Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Aug 13, 2015, 12:30 am
#91
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Southwest A+ & CP
Posts: 7
Suite
Upgraded to a suite today without asking ("thanks for being a diamond member"). It's a nice real suite with sliding door between the bedroom and living space. Bedroom has similar layout and windows/views as a deluxe king, just adds the living area as a bonus.
Rooftop bar is fantastic and a huge selling point for the hotel. Better than the Park Hyatt's 7th floor "rooftop" space. Drinks were good, although the bar/wait staff seemed a bit overwhelmed on their second day of service. The word was out -- very full at happy hour with most people not hotel guests.
Rooftop bar is fantastic and a huge selling point for the hotel. Better than the Park Hyatt's 7th floor "rooftop" space. Drinks were good, although the bar/wait staff seemed a bit overwhelmed on their second day of service. The word was out -- very full at happy hour with most people not hotel guests.
Sep 3, 2015, 9:36 pm
#96
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: PHL
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, AA Gold, FB Gold, ITA Volare Executive
Posts: 3,294
Brief review
I had had some trepidation based on some of the reports I had read here, but I really have (almost) nothing but good things to say about the place.
Got upgraded as a Diamond -- without asking -- to a corner suite on a high floor. Yeah, at some point I realized I was monkeying around a bit long with the window shades, but that's kind of the price of having a corner room with a lot of windows!
The general atmosphere of the place is nice, kind of Andaz-like. Offered late check-out without asking, which I like. (Late check-out is far less of a benefit when you have to wait until the last morning to see if it is available.) I found The Corner (or whatever that snack-plus-TV place on the 3rd floor is called) to be a nice treat. I was operating a lot off meal times and it is great to be able to stop in, grab something to drink and scarf a few snacks.
The restaurant -- Cochon Volant -- is fine but the $20 coupons for the Diamond breakfast are just plain silly. I mean, you could do coffee and just about any dish and be just under $20, but what about a tip? The whole thing has a pointless stinginess to it that I assume they will ultimately redress. I did room service one time which was plenty quick and adequate but now the voucher is not covering any of the add-on costs (tip, service fee ...) Again, it's not a lot of extra money, but it has a kind of stupid flavor amidst all the other generous, cool stuff.
Got upgraded as a Diamond -- without asking -- to a corner suite on a high floor. Yeah, at some point I realized I was monkeying around a bit long with the window shades, but that's kind of the price of having a corner room with a lot of windows!
The general atmosphere of the place is nice, kind of Andaz-like. Offered late check-out without asking, which I like. (Late check-out is far less of a benefit when you have to wait until the last morning to see if it is available.) I found The Corner (or whatever that snack-plus-TV place on the 3rd floor is called) to be a nice treat. I was operating a lot off meal times and it is great to be able to stop in, grab something to drink and scarf a few snacks.
The restaurant -- Cochon Volant -- is fine but the $20 coupons for the Diamond breakfast are just plain silly. I mean, you could do coffee and just about any dish and be just under $20, but what about a tip? The whole thing has a pointless stinginess to it that I assume they will ultimately redress. I did room service one time which was plenty quick and adequate but now the voucher is not covering any of the add-on costs (tip, service fee ...) Again, it's not a lot of extra money, but it has a kind of stupid flavor amidst all the other generous, cool stuff.
Sep 4, 2015, 10:29 am
#97
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: CMH, West Coast
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, oneworld emerald
Posts: 2,741
If the GM or anyone else at this property is reading, your stinginess about the $20 Diamond breakfast vouchers is sufficient for me to never stay here. I'm typically in Chicago 5-7 times a year and always stay at a Hyatt (which, until this is rectified, will never be the Centric).
Edit: well, I guess I lied. I did end up there. My verbose review down thread.
Edit: well, I guess I lied. I did end up there. My verbose review down thread.
Last edited by nineworldseries; Jan 31, 2016 at 1:55 pm
Sep 15, 2015, 9:19 am
#99
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Southwest A+ & CP
Posts: 7
Each time I've stayed there I've simply asked for another $20 voucher and received one. I was also given another voucher when I called down to request a room upgrade and was moved to a deluxe room.
Sep 27, 2015, 7:49 pm
#100
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Exploralist, Marriot Silver
Posts: 2,065
Checked in today and was told I was upgraded even though the place seemed sold out earlier. I really can't tell the difference between a standard and deluxe room. I'm in a xx14 room. High floor, three windows. Bathroom looks has a toilet and shower behind separate doors, but no separate tub as pictured on the web site for the deluxe room. I do, however, have a gigantic walk in closet to the right of the entrance hallway. (shrug)
Sep 28, 2015, 6:15 pm
#101
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Exploralist, Marriot Silver
Posts: 2,065
Food options horrible and unethical
OK, the title is a bit harsh, but I've decided the restaurant and the rooftop bar here is horrid.
1. Aire, the rooftop bar, will attempt to charge a price higher than on the menu. Chicken wings are $14 on the menu. When my bill came, it said $18. The waitress had to get a manager to correct it for my bill; the manager seemed annoyed at having to fix it and didn't even bother to apologize. What bothers me is that this incorrect price is programmed into the computer, so I'm definitely not the only victim of this scam.
2. Cochon Volant, the restaurant, is overpriced especially for the $20 voucher giving to Diamond members for breakfast. But goodness most of the employees seem either apathetic or downright rude. It's not a pleasant dining experience.
Bottom line: Unless you have to stay near Millennium Park, choose another Hyatt. This is an unfortunately weak start to the Centric brand.
1. Aire, the rooftop bar, will attempt to charge a price higher than on the menu. Chicken wings are $14 on the menu. When my bill came, it said $18. The waitress had to get a manager to correct it for my bill; the manager seemed annoyed at having to fix it and didn't even bother to apologize. What bothers me is that this incorrect price is programmed into the computer, so I'm definitely not the only victim of this scam.
2. Cochon Volant, the restaurant, is overpriced especially for the $20 voucher giving to Diamond members for breakfast. But goodness most of the employees seem either apathetic or downright rude. It's not a pleasant dining experience.
Bottom line: Unless you have to stay near Millennium Park, choose another Hyatt. This is an unfortunately weak start to the Centric brand.
Oct 12, 2015, 4:31 am
#102
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: usa
Programs: Free agent, value for my money
Posts: 149
Multiple night stay. Found the $20 vouchers useful as missed breakfast a few times and could use the value for other items/times at Cochon during my stay. In my experience found staff in restaurant pleasant and professional and price/value seemed fine.
Oct 12, 2015, 8:58 am
#103
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,253
After reading the recent comments and after further reflecting upon my two night stay here and comparing it to my other stays in Chicago this summer, the issue here is that while its not bad (more or less fine in many respects), it is disappointing for Downtown Chicago. For a Hyatt, Mag Mile is a superior experience (granted the price is higher and its noisier) and on the other side of the aisle somewhere like The Drake which is often in the same price range as Centric Loop, has a much higher level of service. Now part of the issue may be that they are trying to come up with an "attitude" or "experience" to delineate a Centric as something different. Instead, they took some of that aloft yet casual crap I dislike about Andaz (these comments are based on my Andaz Fifth and Andaz Wall Street stays) without any of the nice touches. So in other words, unless this place is significantly cheaper than the other alternatives, its not worth it. (I realize I like more traditional style service, not boutique or trendy, so I will admit that in advance to someone commenting such).
Last edited by Miesque; Oct 12, 2015 at 9:03 am
Jan 31, 2016, 1:47 pm
#104
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: CMH, West Coast
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, oneworld emerald
Posts: 2,741
My review is going to echo a number of the underwhelmed previous posters in this thread. Yes, I know that upthread I vowed never to go here because of the nickel-and-diming Diamond breakfast situation, but I was somehow convinced by a low ($85) rate and a very warm and snow-free January weekend in Chicago. Were I there alone, I would have chosen either the McCormick Place (upgraded to a suite bigger than my house there the last time) or the Regency at similar rates, but with the significant other, location and a more impressive breakfast won out.
The Centric has a great location, right on Monroe and Clark in the middle of the Loop. Quick walk to Monroe Red Line and Blue Line stations. The elevated CTA lines are about 2.5 blocks to Adams/Wabash. Noticed parking was $65 dollars (LOL).
Waited upon arrival around 2:30 PM for probably 10-15 minutes - no Platinum/Diamond checkin and only one agent on duty. Given a room on the 21st floor. Was offered one $20 breakfast ticket even though I had two guests on the room. Had to ask for another one.
Our room was literally right next to the elevator, and, while alright, was clearly not an upgraded room (Deluxe King). The one-window "jail cell" room described in another review. They were selling a $20 upgrade to the Deluxe rooms to the people in front of me (and in an unusual email to me a couple days before the stay). I really didn't feel compelled to initiate conflict over an upgraded room so just took it. A nice view east down Monroe towards the lake, though.
First thing I noticed in the room was the obvious lack of Kenet amenities, like every other HR/Hyatt/HP/HH I've been to. These were "Bee Kind" brand, and when I turned the bottle around and saw the "Gilchrist and Soames" on the back, I audibly groaned. I'm not a huge fan of the Kenet stuff, but it is clearly way better than this crap as I had to shampoo my hair 3 times to even get it clean.
As others have noted, the rooms here are rather oddly and uncomfortably designed. The "desk" is a strange blue pod-like thing; I do not normally work in rooms but could see how that could be awkward. The bed is very low to the ground, and as others have noted, the drawcords for the blinds were difficult to operate. The shower, the most important thing about a room for me, was nice but was completely flush to the ground, and the door opened out, so there's no room for any towel or mat on the other side as you're getting in and out. This seemed somewhat hazardous in the morning as the floor was already kind of slippery. And, yes, the AC was super loud, probably one of the loudest I've encountered in a Hyatt. It really didn't bother me throughout the night, however.
There's a "lounge" - aka "The Corner" on the 3rd floor that is open to all guests. I actually really liked this, although it's a distinct step down from the Regency Club experience. There's a lot of space, a nice espresso/coffee machine and bottled water throughout the day as well as (very) light snacks - pretzels, hard candy, etc. Very nice part of the Centric brand.
Cochon Volant had tasty food and huge portions. Everything on the menu looked great. I had the Salmon Benedict and the GF had the breakfast sandwich (unusually, it had pastrami instead of bacon/sausage). Service was about a 5. Friendly but inefficient. Food was great, however. We had 2 entrees, 2 juices, and 2 coffees, which to my understanding is the standard Hyatt Diamond breakfast benefit (i.e. not even pushing it).
Total was around $56 with a ~%15 tip. Was charged the remaining $16 on the folio. I offered to pay it but then expressed how it really seems lame and rather chintzy to charge overage to Diamonds when we just ordered standard breakfast. They offered to remove the charges, which is great, and this certainly is a nice service recovery, but I just felt kind of cheaped-out on the whole time I was here as a Diamond, from the basic room to the one $20 voucher at check-in.
There really wasn't anything bad about the Centric experience at all, but everything felt sub-Hyatt Regency standard, and I didn't feel like status mattered here very much - especially after my rock-star experience at McCormick Place a few months ago. Will very likely not stay here again, especially if the Regency and/or McCormick Place are even close to the Centric's rate.
The Centric has a great location, right on Monroe and Clark in the middle of the Loop. Quick walk to Monroe Red Line and Blue Line stations. The elevated CTA lines are about 2.5 blocks to Adams/Wabash. Noticed parking was $65 dollars (LOL).
Waited upon arrival around 2:30 PM for probably 10-15 minutes - no Platinum/Diamond checkin and only one agent on duty. Given a room on the 21st floor. Was offered one $20 breakfast ticket even though I had two guests on the room. Had to ask for another one.
Our room was literally right next to the elevator, and, while alright, was clearly not an upgraded room (Deluxe King). The one-window "jail cell" room described in another review. They were selling a $20 upgrade to the Deluxe rooms to the people in front of me (and in an unusual email to me a couple days before the stay). I really didn't feel compelled to initiate conflict over an upgraded room so just took it. A nice view east down Monroe towards the lake, though.
First thing I noticed in the room was the obvious lack of Kenet amenities, like every other HR/Hyatt/HP/HH I've been to. These were "Bee Kind" brand, and when I turned the bottle around and saw the "Gilchrist and Soames" on the back, I audibly groaned. I'm not a huge fan of the Kenet stuff, but it is clearly way better than this crap as I had to shampoo my hair 3 times to even get it clean.
As others have noted, the rooms here are rather oddly and uncomfortably designed. The "desk" is a strange blue pod-like thing; I do not normally work in rooms but could see how that could be awkward. The bed is very low to the ground, and as others have noted, the drawcords for the blinds were difficult to operate. The shower, the most important thing about a room for me, was nice but was completely flush to the ground, and the door opened out, so there's no room for any towel or mat on the other side as you're getting in and out. This seemed somewhat hazardous in the morning as the floor was already kind of slippery. And, yes, the AC was super loud, probably one of the loudest I've encountered in a Hyatt. It really didn't bother me throughout the night, however.
There's a "lounge" - aka "The Corner" on the 3rd floor that is open to all guests. I actually really liked this, although it's a distinct step down from the Regency Club experience. There's a lot of space, a nice espresso/coffee machine and bottled water throughout the day as well as (very) light snacks - pretzels, hard candy, etc. Very nice part of the Centric brand.
Cochon Volant had tasty food and huge portions. Everything on the menu looked great. I had the Salmon Benedict and the GF had the breakfast sandwich (unusually, it had pastrami instead of bacon/sausage). Service was about a 5. Friendly but inefficient. Food was great, however. We had 2 entrees, 2 juices, and 2 coffees, which to my understanding is the standard Hyatt Diamond breakfast benefit (i.e. not even pushing it).
Total was around $56 with a ~%15 tip. Was charged the remaining $16 on the folio. I offered to pay it but then expressed how it really seems lame and rather chintzy to charge overage to Diamonds when we just ordered standard breakfast. They offered to remove the charges, which is great, and this certainly is a nice service recovery, but I just felt kind of cheaped-out on the whole time I was here as a Diamond, from the basic room to the one $20 voucher at check-in.
There really wasn't anything bad about the Centric experience at all, but everything felt sub-Hyatt Regency standard, and I didn't feel like status mattered here very much - especially after my rock-star experience at McCormick Place a few months ago. Will very likely not stay here again, especially if the Regency and/or McCormick Place are even close to the Centric's rate.
Last edited by nineworldseries; Jan 31, 2016 at 2:14 pm
Jan 31, 2016, 2:37 pm
#105
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 236
Great review, It completely matches my experience here several months ago. The only thing I'll add is that if a loop location is important then the new HP on Franklin (about 5 blocks from the Centric) is also very good (its closer to the Loop El lines but slightly further from the Red and Blue lines) and I was happy with my room there.
Having said that, pricing at the Chicago intown HPs can frequently be higher than the full service properties so YMMV.
Having said that, pricing at the Chicago intown HPs can frequently be higher than the full service properties so YMMV.