The Park Hyatt Chicago was the 3rd hotel we tried on this trip to Chicago. Because there is an existing thread on this hotel in the Hyatt board I will focus this report more on the elements which are of interest to this board. I will then post a link to this report in the Master Thread in the Hyatt board but also add some commentary which is of more interest, on the whole, to the Hyatt board.

The weakest hotel of the four (Pen, FS, RC are the others) hotels we tried on this trip. NoMi was very disappointing and the service overall was not to luxury hotel standards. The biggest plus, however, was the complimentary car service. Bottom line: there are better hotels to choose from.

We booked the standard room on the Virtuoso rate which included a one category upgrade subject to availability upon check-in; daily breakfast for 2; and a lunch up to $85 once per stay.

Check In

We arranged for the RC to send over the bulk of our luggage to the FS directly so we walked over to the Park Hyatt with a few belongings. The welcome at the door was non-existent as we made our way to the Front Desk to check-in. Check-in took quite awhile as there was some confusion over the Virtuoso booking and my Diamond status with Hyatt. I was fairly certain that on Virtuoso rates at this property you receive full breakfast but I was told I would receive a continental breakfast. I had to remind them that even if that were the case, as a Hyatt Diamond member, I should be entitled to a full breakfast. There was also confusion on the dollar amount of the lunch credit but in the end we were give $100 to spend on lunch, excluding gratuities, taxes and alcohol.

Our room was not ready yet (it was just about lunch time) so we decided to use our lunch credit at NoMi. The restaurant was fully booked and I was glad to have requested a reservation in advance!! I will comment on NoMi separately.

Our room was ready and our key was delivered to our table.

Room

We had been upgraded to a room with a view of Michigan Avenue on the 11th floor. Here is the room description as per the hotel website:http://parkchicago.hyatt.com/hyatt/h...ocale=&start=2

The view of the Magnificent Mile was good but we found the room fairly dark. The bed was super hard and the HVAC system was a little finicky not being able to keep a steady room temperature. The TV in the room was a small CRT unit which had horrible reception. Very disappointing for a luxury hotel. The arm chair in the room is very relaxing and comfortable.

The bathroom was large but the shower again was weak in terms of water pressure. The Blaise Mautin toiletries are nice.

The room size is listed as 550 sq ft (50 sq meters) but it felt smaller than that. Perhaps it is because there is such generous use of space in the bathroom plus the dark colour palette made the room feel smaller than it is.

Dining

We had a $100 lunch credit to use so we went for lunch -- fortunately I had the foresight to book a table in advance as the restaurant was sold out for lunch. To sum it up, I was not impressed by NoMi at all. I didn't quite get the concept and felt that the room and the service was frosty. The lunch menu is very compact with a few appetizer and main course choices as well as a fair amount of sushi/sashimi selections. While the prices of the a la carte meal section is quite reasonable and sushi/sashimi prices are bordering extortionate for the quality. 

I ordered an Asian chicken salad with citrus dressing following by, what turned out to be an interesting take on, a croque monsieur sandwich. My sister ordered sushi as she did not find anything she liked on the menu. My salad was quite small which was a godsend since my appetite had diminished due to lingering illness at this juncture. If I had been 100% healthy I would have been a little disappointed in the jewel-box sized portion. The croque monsieur was unique that the it was a toasted sandwich with turkey meat and a cream sauce inside the sandwich with a cranberry mayonnaise to dip the sandwich into. This was quite good. The sushi (nigiri) was pretty decent but a $6 per piece this was bordering extortionate. The rolls were all over $20 which makes the sushi bar at Harrod's look like a good deal. Service was mixed -- I received a brand new refill of my diet coke without asking yet our water glasses went empty for most of the meal. Bottom line -- lunch for two cost us $140 including tax and tip for a most underwhelming lunch (and especially moreso at that price).

We also had drinks at the NoMi Lounge that evening with a fellow FlyerTalker who was gracious enough to take time to come meet with us. The service in the Lounge was quite good and the quality of drinks what one would expect in a high end bar, with prices to match. At first I thought that the music was too loud and the ambiance not quite right but once the FTer arrived and we were able to settle into a fascinating conversation it was a nice space to meet.

The next morning we also had a full breakfast which was decent. The restaurant did get us in, fed, and out very quickly since we were on a very tight timeline. The NoMi breakfast, which is there full American breakfast, was included in our rate and consists of eggs, choice of breakfast meat, potatoes, coffee or tea, toast/pastries, and juice. The eggs were cooked perfectly but were tasteless and the potatoes were dripping with too much olive oil. However, it did the trick and we were in and out in 25 minutes. Only the gratuities showed up on our bill at check-out.

Service

I really liked this feature of the hotel -- it is also a feature that none of the Pen, FS or RC offer. It appears the car is available in the morning and again in the evening as I did not see it during the day. The car is a comfortable BMW 745iL (not sure on the iL part, but definitely a 745) and takes people within a 2 mile radius, subject to availability. The door staff were helpful in offering the car or letting us know its approximate return to the hotel to ferry us around. One unfortunate part is that it is only a one-way transfer; the car will not come and pick you up again like the FS in SFO or the FS/Beverly Wilshire, and Pen in Beverly Hills do.

Overall

I think this is a decent hotel and it works for a lot of people. I didn't "get" this hotel nor did it impress me. I am not a fan of the F&B nor the rooms and I did not find the service to stellar, nor bad. The car service is a plus but overall I feel quite indifferent about this hotel. I may return on a reward / free night but I doubt I will pay for a room here again.