Just completed two short stays here, and overall, my impression is that the hotel has a lot of potential. Staff was, as others have mentioned, friendly and helpful across the board. They are also very much up on the Hyatt way of doing things, at this point; they were very quick to recognize my Diamond status, presented printed amenity cards, had no issues with Diamond late checkout, etc.
Location is very convenient to North Michigan Ave and there's lots of good dining nearby. (As a heads up to anyone traveling to points north in Chicago -- the express bus routes that pick up on northbound Michigan and jump right on Lake Shore Drive are one of the CTA's best kept secrets, and rival the 'L' for convenience at many times of day.)
There are now drawings and sample boards up in the lobby showing the materials for the newly renovated rooms. The furnishings in the current rooms are indeed tired, but seemed well maintained for their age.
The biggest positive I can see here is that each floor of the hotel appears to have four large, real suites -- each with a moderate-size bedroom separated from a cavernous living room by French doors. I was upgraded to one of these rooms on both stays, without using any certificates. (The footprint of the building is such that these rooms must be on just about every floor, as there'd be no good way to use the space otherwise. It's an odd building in a lot of ways.) I look forward to seeing what these rooms look like renovated. Another big plus -- Quince and Bergamot products in these suites.
My only real complaint was breakfast -- though the menu is Hyatt standard, the recipes don't seem to be quite yet. My omelette on the first stay was overcooked and delivered without the relish that was listed; on the second stay, I ordered corned beef hash, and was served a baffling dish consisting of giant pieces of bell pepper mixed with hash browns and too much oil, topped with sandwich-style shaved corned beef and poached eggs, in a miniature skillet. Had I been paying for it I'd almost certainly have sent it back. The free breakfast is by coupon, and doesn't indicate whether the gratuity is included.
It doesn't sound as if they plan a Regency Club, which is fine by me; it'll be nice to have an option in Chicago serving Diamonds a "real" breakfast.
On the whole, though, I think this property will turn out to be a great addition to the Hyatt portfolio in Chicago. Would love to see them replicate this in more cities nationwide!
Last edited by dtremit; Dec 16, 2012 at 12:41 am