CMK10

Stay Report - 12/21 to 12/22

Location: Very good. The hotel is located on the corner of Monroe and LaSalle a little bit south of the river. You can walk within a couple blocks to the Monroe (Blue), Monroe (Red) and Quincy (Brown, Orange, Pink) CTA stations. There's also a number of restaurants and bars around here along with a 24 hour Walgreens right on the corner. ORD is about 25 minutes away with no traffic.



Hotel: The hotel has a really nice Roaring 20s Chicago building feel to it. The common areas are beautifully restored and the lobby is lovely as well. There's a great bar with a law library theme to round it all out.









Check In: We were able to get right into our room at noon which I appreciated. We were also offered points or a drink as a welcome amenity.

Room: We had a corner room which didn't really allow for more space, just dead space by the entrance. The bathroom was of a nice size though with a full tub along with a shower. There was a comfortable bed along with a work area. Wifi worked great and soundproofing was not an issue.







Dining: As I mentioned the bar is great. Cocktails were really reasonably priced too and the atmosphere was amazing.





Overall a great option for Chicago. I'll be back.

demue

Sounds like something to consider over the consistently deteriorating IC. Thanks for the stay report.

ElmhurstNick

My office used to be across the street when I still lived in Chicago, and as a result I did a few pre-covid 1 night stays when I wanted to stay in the city on a weeknight. It is a great small property and they used to treat Inner Circle really well. We would hit up their second floor lounge every once in a while and always had a great time.

pinniped

Just finished 3 nights here. That 2nd floor lounge was closed the entire time we were there. In fact, there was no food at all in the hotel for the entire duration of my stay. There were signs for a rooftop restaurant in addition to the 2nd floor lounge but neither were operating.

I was given a "Raid the Minibar" coupon at checkin, but my room had no minibar.

My room had 1 medium-sized towel. No large bath towels until I asked for one.

Room itself was fine. I have no real status (I think I've always been Gold in IHG for some reason) so I knew upgrades would not be a factor. It was a King room with a good mattress and everything in working order.

Just felt like a very barebones hotel, with fewer amenities and options than a HIX. I was considering switching over to IHG this year because I'll have some regular Seattle trips and I remember the Kimptons there being great prior to merging into IHG. But honestly I'm kind of rethinking it now - this brand is not what it once was.

commaspace

No status with IHG.

Stayed at the Gray many times on business. Always a pleasure. I like the decor. The gold/brass accents in the bathroom and trinkets of the US Mail tube in the lobby are very nice. Rooms are very quiet.

They have a lot of consumables that front desk can have brought up very quickly including silverware and plates. Pretty much anything you forget they will have. Service is top notched.

Well-situated. Starbucks next door and Walsgreens across the street. 10 min from the River Walk.

They are much better compared to other same-tier business hotels like regular Marriotts and Hiltons in Chicago.

bchandler02

Stayed last week and found it to be excellent. Pictures above look to still be accurate.

Beat2Def

Stayed with hotel certificates on 12/20/23 and 12/21/23. Concierge said that as of December, they're charging a $23 "resort" fee.
He took off the charge since I booked prior to the fee being new practice.

bladerunner6

Thanks for the heads upon the fee.

BTW, did you use the password? If so, what did you get? Thanks.

bladerunner6

This trip was for me to see the Pompeii exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. We took the Amtrak in from Michigan and even arrived ahead of schedule. We went straight to the hotel and were in our room by 9:30.

We booked a King with a deep soaking tub and the bathroom is really roomy, well organized and gorgeous.



We also liked the chandelier and colorful interior of the valet, amongst other things.



We also thought the little expresso machine was a nice touch.





As Platinum members we were offered points or a $10 drink credit for our welcome Amenity. We took the bar credit.

The password got us a couple off hot toddies and a kettle with some extra tea bags. We were very pleased with that. Real bourbon too for it: Jim Beam.



It is a lovely hotel, nice rooms, the upscale bath was palatial and my lovely wife loved the tub for a relaxing soak.

The location is great for both food and drink plus the Walgreens makes it very convenient.

And the staff is excellent, very friendly, helpful, appreciative of our status and even charming.

We haven’t been to the bar yet but I will post that later.

I completely and wholeheartedly recommend the Kimpton Gray Chicago.

bladerunner6

We made it to the bar. It is pretty nice too. Definitely classy with great service and some good choices to drink.

My one comment is the restaurant drinks are less expensive than the drinks in the bar. But the upscale bar definitely has its ambiance.