here, coupled by the fact that this hotel had dropped significantly in price at the time of my booking, making it the overall winner.
When we pulled up in our cab, even the outside of this hotel is amazing, stunning, and impressive. It is ideally located and truly in the middle of everything. We noticed right away that NoMI is the affiliated restaurant there, which was a good sign for us. Once out of the cab, the doorman is microphoned and asks for your name. He “mics” your name to the front desk so that they can pull up your reservation and that they are all ready for you. It is pretty awesome. The sweetest, most professional reception girl greeted us and processed our check in seamlessly. At our former hotel (the Conrad) we were stuck looking into another office building from our hotel room. Here, we were smart, and requested a view. She stated that it would be $30 more for a view, and we politely declined. This hotel is definitely a splurge purchase, and you really don’t want to pay much more than what you already have paid. Interestingly enough, when we checked into our room, we had a stunning, gorgeous view of Chicago. (Thanks, check in girl!)
In a previous review, I complained that the Conrad had no “WOW” factor, but was simple and suitable. THIS hotel is one big wow factor after another. The lobby is gorgeous, dark, stately, and sexy. It is just a place where you want to stay at as long as possible. When you go into your room, you are just struck by the trendy, cool, vibe that rises up and greets you. The rooms are immaculate and pristinely designed to satisfy even the most highbrow consumer. The blinds are all electronically controlled by the wall, along with your lights and just about everything else in your room. The office desk is this really modern, cool design and swings on over across into the room. I was immediately in love. The main stunner? The bathroom wall opens, so you can take a big, bubble bath, while sitting in your tub, enjoying the view of your room, or outside your window. It is a REALLY well designed room, and smartly aware of what a traveler wants for a comfortable stay. HUGE bonus points awarded for the bedding. This is why you pay more for a hotel room. Probably one of the best nights sleep I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. In fact, we loved the bedding so much, contacting the hotel about their complete list of bedding / mattress / mattress pad is still on my list of things to do. It is something that I would be interested in replicating for my own home. (Yep. It is THAT outstanding!!)
Here is what makes this a 5 star property: Extras and details. I got to enjoy the most luxurious bath with complimentary bath salts, stocked in the rooms. It was truly a special experience and trust me, we really didn’t want to leave. Additionally, the mini bar is well stocked with all sorts of treats, plus complimentary apples in your room for you to enjoy. We loved everything about the room.
The one downside came into play when I ordered breakfast the next morning. I ordered a basic breakfast ($16 and not a bad price for this nice of a property) plus a side of fruit, a juice, and coffee. When I went to go pick it up, I had to wait about 15 minutes for the girl to get back with my change. I just was left there, standing, with no explanation. I paid in cash, instead of charging it to my room. Normally, this wouldn’t annoy me, but it is early, I am tired, no makeup on as people are trickling in to enjoy their $60 brunch, and I just wanted to pay and get out of there. Instead, I had to loiter around this fancy hallway endlessly for her to get back with my change. Apparently, she explained that they only rely on the bartender for change and since the bartender wasn’t there on Sundays, she had to go downstairs to the reception area to hunt down change. Fine. I would have appreciated being told that, and I would have just charged it to my room to save both of us the trouble. Now 20 minutes later, I high tailed it back to my room, with the breakfast in hand. I open it only to find BLACK toast, totally burned. Really? Who would be so careless to package up burned toast at this nice of a hotel at these prices. My bill was $34 for 1 meal, 2 drinks, and my toast was burned? Fine. I then realized that they didn’t process the order right. It was supposed to include a meat (not included in my takeout) and the toast was supposed to be included (which I was charged for.) SUPER annoying. My coffee had no cream or sugar, which we had to go back downstairs to get. In an ultra-classy, uber trendy hotel, I just would have expected things like this to go much more smoothly. I will say, the staff is super nice, accommodating and polite. It is just the breakfast on Sundays that can use some work.
Reluctant to leave, our checkout was smooth and uneventful. The bellmen are all very prompt and professional; they have been well trained and work very hard for the hotel. We were really impressed.
With the exception to the breakfast blunder, this has become my favorite place to stay in Chicago. I would describe this hotel as dark, modern, sleek, sophisticated, sexy, trendy, professional, upscale, desirable, and luxurious. If you can afford the splurge of spending to stay here, do it. One of the best hotels I have ever stayed in and will look forward to a return here sometime.
Room Tip: Request a view, but don't pay more for it.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
