JonathanIT

Is this true about "Conrad policy"? There seems to be conflicting reports about the consistency of these benefits at this property... are Diamond members entitled to both or just a choice of either?

MIKESILV

Not sure what the so -called "Conrad policy" is but I have stayed at the property three times with the last 15 months all using points and I was upgraded twice and got breakfast coupons all three times ( the other time the hotel was full with the TB Bucs team)

Added to that I have had four other Conrad stays within the last year or so and I have been upgraded everytime and gotten lounge access with the properties with lounges or breakfast coupons if no lounges.

mike

SteveHOU

The Conrad just went through a major soft goods and paint upgrade. All carpeting, drapes, and upholstery redone. They also replaced those funky desk chairs with an adjustable leather chair. I stayed a couple of times during the upgrade and could not tell it was going on; no fresh paint smells, construction noise, etc. Still using the same furniture but expect it to be replaced soon.

I've been staying at this property once or twice a month for at least the past two years and have yet to be disappointed.

Chicago Wine Geek

Stayed there on Saturday night on an award. Birthday night out with the wife. My buddy at the Austin Hilton called ahead and requested an upgrade for us. Nice but small suite, facing the lake. Thought we would have done better, but they were almost 100% full. Great 42" flat plasma. But hotels that feature these really need to figure out how to get some HD content into the room. These big, very nice TVs just show off how bad a regular signal looks. A poor signal doesn't look as bad on a 25" tube.

They still have quite a bit of construction going on outside. The valet parking was a nice option if you can swallow the $49 charge (we did). Didn't use any of the facilities on such a short stay, but everyone was very friendly and helpful. Great location, right on Michigan Ave.

SteveHOU

Skip the valet parking and self park in the Nordstrom garage directly across the street then ask for a voucher when you check-in. The net cost/day will be $29.00. You can get to the hotel lobby on 5th floor by taking the elevator from the garage to the first level of the Northbridge Mall. The mall elevator is adjacent to the garage elevator and it takes you the 5th floor crossover to the lobby. You are indoors from car to lobby with a walk that equals crossing the street.

If you are coming from the West or South then getting to and from the hotel is a breeze if you use the lower Michigan/lower Wacker route to/from Eisenhower Expy/Congress Parkway, otherwise use Ohio to Rush and Ontario on the return for the Kennedy.

Chicago Wine Geek

Wish I knew that 4 days ago....

Thanks for the tip Steve!

ckccan

This is the first time in a few years, I have stayed at the Conrad Chicago.

I was travelling with Mrs. Ckccan, and wanted somewhere more conveniently located and a bit nicer than Palmer House.

With the Chicago marathon this past weekend, rates were exorbitant, so a good time to use points.

I booked a three night stay on points, and selected the $75 Nor-1 upgrade to a Jr. Suite a week or so prior to check in.

For those of you who don't know, the Conrad is centrally located in one of the main shopping/dining districts/Magnificent Mile.

We checked in around 3 p.m., and they confirmed my upgrade. As I was travelling with Mrs. Ckccan, I inquired about the possiblity of a Diamond upgrade, and was offered a 1 bedroom suite for an additional $50, a total of $125 per night over and above the reward redemption. Given the circumstances, I decided to accept their offer, and we were given a suite on the 10th Floor.

The suite was reasonably spacious, with 1.5 baths, a sofa bed couch, chairs, coffee table, and plasma tv in the living room.

It could have had a little more attention to detail with the cleaning - there was remnants of popcorn in the corner of the sofa, and a couple of long dark hairs in the bathroom.

That evening, I was brought an amenity of fresh fruit and bottled water, with a handwritten card. It was however, addressed to a completely different guest name, with our room no. Out of curiousity, I called the front desk, thanked them for the amenity and asked if there was any confusion on who occupied the room (I've had the unfortunate experience of being given a room that is already occupied, and of someone opening the door while I'm getting dressed).
They assured me they had the correct information, and that they had no record of a guest with the name written on the card that was left.

Internet is free at this property which is a nice perk.

I sent out some items for overnight pressing prior to leaving for dinner.

There is no ice available on this floor, so you must wait for turndown service or call room service. Turndown service never really happened, but I did get my ice after asking.

The following morning we went to use our breakfast vouchers in "The Restaurant".

They are valid for continental breakfast, or $14 towards another meal item. Both of us ordered off the menu, and the bill came to $40 additional (juice is $7, coffee is $6 etc.)

The eggs in my breakfast were so hard they could have taken out someone's eye. I called over a server since ours had disappeared, and she spoke no English.

We asked three times for some fairly basic items - cream and sugar for the coffee, spoons which we had to ask for separately.

When our waitress finally came over, we were almost finished the edible portion of breakfast, and she offered an explanation that the eggs are cooked "Medium", and I should have specified if I wanted them another way. I showed her I needed a heavy hand to saw through the hardened yolks or whites. She offered to get a replacement, but we didn't have time.

No adjustments were made to the bill, and on the way out when the hostess asked "How was breakfast" - I replied honestly - "The service was terrible, and some of the food wasn't much better".

We returned to the room later, and I checked for the returned items to be pressed - nowhere to be found. I called down and they were delivered "just in time" around 1:30 p.m. instead of the promised 7 a.m.
The explanation was that they were delivered to security in error and had to be located. After paying a hefty premium for express service, I was a bit annoyed, however, we had the clothes we needed to attend a friend's wedding. No offer to reduce the charge for the minor screw up.

Since we struggled to get some ice, I asked if we could get a fridge - it was delivered promptly, and there was no charge. The gentleman who delivered it struggled with it, until I pointed out it was upside down ;-)

We found hot water to be in short supply at this property, there was lots of water, and it was certainly warm, but their definition of "hot" and mine are clearly not the same.

Late Saturday evening, I received a call from the on duty restaurant manager inviting us down to the bar for a drink and apologizing for the earlier poor food and service. Since we'd just returned, I politely declined, and thanked him, kudos for the follow up.

The next morning, the F&B manager left a small amenity with a note and his business card, again apologizing for the breakfast.

Yesterday, we declined to have breakfast, and in fact, had to return home one day earlier than scheduled due to a family emergency. The hotel had no issue with us leaving one day early and wanted to ensure I was not charged the points for the third night.

So, in summary

Pros

Location, location, location
Well kept rooms, nice TV
Free internet
No charge for the fridge
Generally very good service
Nice Molton Brown amenities in the room


Cons

Restaurant/breakfast
Could have had better housekeeping/cleaning
Lack of hot water
Pressing service was messed up, though it didn't really affect us


ckc

troyintn

I am finding this more and more. Not sure how breakfast can cost so much.

MIKESILV

Havent stayed at a lot of European properties have you?

Breakfast (generally buffet) can cost up to 50 euro per person.

mike

I_Can_Fly_US_Airways

Since it was a good property to begin with, hopefully it will stay that way!

Fly more & get a better seat

Prospero

I enjoyed a very pleasant stay at this property on 11 November. My room, a standard king was generously proportioned, the heating/aircon system unobtrusive and with windows that open - always a plus point in my book.

Toiletries are Acca Kappa which is a massive improvement over Molton Brown (in my humble opinion)

Fabulous AV set up - large wide screen plasma TV with Bose sound system and wide variety of HD channels available including the most extensive range of HBO HD stations I have found in any hotel guest room to date.

When I returned after a delightful evening with friends, I was welcomed by warm lighting, easy listening music playing, a full ice bucket and a coffee machine stocked for the morning.

oliver2002

Stayed there on Thanksgiving in a xx11 room which I picked during online checkin based on the info here. Great views ^ Breakfast vouchers turned up as reported, parking opposite in the Nordstrom garage was a good hint too. We paid 127$ for that night.

IMH

Spent two nights here last week. Short version: was impressed and would stay here again.

We'd booked two midweek nights in a "king bed deluxe" room. Online check-in only offered relatively low floors, including a smoking floor, and none of the room numbers matched anything that has been recommended here. so we waited for manual check-in. That worked out well for us: we got room 1737. Still a "king deluxe", but nice and quiet at the end of the top floor, as far away as possible from elevators and ice machine and with a pretty decent view.

Good sized room and bathroom, nice toiletries, separate shower, bath tub that could actually be used. Great TV and sound, wide range of HD channels, DVD player. Breakfast vouchers for two people for both mornings. Free bottled spring water.

Our only problem was connecting to the internet (in theory, the hotel offers free wired and wireless access). The wired network didn't work (a previous guest had tugged too hard on a cable) and the wireless network could be seen, but not accessed, from our room -- the downside of our quiet location. The hotel staff's attitude and response was excellent. The wiring problem obviously couldn't be fixed overnight, so they offered us a choice of switching rooms or free business centre use. Nice.

Not the best hotel we've ever stayed in, but far better than most (and vastly superior to the Intercontinental Chicago, where we foolishly spent the last night of our trip).

mswtravels

Not the best hotel we've ever stayed in, but far better than most (and vastly superior to the Intercontinental Chicago, where we foolishly spent the last night of our trip).[/QUOTE]

Not to pull the post off-topic, but what made the Conrad "vastly superior" to the Intercon? It's right across the street, right?

IMH

Okay, these things are largely subjective and I should probably have phrased that more carefully and held back on the "vastly". From reports elsewhere on FT I've no doubt that the IC's better rooms and suites, most (or all?) of which are apparently located in the "historic tower", are pretty decent. Based on our single visit to each hotel last week, though, with a "king deluxe room" at the Conrad and a "magnificent mile suite" at the IC, the Conrad won hands down.

We stayed in the IC's main building and were disappointed, as I reported on the IHG forum here. Our suite certainly didn't feature "contemporary and sophisticated design" (as promised on the IC Chicago website). The Conrad was more modern, more comfortable, better equipped (AV, shower, amenities).

Yes (and the IC gains points for direct access from Michigan Avenue).