jerry a. laska

Had a recent stay here. Check in was efficient and as a Diamond was upgraded to a view room. No card/coupon is provided for breakfast, the FDC explained that the restaurant has a list of persons eligible for breakfast.

As reported above by brokenwindow, the breakfast benefit has been downgraded. Breakfast is at Land & Lake, a ground floor restaurant that apparently is not connected by ownership or management to the hotel. You get your choice of one of the following to drink: coffee, tea, or orange juice. And you get your choice of one of the following to eat: a Do Rite Donut, granola and yoghurt (with a dollop of strawberry preserves and two raisins), or vegan oatmeal.

Do Rite is a local donut company that does make great donuts; they are sold a couple of blocks away for $1.95 - 3.50, depending on the donut. Granola and yoghurt is on the regular menu for $8 and is served with honey, dried fruit, and seasonal preserves, but you only get a dumbed down version of the granola and yoghurt as a HH breakfast item. As it was explained to me, if you want to order off the menu they will give you a $5 credit against a regular menu item. I had run 6 miles that morning and since tomatoes are still producing in the area based on the midsummer weather this fall in Chicago, I decided to try the "Roasted Mighty Vine Tomatoes" ($4) and a side of bacon ($5) in addition to the granola and yoghurt. The "tomatoes" consisted of one tomato (1 and a half inch in diameter) sliced in half, it was quite good but did not really amount to a plural offering of tomatoes. The bacon was good but quite thin. I explained to the server that I didn't think that the single tomato amounted to "tomatoes" but the server explained it was sliced in half and amounted to tomatoes. The server then agreed to remove the item from my bill.

I watched two people have problems with their bill and how the $5 credit was incorrectly applied or if it was applied that they were then charged for the free HH items. When I spoke to the hostess/manager later about the HH breakfast being "enhanced", the quality (and quantity) of the food, and that there are any number of other Hilton hotel options within a few blocks, she explained that the restaurant was not connected to the LondonHouse and she would speak to the chef. When dropping my key card at the desk when leaving I explained that the breakfast is not competitive and will cause me to book elsewhere.

Despite the LH being generally a fine hotel with great staff, the rate will have to be extremely low for me to choose this hotel over other options if the LH breakfast remains like this.

jumbooze

I agree, unless they do something drastically to improve this the HGI around the block will keep getting my business they at least will offer a full breakfast ( quite a good one actually )

Yllanes

I have a stay coming up and I'm disappointed to read these posts. Honestly, if they don't offer orange juice I believe this doesn't even amount to the continental breakfast that's the bare minimum.

jerry a. laska

They do offer orange juice but then no coffee or tea for you. The waiter made this clear, only one drink and food item. They did go a little beyond that by also providing water.

Yllanes

Well, since I don't drink coffee that's good to know, thanks.

Michael19887

I would have gone to the front desk and said if you can't offer a breakfast in line with diamond benefits, I'll be checking out early. Such a shame. I loved this property, even more than the WA and Conrad. It went from my go to in Chicago, to I won't return because of this. Not willing to give them a dime of my spend again until they fix this.

jumbooze

Has anyone tried the Bed and Breakfast rate lately and can speak to what breakfast setup is offered then?

brokenwindow

Does anyone have contact details to the hotel? I have some special requests for a stay and can't find any contact information at all.. FB nonresponsive

Yllanes

Just stayed at this hotel. Nothing to add to jerry a. laska's post. My breakfast was a donut and a tiny glass of orange juice. I believe that this does not even rise to a continental breakfast and have said so in the survey. A pity, since it really is a very nice hotel overall, but there are many adequate Hilton properties in Chicago.

nk15

I was recently also surprised by their "breakfast" deal. I walked into it completely unsuspecting, lol... I mean seriously, how do they offer this with a straight face? They should be ashamed of themselves. Whoever came up with this should be fired. I was very close to walking out of the restaurant and give them an earful upstairs but I was in a hurry...so I restricted myself to a small scene at the restaurant, lol...SHAMEFUL....Leave management some feedback.

Ruhr

All right. My friend stayed here this past weekend as a Gold and he snapped a photo of the menu. The breakfast offering has improved just somewhat at Land & Lake. But not by much! Here's what it is now. Taken directly from the menu.

Hilton Honors Breakfast: served with choice of coffee, tea, or orange juice. Choose one of the below options:
PASTRY WITH FRUIT CUP: choice of lemon muffin, apple muffin, scone or coffee cake
HOMEMADE EVERYTHING GRANOLA: yogurt, preserves
VEGAN OATMEAL: steel cut oats, candied maple pecans, almond milk
SCRAMBLED EGGS & BACON: $4 additional charge
"Hilton Honors breakfast is complimentary for Gold & Diamond Hilton Honors Members"

IsleOfMan

While certainly not the best Gold/Diamond breakfast offering, I'll take a LondonHouse room+breakfast over a PalmerHouse room+breakfast any day of the week. I'd probably pay the upcharge for the Eggs & Bacon, but mostly just because I'm on a Keto diet these days.

I love the PalmerHouse lobby and history, but the rooms are in desperate need of some renovation and, preferably, some modernization.

FlytheTail

Agree -- stayed in both properties in the last 6 weeks and much prefer the LondonHouse. Breakfast was the same as Ruhr posted. We had the scrambled eggs and bacon and that's what it was, nothing else (no potatoes or any accompaniments, which do come if you order off the menu). The coffee was really bad. Nice property otherwise although the lobby is too small and there was usually a line at the front desk.

MissJ

Staying here this weekend and looking forward to it. Have a Vista room booked and hoping for a further upgrade.

Breakfast looks okay to me. I don't usually eat too much in the morning.

StangGT909

I just completed a 2 night stay at the London House and I'd have to say this is my new favorite hotel in Chicago.

I usually stay at the Waldorf but the rate at the London house was about 1/2 the cost. I got upgraded as a Diamond to a suite, which was decent sized and had 2 giant flat screen TV's. Overall, it had a very high end, trendy feel to it.

The rooftop view was pretty amazing, got some great pictures. You really can't beat the location either, it's right in the middle of everything.

I'm pretty surprised the reviews on this thread focus on the breakfast and not the positives of the hotel. I thought the breakfast was fine... it's summer time and I got to enjoy a small bite and coffee (full service) at an outside table a stunning view of the river....for free? On day 2 I upgraded to eggs Benedict (with coffee) and the bill was $8. Considering I got a pretty awesome room upgrade, I think the $8 breakfast is OK in my book. I recommend this hotel.