My mom and I stayed here for two nights for a little staycation over the weekend. I have Diamond status. I requested a room with a view in the notes of the reservation. It was granted, likely because occupancy is low in Chicago this time of year. We were booked into a corner suite. It is not a true suite, and it very small. I loved the room and decor nonetheless. And touching on something the above poster said - there are outlets in all of the bathrooms. You can see the outlet in her picture. It's behind the round mirror that rests on the vanity. The views of the river and Michigan Avenue were beautiful. I'm used to city street noise. Someone who likes a quieter sleep may be bothered by the noise.

As mentioned above, breakfast is served on the 21st floor. We applied the $18 credit to the menu as the continental breakfast is less then ideal. The only protein is Chobani yogurt. Food and beverage is where this hotel really fails. The first morning, we waited over forty five minutes for our food. I wasn't upset at all, but it was clear that our order was never placed. They did provide a plate of fruit. It was a lovely gesture, but those sort of mistakes should not happen. We had to repeatedly flag servers down for refills, the check, etc. Servers were clearly overburdened. Also, it's obvious that this space was never designed as a restaurant. It's beautiful, as a bar. As a restaurant, it's too small and awkwardly designed. I cannot imagine how overcrowded it would be during times of high occupancy. Service was much better the next morning. Service in the lobby bar was awful too. I had a drink at the bar on Friday afternoon and was warmly greeted by the bartender. He's a great bartender but he's not Superman. They need more staff. It would take 10-15 minutes for a cocktail on a relatively dead afternoon. Again, this was not the fault of the bartender. I think he's exceptionally good at his job. He's just overwhelmed. It was the same story on Saturday night. Very busy bar, not enough staff. We left after not be waited on for twenty minutes.

The rooftop was open for viewing on Sunday. Please make a visit up there during your stay. Even for a person who has lived in Chicago for a decade, I am still in awe at the beautiful views. I did kind of whine about the rooftop bar situation in summer, and the hostess mentioned that Diamonds will receive priority access if staying there. We shall see.

Overall, I really enjoyed my stay here. I would happily stay here again IF the price was right. It's not a luxury hotel by any stretch of the imagination and it's not worth paying a premium here. In summer, the rates are high. When that's the case, I'd rather either pay for a true luxury experience or just slum it at one of the lower quality hotels for half the price.

The LondonHouse is getting an additional restaurant. Details here:
http://chicago.eater.com/2017/4/13/1...use-restaurant

I'll never understand why people stay at LondonHouse when theWit is so close and clearly has better rooms, service, and breakfast.

Options? Personal preference?

Have you stayed at both properties? Can you go into detail on how the rooms at theWit are "clearly better" than the rooms at the LondonHouse?

Just finished my first trip to Chicago. Flew in on Saturday morning and left Tuesday morning.

Stayed at 3 hotels:

Night 1 - Palmer House (booked King business class - chose standby upgrade $10 to Executive Level, no upgrade. Perfect location for seeing the museums and a performance at Symphony Center)

Night 2 - LondonHouse (upgraded to higher floor)

Night 3 - Waldorf Astoria (Points stay, upgraded a couple days before check in from Superior King to Grand Deluxe King W/Fireplace and Terrace - facing North)

With the rates I was able to get, if I were paying for a 3 night stay at 1, I would have chosen LondonHouse (points Waldorf).

I enjoyed aspects of each, but overall LondonHouse hit the most notes. Although the rooms are not as large, the room was large enough for everything I needed (I would take river view + rooftop, over terrace to be honest).

I had originally booked a regular king room two months in advance (with points). Around 3 weeks in advance, I checked again and noticed that rates had dropped, so I switched my booking to cash and upgraded to a Vista Room (rather than chance an upgrade).

Using online check in I selected a room on the 13th floor. At check in I was updated to the 18th floor (both room would have been in the newer portion of the building with floor to ceiling windows). No problem with the room being dark (would be interested in seeing some of the rooms with river/lake views, although smaller windows).

I was given a voucher for free continental breakfast. There was no mention of the $18 credit, but the breakfast included Scrambled eggs, sausage links, and bacon (this was a $6 upcharge at Palmer House). I was at breakfast around 7AM and there were only 2 other hotel guests, so no problems with servers, just had to leave my voucher on the table. After breakfast I got a cup of coffee to go and used this as an opportunity to have the rooftop to myself (it had rained most of the weekend, so not much opportunity for night pictures/drinks).

Only minor complaint:

Water pressure in shower (same as Palmer House, Waldorf was better).


Definitely would consider coming back, although there are more hotels I want to check out (the Wit, Drake, Chicago Athletic Assoc, the Alise).

I am staying at LondonHouse for Memorial Day Weekend (Friday through Sunday). There are 4 of us staying in 2 rooms. I made the reservations since I have Gold status. We got an AMAZING rate. That being said, with having Gold status, what do you think the likelihood of us getting an upgrade is? We are in Chicago for a special occasion for one of the members of our group. I guess if we don't get an upgrade, I can request one at check-in. Just hoping to get your thoughts. Thanks!

I honestly wouldn't push too hard for upgrades... the Jr Suites are pretty tight, not any bigger and maybe smaller than a 2-double or king room, just with an extra TV, pull-out, and glass half-wall. I'd say the likelihood is down to how full they are, but I'd say as Gold you're 50/50 on getting one room upgraded and relatively low likelihood of getting both.

This property is great - but the service is really weak here
 

No doubt this is a fancy and well kitted-out property in a fantastic location. The decor is smart, the rooms big enough and luxurious enough for a top-rating. It made me want to love this hotel... but at every turn the service is shocking. I'm here for a few nights - mainly because I got a deal on the old points+cash rate which none of the other Chicago hotels were offering.

Beginning from the nonchalant check-in assistant who made no reference to having status and when I pointed out an error he just said 'uh-huh'... at 2.30pm still no sign of housekeeping ...

... and breakfast service was shocking! Now, the food on offer at breakfast was excellent, no doubt. A top class spread for the 'continental buffet' comprising 4 berries (raspberries, blueberries,strawberries, blackberries), melon, grape, pineapple, yoghurt granola (good granola ... not London Bankside granola, but good;)) other cereals, "DIY" porridge pots, banana bread (great quality), muffins, croissants, breads, waffles, bacon, scrambled egg, avocado & arugula toast, and apparently they usually also have some beef brisket thing (but not today). In short, the continental buffet is very substantial and good quality - I didn't feel at all short-changed

However, the breakfast service... the hostess barely lifted her head when I asked for a table for 1 - she just said 'straight to the bar'. I stood at the bar for a minute or so while several staff stood around ignoring me... eventually one offered me a seat on a barstool - but I wanted one of the many free tables, not a seat at the bar. So I gestured towards the free tables and took myself over to one. This was an odd arrangement since none of the waitstaff really noticed that I was there and needed coffee etc -so I then wandered up to the water/coffee beside a waiter and helped myself. I don't think he liked this... Same waiter subsequently cleared my plate while I was a few feet away at the buffet waiting for my bread to toast - lifting off my (used) knife and fork and setting them back on the table ... :mad: To be fair there was one waitress working hard to keep coffee topped up etc, but she was surrounded by other staff who were chatting and looking cool, but being totally ineffective.

I truly wanted to like this hotel, but there is a tangible issue with staff training and management that spoils the potential of the property.
:roll eyes:

My new favorite in Chicago
 

I checked out recently, and this is my new favorite hotel in Chicago. The rooms and common areas are just a notch nicer than the Conrad, and the food/beverage venues and elite recognition are better than the Waldorf. Warmly welcomed as a diamond member and upgraded from king to king corner studio. It was a great room with 3 walls of windows and a swivel tv in the middle of the room between the sitting area/desk and bed. Breakfast is on the 21st floor (indoor floor) of the rooftop bar. It says it is "continental" which is actually a full buffet with 2 types of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, avocado toast, brisket toast, etc as others have mentioned. I went up to the rooftop bar/restaurant a few times and had a good experience each time. Good service, cocktails, and food. The check-in clerk said that diamonds get to skip the line if there is one. Housekeeping also left a new loofah each day which was a nice touch and something I haven't seen at any other Hilton hotel in the states.

Just completed a one night stay here as well. I decided to try it when the price dropped the day before check in to $106. Overall, it's a very nice property. I was pre-blocked into a room without any upgrade, but was reassigned to a one bedroom suite upon arrival without requesting it. Room was very good sized. Breakfast was very good. Common areas are quite nice. The fitness center is, as others have said, small. But except for that, everything was superior to the Palmer House where I had planned to stay (for 40% more than what I wound up paying). I would definitely stay here again.

Change in breakfast policy for Diamonds
 

We just went to the restaurant on the 21st floor. We were told that we could only order off the buffet. No credit towards ordering off the menu. I did speak to the manager and let him know that I disagreed with this policy. That the breakfast credit was an asset at this hotel imho.

He was polite and offered to comp breakfast. I don't mind paying after the credit has been applied. I told him as much.

i have ever only been offered the buffet at this property as Diamond, notsyre I'm following you here, do you usually get credit to order a'la carte?
The buffet has improved over time imho

For some time the hotel has offered the buffet or an $18 credit off anything on the breakfast menu. No longer providing the credit would be a downgrade.

This last post is correct. 18 credit discontinued 1 month ago
 

After I stated my displeasure to the manager did apply the 18 credit. He told me the change had occurred a month ago and would do this as a one time courtesy. I explained that many would consider this a downgrade.

I hope I did not pull a dykhia
 

I truly like this property and the staff at check inn were outstanding. The change in breakfast policy would cause me to hesitate to book this property in the future. Especially at higher rates.