I originally planned on staying at the W CC, checked in, looked at the boring room in a boring area of town, and moved to Lakeshore, and was VERY happy.
The W CC used to be a bank I believe. So it has all the sensuality of a building designed for middle aged guys who get effervescent about commodities training and inverted bond curves.
Say what you want about how "back in the day" the Lakeshore used to be a Days Inn (gasp...) but somehow, whoever built that building was pretty smart about location, location, location. And the designers have done a lot with a little.
Hey if you're going to Chicago to hang out in your "dingy" hallways, you're missing the point about Chicago. Leave at 7 AM. Come back at 1 AM. Don't be hanging around the 'dark rooms.' Otherwise, do the Sheraton in Santa Monica.