I feel incredibly disloyal posting this thread, but ...

I'm sitting here in a lovely room at the Four Seasons Chicago thinking about how I wish I had been able to get into the Peninsula.

Don't get me wrong: the Four Seasons organization is absolutely first class. What I love about their properties is a guarantee of a very nice and comfortable room and outstanding service.

Yet, while I have no complaints at all about their service, their properties don't impress me the way they once did.

Here at the FS Chicago, I have a very nice executive suite ... that my grandmother would have loved. It's decorated like the Waldorf Towers: very old world. I thought this was great once upon a time, but I find that I now much prefer the more contemporary look of properties like the Peninsula. The bathroom is dated, too. At least it has a separate shower; so many of FS's properties don't.

As others have expressed in the past, I've now come around to the view that it's time for FS to substantially remake many of their properties to bring them into the 21st century. A FS hotel still is a guarantee of great, great service, but with others catching up in the service department, they're going to need to offer more to maintain their edge.