Originally Posted by TransWorldOne

- Name of the hotel: Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile

- What is your ALL status? Gold status, booked through Virtuoso program

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Loved the hotel, extremely disappointed by their complete lack of acknowledgement of program benefits.

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked Luxury Room - City View. Upon arrival, no upgrade was offered so I asked and my room assignment was changed to a Junior Suite - City View.

- How are the rooms? The rooms are fantastic. Very well appointed with great views. The room was excellent and very comfortable.

- What was good and what was bad?

Good: Due to the pandemic, all food & beverage was closed with the exception of the bar's large outdoor terrace. The terrace was open for happy hour & dinner service. It was a very inviting setting with fantastic service. The menu was limited but had just enough variety. The food that I had was great. I also thought the wines by the glass selection was good, all things considered. The bar manager was very active and quite friendly-- you could tell he was really on top of things.

Room hard product was excellent and the hotel is in an ideal location. Cleanliness was outstanding in the room and public areas.

Bad: The service shortcomings upon arrival were inexcusable. That said, the GM's service recovery was excellent and I can tell he cares about doing a better job in this regard. One mitigating factor is that the property had just reopened after being closed for over two months.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge? N/A

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks? None offered. When I asked the front desk agent about the welcome drinks and Virtuoso credit, they mentioned that due to COVID-19 they weren't doing anything. I asked for a manager and none was available so I asked for a call. No call came. I called the GM when I returned home. He was incredibly responsive and took responsibility for the issue, as well as making it right.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return? Yes, I would return. I think the property is a good value for the dollar... the hard product is definitely luxury though the soft product needed work.