I'm a *Wood Platinum so here are my thoughts.

By the time I checked out I swore I would never go back. But the Front Desk Manager Niek (he's Dutch) was so nice (he's really on the ball & surely will be a GM one day somewhere) I told him IF I did come back, it would only be IF he was going to be on duty during the time frame.

The sole restaurant "Grille Room" is really expensive and not very good. Dinner entrees start at $19 (no cheaper options). Breakfast buffet $15 and none of the items had descriptions (three pots of eggs with mystery ingredients). I asked the manager what they were and she was clearly annoyed. Plus two chafing dishes had no handles - I didn't want hand burns, what's a guest to do? My mother & I started taking our meals at the Four Seasons across the street because it cost the same and the food & service were 100x better.

The weekend I went (pre-Valentine's Day) was highly booked. I was offered an "upgrade" to a room with a view of Michigan Ave. The "upgrade" was the view - not the actual room. If the front desk said they upgraded you, pin them down as to what they are offering (view or room size - you decide what's important). It was a very small room (1406?). Two double beds. One bed was 6" from the wall. After one night of claustrophobia, I asked Niek if there was a bigger room avail. No suites, but he found a room (1031?) maybe 10m2 larger with a view of the HVAC system.

On a previous stay, I was given a big suite with a dining room table - but it was noisy as it was next to the elevator. Had the "whooshing" noise all night. Found out ALL the 1BR suites are next to the elevators so no option of moving for less noise.

The hotel is very busy with groups, wedding parties, bridal shower weekend parties, etc. Bell staff very nice. The temporary gym on the 5th floor has four cardio machines (2 treadmills, and maybe a bike & stairmaster, can't remember). A few weights. Very lame. I either saw a note or heard upon check in (I'm blocking a lot out from that weekend!) that the gym was being refurbished and if you were not satisfied with the in house option, see the front desk for one guest pass to an alternate facility (the Equinox I found out later).

The one incident that so thoroughly angered me was this: I had the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door all day because I had mega-jet lag after a MR to BKK. Just wanted to sleep all day. Hence the DND sign. At 5 pm, housekeeping called on the phone. I couldn't find the phone in my haze. Then the front desk called. "The Do Not Disturb sign is on your door. Housekeeping is trying to call to see if you want your room cleaned but you hung up on them." Um, does the sign say "Do Not Disturb unless you are housekeeping. If you are, then please keep calling me."?? I suggested a carefully worded note under the door saying "we were unable to service your room during normal housekeeping hours. please call if you require limited service." The woman at the Front Desk didn't get it. She just wanted to go on & on about how I wasn't going to get my room cleaned.