nssfly

Great, that's just the info I needed. Who should I speak to? Is it guest relations or general hotel reservations that deals with RA upgrades and such matters?

Benny8444

Guest Relations would be the best place to call. Dont call reservations as they dont have as much authority as the Guest Relations staff.

travelindave

i've had a good rapport with one of the guest relations women at that hotel. Her name is Agnes (Agnieszka). The number listed on her card is 312-321-8878 and her email is agnieszka.szumal"at"ihg.com. Really nice and will bend over backwards to help you. I haven't been in about 6 months so hopefully she is still around.

Also, in my experience that hotel also considers a identical room in the historic tower to be a suitable upgrade to one booked in the modern tower, although I generally do a little better than that.

nssfly

Just spoke with Agnes a little bit ago. She was very helpful and said she would see what could be done, depsite their tight availability for my stay dates. To her credit, the additional rate increments she quoted me were very reasonable and indicated their genuine desire to better assist me.

travelindave

Excellent! I'm glad she has been a good resource for you. Good luck.

land31411

Thanks to all for the great posts on this thread. I was inspired to look again at late May availability and was pleasantly surprised to see rates have come down. I've cancelled my existing reservation and rebooked a suite for less than my original standard room reservation at the IC Chicago.

texontour

The 2 bedroom suite is @ 1400 square feet. I believe there are only 2 of these rooms and this is the upgrade that they will give you when booking a 1 bedroom executive suite. Although last weekend the 2 bedroom suites were booked out so I was upgraded to the VP suite from the 1 bedroom executive suite.

canndlewic

What about as a standard Plat/Amb?

Is there anyroom that can be booked that will get you an upgrade to a 2 bedroom suite?

dizrythmia

After driving past this in 2007 and also seeing its prime location, I've always wanted to stay here. I stayed there 9/12-13.

I initially tried to book three nights but the first night was sold out, hence my staying at IN for a night. But hey, it's not their fault I waited until the last minute.

I had to book a 1 king accessible room since that's all they had, however as an Ambassador they upgraded me to a 1 king bed in the historic tower. Sadly though, it seems this and the late check out were the only Ambassador perks I was given, though that could've been to me booking under the free night offer they had this summer. But really, I don't care about fruit and water anyway.

Also, as I mentioned in another thread, after having to ask a couple times, they ended up comping the internet access for my stay, despite me only originally being promised one day free. That was nice.

The room itself was nice. The bed, as always, was super comfy. There was a nice sized desk and a big television. The shower was nice too.

Also, the location is fabulous. It's located within the Magnificent Mile so it's really close to tons of shopping. Also, there is a bus stop practically in front of the hotel which was super convenient. Any time I needed a cab as well, there were plenty of bellmen around to assist me in finding one.

Parking is a ridiculous $53 a day, though as I said in my other thread, given it's downtown in Chicago, it's not like you can expect free parking. Though thankfully I have friends in the suburbs so I was able to park there and take a train into the city.

All in all, it was a great stay. I really look forward to staying there again as I definitely want to go back to Chicago!

nmenaker

Can anyone comment on the rooms? Is the historic tower better, are the rooms better or more modern? I have a three day in Chicago coming up, wondering if this or the Fairmont is the better choice, and if one is Ambassador what one can expect at checkin?

no-backpacker

I stayed at this hotel in April, for 3 nights. I had booked it through Hotwire and I was not an Ambassador at that time.

The first room I got had a very noisy aircon. so I had to change room. To be honest I was not that impressed with the hotel. It was nothing wrong, but for me, it was just another hotel. I only payed about 110 USD (I don't remember exactly), but if I had payed full rack rate, I would not have liked it. I think I have some pictures of the room in my blog....

xxx.

nmenaker

can anyone comment on the magnificient mile suites? Are they full suites, big rooms, can one put a couple little kids on a pull out or something?

nmenaker

I'm thinking of booking a Magnificient mile suite, will a long time Ambassador (historic RA) get any upgrade to a larger room? Would this suite be suitable for a couple and two small kids? Does the MMS have a second bathroom for the people in the LR?

thanks

dizrythmia

I've never stayed in the newer part of the hotel, but the room I had in the historic tower was very nice. I was told as an ambassador I got upgraded to the historic tower and was also asked if I knew if I needed a late check out. I thought that was nice since some places tell you to wait until the day of check out to ask.

Those were the only perks I got, but I didn't ask for anything else so I can't really complain. Also, it's worth noting that a bus stop is practically in front of the hotel, which is very convenient if you decide to make use of the CTA.

TheBeerHunter

(I couldn't find a master thread on this hotel to add this post to, so I'm creating a new one...)

Found on Travelzoo that the IC Chicago is going for $99 night over the holidays and most dates in January through March.

Link: http://hotels.travelzoo.com/chicago-hotels/687410
^^