Stayed at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile this last Friday (Jan 2).
tl;dr: Really good stay. Would stay again.
After reading this thread I was expecting the worst from this property: unhelpful staff, coffin rooms, obnoxious guests, and an awful experience overall. I braced for the worst but I'm happy to say that our stay was quite the opposite.
To preface my review, I don't stay at many FS Marriotts and I'm just a measly silver but it was a very pleasant night.
Check in:
I've been to this property a few other times for conferences and events but never as a guest so I had a general idea about the lobby area and hotel layout.
The lobby is dominated by a loud bar but we were able to find the check in desk pretty easily and apparently came at a quiet time (6pm?) when there was no line.
The front desk attendant was very courteous, thanked me for being a rewards member and recognized my status, which really isn't often.
During the check in process my SO offhandedly mused to me that she could go for a coffee. The attendant smartly mentioned that while they were "re-imagining" the lobby Starbucks into a market, the bar had coffee and there were several Starbucks (if we were "really obsessed" with Starbucks) within a 5 minute walk.
As a side note: another thread talks about some properties putting large holds on credit cards upon checkin. There was a sign at the checkin desk specifically about
debit card holds. I don't remember the exact language of the sign but it mentioned how much would be held and how long that hold would be on the debit card.
Finally, she included a card in our key envelope:
Silver Elite Benefits
Thank you for being a valued Silver Elite member. Your current point balance is XXXXXXX and you are only X nights away from becoming a Gold Elite Marriott Rewards Member!
Did you know that as a valued Silver Elite member we offer 50% off the full breakfast buffet, Monday-Friday, in Harvest, our restaurant on the 2nd Floor?
We also provide you with one night of complimentary high speed WiFi to help keep you connected!
Others here might have seen this card before, but it was a first for me! While we couldn't take advantage of the half off breakfast, the comped high-speed WiFi was a nice perk.
The Room
We got a high-floor (34th) king room far away from the elevators with a great view of Michigan Ave. facing East towards the lake.
The room was smallish but not as small as some rooms I've had in NYC. There was space for a convertible sofa next to the bed.
The mattress was great -- comparable to other FS Marriotts.
Other posters were correct -- not many power outlets.
Bathroom was small but we could fit 2 people inside at a time. Water pressure was good and stayed hot for a long time.
Service
This property utilizes an optional iOS app called Guest Services where you can make requests at any time. We used it to ask for more soap. After submitting the request while out for dinner, I received a notification 15 minutes after submission saying it was completed. When we returned to the room, they gave us not just one, but two extra soaps!
The room had the new tip envelope.
The Lobby Bar
Before dinner, my SO and I stopped at the lobby bar, called Rush. It has a sports bar theme (large wall of flat screen TVs). As mentioned above, the lobby/bar area is loud.
The draft selection included a nice variety of local brews for decent prices compared to local bars ($7.50 for a Half Acre Daisy Cutter) and cocktail prices were in the $10-15 range. A Diet coke and Tito's Vodka was $10.50.
Using the same Guest Services app, a notification popped up while in the lobby that they had a special. That night it was half off apps in the restaurant till 5pm or free snack appetizer at the bar from 7-9pm. We had to show a code on the app to the bartender who had to get manager authorization but resulted in a not-too-shabby bowl of Sriracha Lime Pistachios.
After our night out we ordered a late-night snack from the bar -- corn fritters. They were just OK.
Vending Machines
On every floor but only for beverages, not food. Because they don't have a Market and the gift shop closes at 9pm, there was no alternative to the cheesecake served at the bar for my sweet-tooth but lactose-intolerant SO to have as a late night snack.
Check Out
Slept in too late.
Used the express checkout feature in the Guest Services app and dropped our keys in a bin by the Bell Services desk.
Asked the bell hop to hold our bag so we could do some shopping before we left. While I still had it it my hand he asked, "would you like me to take it or is it ok to have it touch the ground?". That's a nice touch.
We didn't use their parking garage or valet so nothing to report there.
Post-stay
Not more than two hours after check out was the 3k bonus points promised with the rate code posted to my account. Still waiting on the stay and regular points.
Edit 1/6/15: Stay and points have posted correctly.
Conclusion
I might be small fries to some folks here but it was an absolutely enjoyable staycation for us.
Would stay at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile again.