Chicago Wine Geek

Just got back from a 3 night stay. Sorry no pictures. So I got a pretty decent rate here ($184) so I decided to give the hotel a shot, rather than do the Doubletree again. Sorry no pictures. Good location, 1 block off Balboa Avenue and by a bunch of restaurants and nightclubs. Smallish hotel. Reminded me very much of a W brand property.

Very warm welcome as a Diamond member, with a long, handwritten note in my room. But no Diamond room upgrade which is how my preferences are set. The hotel didn't seem that full. One way I judge this is by how many rooms on my floor have newspapers out in the morning. On my floor, only about half. But on the other hand, I never asked for an upgrade. Room 1502, nice view through the many high rise buildings. Average size room with a large and very modern bathroom. Salvatore Ferragamo soaps and shampoos. Lots of little push buttons for the lights, Welcome button by the door turned everything on. Privacy button made the doorbell outside the room red in place of a do not disturb sign. Service button changed the doorbell to green for housekeeping. Good night button by the bed turned everything off. Nice big flatscreen on the wall. Controls on the remote so I could switch the source to my laptop so I could watch DVDs I brought. 50+ channels on the TV, several in English. Very little storage space for clothes. 4 very little drawers that barely held t-shirts and socks. Minifridge with soft drinks and beer. Several pint (I think) bottles of hard liquor as well.

Nice but small outdoor pool and hot tub with full bar. Didn't go into the spa, but it looked very nice. Better gym than most properties, but dumbells stopped at 50lbs. 6 new weight machines and lots of cardio machines. Free bottled water in the gym which I took advantage of every day.

Lobby bar was dead every night. Did lunch in the Bistro and had the small tacos al pastor (very good) and the tuna nicoise bruschetta (also good). Had sushi at the sushi restaurant. Good and a good value. But 4 pages of the menu was "coming soon!". Never hit the bar. Note to future guests: The elevator that takes you to your room DOES NOT make a stop at the restaurant or lounge. You need to use the other elevator by the front desk.

They did have a free car service that took me to a restaurant a couple blocks away (I would have walked, but they couldn't figure out how to show me where to go) and to a supermarket for some wine and water. Tipped the driver. Late model town car and brand new Lincoln MKT.

Nice little bag of Panamanian ground coffee as a departure gift.

Was it worth the $$ premium over the Doubletree? Not sure. Probably if I got a room upgrade like I did at the Doubletree. Staff was great.

BTW, if you want a GREAT restaurant 3 blocks away, try La Trona. Fantastic!