As you walk into this Westin property you're immediately struck by the open atrium. Almost all rooms open directly to walkways overlooking a 12 story glass topped atrium. Even with the size and hubbub of a lobby, this large hotel was quiet. Sound didn't carry very far. The rooms themselves are slightly larger than the standard hotel room and well appointed. The mattresses were very comfy and we never had to fiddle with the thermometer. The bathroom was a little cramped, but outside it was a dressing area with a robe hanging in the closet. There were complimentary bottles of water on the desk, which came in handy.
This hotel sits alone in an upscale business park complex, which is reflected in how the rooms are priced. The expectation is a business crowd with expense accounts. There is no shuttle from O'Hare, which is located 10-12 miles from the hotel. You'll need to drive to get to mass transit to Chicago, or take a car the 27 miles to the city.
The room fridge is locked and probably contains overpriced snacks and drinks. The "facility fee" which pops up when you make reservations is a big joke. It's really part of the room charge and is reflected as such when you get the bill. If you are with a large group that has booked many rooms, they drop the charge.
Another place where you need an expense account is Shula's, the on site restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. You'll need a car if you're going to try and find food at a more reasonable price. If you're on business, eat at Shula's and let your company pick up the tab.
This is another one of those hotels that figure they'll gouge you for wi-fi. I continue to be dumfounded as to why seemingly upscale hotels do not include this in the room price, while other cheaper chains do. I also expect that most of their clientele have smart phones, so they can't be making much on this fee. I got all the connectivity I needed through my phone.
The other gripe I have with the hotel is their placement of handicap parking vis-a-vis valet parking. The valet parking spots are the closest you can get to the hotel, while the handicap parking is located at least 30 ft farther. It may not seem as much, except to the poor individual with breathing issues on a cold windy day.
All in all, this is a nice place for the business crowd. If I hadn't been there with a large group, I would have found something else that offered a free breakfast buffet and free wi-fi at a lower price...but that's because I don't have an expense account.

My family to include my husband and 2 year old decided to take a roadtrip from St. Louis to Chicago for the weekend. So we did our research and chose this hotel as they had a pool which my son was overly interested in swimming and the hotel looked pretty decent and only approx 30min from downtown chicago. To our surprise once we got there we found out the pool was not working and the pump was out (of couse this information was not posted to the hotels website.

So to the service issue at the front Desk: Pete was the front desk attendant at check in. He told us the situation about the pool. So, we asked if there were any affiliate hotels in the area that could accomodate our family that had a pool. Pete suggested that we catch a shuttle to another hotel each time we wanted to swim and then return to the Westin once we were done. I thought so you want us to catch a shuttle with our 2 yr old son to another hotel, swim, dry off as best walk outside in CHICAGO Freezing/BREEZY wind and then be transferred back to another hotel WHAT!!!!

I told him that idea just wasnt going to work for us. I asked to speak to a manager, he said the manager wasnt in until the morning and that the manager wouldnt tell me anything differently than he'd already told me. We were so tired after driving almost 5hours we went up to the room and later came back down to the front desk and guess what, to our surprise here comes a supervisor, Richard, who asked if we needed assistance (I thought why was I told I would have to wait until the morning).

So, Richard the supervisor went through calling other hotels to see if they could accomodate us while Pete stood there twiddling his thumb doing nothing (there were no customers/guest at the front desk - Pete was just standing there). Richard even asked if Pete could let him know the city of other Westins and he said oh I dont know, so Richard had to tell Pete to get on the internet and look it up (DUH!). Pete is just not fit to troubleshoot/work with the public at least he wasnt that night.

To make a long story short Richard the supervisor end up getting us in at the Westin Yorktown at a rate of $50 higher per night, but at least the staff their were professional, and they had a working pool. If you plan to visit the Westin Northwest Chicago make sure you call before you go to find out the details as the website also says this hotel has a Kids Zone/Club which equates to a kids backpack with coloring books etc ( a little misleading)

Stayed in a corner suite- very big by hotel standards (dinning, kitchen, living, bath, large king bed in bedroom). 2 large flat screens.

Very clean, quiet and an overall pleasant experience. Stayed here for a wedding and would consider staying just to get away for a weekend.

I am a Platinum SPG member and while the hotel is not horrible, some of their policies are. As a frequent Starwood guest, it is very evident that this is a franchised property and not actually managed by Starwood. What really irked me was the $10 facility charge that they try to sneak in. While I agree that the rate i paid was downright cheap, I feel like the hotel management tried to "steal" an extra $10 from me. Would have still booked this hotel if the quoted rate was $10 higher upfront? YES. I just do not like it when they try to be sneaky with a "facilities charge". Is management that desperate to garner bookings that they must rely on underhanded and sneaky practices for additional revenue - it seems so. When i asked at the desk, 2 clerks told me it was for parking (this is a large suburban hotel with a sprawling parking lot - no one ever pays for parking here) Health Club access (A platinum benefit, even though suburban hotels rarely, if ever have a fee for the gym), Water (again an included platinum benefit), and free local calls (with cell phones who ever uses the hotel phone anymore except for in house calls??). Both clerks agreed with me that this is a bad policy that only angers quests because they are made to feel nickel and dimed. They removed the charge from my bill and said they do this quite often for upset quests. PLEASE charge a fair rate, I will pay it, Please do not be underhanded and sneaky. The Westin Chicago Northwest is not a resort or a Vegas property - the facilities charge is a sham and a joke.

In addition the breakfast buffet in Shulas is downright horrible. Powdered eggs and stale muffins. PLEASE do better!!!