jerry a. laska

I like this new Conrad and do think it is a good value and an improvement over the old Conrad. Unlike the old Conrad the restaurant and bar both have views and are an attractive place to hang out or dine and is actually a hotel bar and restaurant that I might visit even if not staying at the hotel. The rooms are nice, comfortable, and attractively furnished. Every member of the staff I encountered was friendly and approachable. The fitness center is an improvement over the old Conrad and second only to the fitness centers at the Palmer House and the Chicago Hilton in terms of size and some equipment. There is no pool but pools aren't consistently found in Chicago Hilton properties (the tired DT has an outdoor pool) and the WA, Hilton, Suites, PH, and others have indoor pools (I can't remember what the ES's and HI's have). No spa, but if I want a spa, I'll stay at the WA.

Imo, the US Conrads overall are still business hotels and not really resort or destination hotels like the Asian Conrads and I don't try to compare them to Conrad Tokyo or HK. The rates for US Conrads are usually much less than at least these two Asian Conrads.

My opinion is that the Conrad is the second best Hilton property in Chicago (WA still being the best). It might even be tied with the WA as best as the WA still seems to be trying to figure out their bar/restaurant set up with several stops and starts in the last year or two. I haven't been to the WA since they closed their second floor bar (which was a favorite of mine) and so don't really know what is happening there. The WA, of course, has a wonderful spa facility (although the Conrad's equipment is better imo) and so that will probably keep it in the lead.

HawkeyeFlyer

Stayed here for the first time last weekend and thought this hotel was amazing. Only a quick one night stay but coming back soon and may book a multiple night trip.
Anyone else have any experience here?

arlflyer

Perhaps you should check the dedicated thread about the property.

jerry a. laska

The Conrad Chicago is opening their new rooftop bar next week:
https://chicago.eater.com/2017/5/15/...o-sushi-whisky

More on the rooftop bar/sushi bar (including menu), opens Monday May 22:
https://chicago.eater.com/2017/5/18/...op-river-north

ben1233

Had a 4 night's stay at the Conrad Chicago in early May. Looks like I just missed the opening of the rooftop bar.

Cool things:
* Pre-arrival text from the FD
* Executive Level Room does not include lounge access as there is no lounge, but they do give you free reign of the in-room mini bar
* Room is controlled by a lot of electronic doo-dads
* Bathroom is first rate
* All rooms have couches
* Staff is friendly, but do not fall all over you like at the WA where IMO there is added polish
* Staff will respond quickly and succinctly to text message requests
* The pasta and the lobby level restaurant was to die for; great whiskey/bourbon list.

Items of note:
* House car is a Fiskar Karma but it was 'out of service.' Something with the tires, I believe. They gave me $10 from the till in lieu of the car, which I thought was pretty above-and-beyond.
* Room service was very high quality. Pretty sure I don't want to know how much butter went into the potatoes. The room service menu is very limited but they did make a point of saying "if you want something else just ask us" or something to that effect.
* Executive level rooms are on the 17th and 18th floor. Don't be fooled by the floor plan showing a "hospitality suite" thinking that is the lounge. That is just a rentable space for meetings/get togethers.
* The Executive Level breakfast gets you $20 in food/drink at either the lobby restaurant OR ground floor restaurant. The ground floor restaurant is cheaper than the lobby level and IMO it had some of the best breakfast sandwiches I've ever had. The $20 can only be applied to food and beverage. The tip and tax you still have to pay for. If you book or receive an exec level room, certainly go for the 1,000 MyWay points instead since breakfast is gratis.
* The Executive Level rooms come with the aforementioned "stocked" mini bar. That includes 2 cokes/2 diet cokes and 5 airliner bottles (1 each) of top shelf vodka, gin, rum, tequila and whiskey. They do not automatically restock these as you use them. You must let them know if you want them restocked. I tried not to go Denzel Washington "Flight" on them.
* Rooms are more long and narrow versus wide; not sure if its my imagination or just accentuated more for some reason.
* The color scheme throughout is somewhat odd. Not sure what kind of statement they were going for with all the burnt oranges and yellows.

In summary I'll return here if the getting is good. However when I can comparably cross-shop the WA either on points or $ (or not on employers budget), I'll probably give the WA the nod at least for now.

jayman

Stayed at the Conrad over the weekend. I am a diamond level member, was not offered any upgrade and even told there were none available, when the website clearly showed upgrades available. attempted to use the concierge, but she was incompetent! Told me to just use Ticketmaster or stubhub to look for the cubs tickets I wanted. The old Conrad had an awesome concierge. The fact that the concierge didn't even have a desk was odd....Conrad's pride themselves on the concierge, this was one of the worst! I have found concierge in Hilton Garden Inns that were more useful. Really not that impressed, not sure we'll return.....

epigram

do the suites get a breakfast credit and/or stocked mini bar?

KENNECTED

I assume that is based on your booking rate/package.

I think more information is needed

ABlue

Just completed a three night stay here, some minor issues but staff members were very responsive by text and overall, I was very happy with the hotel.

Breakfast for gold/diamond was the $20 credit, could only be used at Baptiste and Bottle and tip was not covered (I was told they are closing Il Tavolino which is why they changed the breakfast to Baptiste and Bottle only?). It would be nice to have a faster breakfast option, but fortunately the restaurant wasn't crowded and they were pretty quick the days I was there, the food was also very good. I debated between this hotel and the Londonhouse, but was happy I picked this hotel since both the location and the hotel itself seemed quieter than Londonhouse plus the major downgrade in the breakfast benefit at Londonhouse recently.

The best part for me was that I had asked specifically for a quiet room on a higher floor and away from the Mag Mile and hospital traffic noise, and they put me in a room on the 17th floor about as far away as one could get without being in a corner suite. Really appreciated that they actually paid attention to the request in my reservation, and the room they gave me was even on a higher floor than what was offered during online check in the day before (glad I didn't select a room then!). No room upgrade and I didn't bother asking for one since I was more concerned with being in a quieter part of the hotel. Heard sirens occasionally (pretty much unavoidable downtown), but otherwise it was very quiet. Overall a nice hotel for a relaxing stay in a very convenient location.

Paul Allen

Only stocked mini bars are on the 18th floor from my experience, which I guess is their quasi "club level" with no lounge or anything different from the other floors as far as I can tell. But you get 1 mini bottle of 5 or so different liquors included, Makers and Casamigas are the 2 I remember. No food, but but free booze is always nice

gengar

Sad to report I had a very disappointing stay at the Conrad Chicago. First off, watch out for bogus charges on the folio - I had a $140 valet charge on the bill at checkout. Fortunately it was removed without much hassle.

I'll try to keep this brief.

Pros:

• Booked "Corner Suite" (entry level suite), got upgraded to "Chicago Suite" (next level up).

Whoops, that's about it.

Cons of the hotel:

• extremely limited room service menu - literally 4 options for breakfast and 4 options for rest of the day
• no 24hr room service
• no minibar (which is compounded by above)
• no lounge
• breakfast is only $20 credit at lobby restaurant, which won't even buy some entrees much less most of the entrees and a drink
• inconsistent housekeeping - water bottles/toiletries/towels not always replenished / fully replenished
• noise issues from street due to hotel being on low floors and single windows
• FD refused even a 2pm checkout, told latest was 1pm and "only because" I'm diamond... so I guess non-Diamonds should expect even worse

Cons of the room:

• already showing wear - chipped corners on furniture, marks all over walls
• single HVAC control for both rooms
• blind/light control only works for both rooms simultaneously. so, e.g., can't open blackouts in living room but keep them closed in bedroom
• bedroom blackouts don't completely cover window and also have some holes/cracks in them, making them ineffective
• bedroom sheers don't open/close
• bedroom has minimal decor with 3 completely bare walls - doesn't feel lux at all
• bedroom also laid out in awkward trapezoid shape, single sofa/ottoman just stuffed in corner - difficult even to get to that sofa
• no bathtub

EDIT: Wow, almost forgot one particularly bad service mishap: I used their rush laundry service (50% additional charge, 4hrs stated return time) - laundry was not returned when I got back to room 7 hours after I called for pickup. After calling to ask for it to be delivered, the person on the phone said she would check with housekeeping and then call me back. 25 mins later, I had no call back and no laundry (I had a dinner appointment so had no time to follow up and just had to give up on it). When I got back several hours later, the laundry was simply tossed over the couch in my living room. The laundry receipt had no price on it so I assumed they comped it, but it was on the folio at checkout and had to argue with FD about it. I pointed out that at the very least the 50% should be refunded, and eventually they did comp the entire service.

EDIT AGAIN: I see from other reviews that some rooms in the hotel do have a minibar (apparently even complimentary in some cases!). Pretty crazy to me that even the 2nd level suite does not have a minibar at all.

Michael19887

I'll add my .02 that I was disappointed in this Conrad and much preferred the old property (and all other Conrads I've been to) on all accounts: including elite treatment, decor, service, and amenities. The decor is strange and very dated despite being a new hotel. Everyone has different tastes, but I'm not sure what the designer was thinking. The lobby lacks any wow factor and is just a small dark hallway with the desks by the restaurant. The pictures of the rooms with the red carpet speak for themselves. Breakfast in the restaurant wound up costing about 16.00/day after the credit for 2 when each ordering an entree and a cup of coffee with tax and tip. They got rid of the old pillow menu and turndown service menu from the old Conrad that I loved. No minibar in my room and odd/limited room service menu.

The highlights were the very comfortable bed and rooftop sushi bar with great food and service.

gengar

I was pretty surprised that the Conrad Chicago doesn't offer turndown service at all.

TravelerMSY

Nice rooms. No lounge. Diamond breakfast is now a set menu of bacon/egg/croissant plus French press coffee. Served at the lobby restaurant. No credit against other menu items but YMMV.

i found the rooms modern and spacious and a good value, although I only paid $100.

Beano

so no set of Conrad soft toys ?