Although I like the hotel...particularly the old-world beauty of the lobby:

In my experience, all of the rooms here at not very well maintained. Given that FS has had not only the mgt contract, but also the equity in the property for many years...it does not speak well to FS' supposed high commitment to quality.

The lobby is breathtaking especially at night and I completely agree, and have found that those ¨in the know¨ completely skip considering the RC Chicago as a viable option for luxury stays in Chicago opting more for the Pen, FS, and most recently, The James (which is a FHR property now as well, in addition to the W on Lakeshore) and after staying there, I understand why the locals don't even consider it to be that great (I lived in Chicago for 3 years) especially considering the closeness in pricepoint and distance to the much better Pen or FS.
In most major cities RC certainly carries a lot of weight when chosing a hotel in the luxury market, and it is a disappointment that in Chicago being such an important international city, it does not.
I always stay at a RC property when I travel for leisure and sometimes on business and aside from a recent ¨blip on the radar¨ challenged stay at the Palm Beach property, I have always been not only satisfied, but ¨wow'ed¨ by their service levels and preciseness when it comes to attention to detail. I have certainly never had an issue with disliking a guest room like I did in this case.
I wish FS would just consider selling this property back to RC. From a branding standpoint this ¨The Ritz Carlton, a Four Seasons Hotel¨ makes no sense to me. I am sure they get the seldom leisure traveler (¨I always stay at the Ritz Carlton when I travel..¨ , ¨We love Ritz Carlton hotels..¨) who more often than not gets confused from this and is potential for many branding mix ups. (Even the concierge at AMEX travel thought this was a typo) The rumour mill at RC corporate is that they are eagerly wanting this to happen, and if so, Chicago would be remodeled in a fashion similiar to the Central Park property and would also be a destination for Ritz Carlton Residences as well.