We stayed at the PH using a DSU in April. For the price, it's great property, especially if you use a DSU. I wouldn't call it true luxury, but in a city where the FS tends to have bath/shower combos I would definitely say it's very competitive.. I do prefer the hardware at the W-A.... The issue with the DSU is that it books into a Grand Executive Suite category, of which there are only 2 (I think) at the property... that all being said I was there for 4 nights over the easter break and was able to use a DSU for both rooms....

As far as the aircon, I can't say I cranked it down to Bhrubin levels... I will perhaps try that in my future travels....

FDW

I recall it being quite good/cold.

Thoroughly enjoyed our Chicago Langham stay last month. Was in just the right locale for walking everywhere we needed to be. The club room was expansive, I mean really big with loads of tables and comfy seating, wonderful views of downtown and the water, and the club staff aimed to please, booking reservations for us and allowing us to lingering for hours after checkout since our flight was delayed. From the bell to club staff, excellent and consistent service. Didn't use any part of the hotel other than the club which is beautiful and had great food and drinks. Was money well spent (extra for club) given the high quality of alcohol and food offered throughout the day, especially in the evening. My favorite part of the room was the big open shower/ bathtub area with the glass (privacy option), really cool!

Trump or Langham. Both top-notch hotels, great location, and great views from many of the rooms. Some of the views from the Trump rooms are amazing. Trump has an advantage because of the kitchenettes. I recommend the Executive Lake View King which is a very large room and has a great view of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Floor plan is available on the 'net, do an image search on "chicago trump executive king lake view floor plan".

We just returned from a 4 day stay over Christmas from Chicago. We have been there several times for Christmas. We have stayed at the RC, FS, PH, Pen, and WA in the past. This time, we stayed in the Grand Deluxe suite at the Gwen. This was an uprgrade from the Deluxe suite (highest category for online booking). I think the exec suite is the highest. Anyways, it was the largest space of all the hotels we have stayed in Chicago (and that include the lux WA suites). The plus was that the suite was clean and massive (1000+sf) with 2 bathrooms, tvs, sofas, desks in each of the 2 rooms ect. The service, food was also very good. However, like PH, it didn't have the true luxury feel of the WA (our fav). The Pen did feel stiff and I concur with earlier comments on it. The WA was the best so far on all aspects (no issues with any ventilation/air but then we were not using the a-c).
Also, it depends where you want to be situated on the Mag mile. The WA, FS, RC are on the north rim of the mile (more quite, with most of the high end boutiques surrounding them - including Barney's). Pen, PH are slightly further down (next to Saks), Gwen is attached to the Nordstrom and closest to being in the middle of the Mile (across from IC), and, Trump and Langham are further south on the river (Langham, further off the Mile than Trump, as Trump, imo, has the better spot). I have not stayed at either Trump or Langham as yet.

Any current feedback on the Trump? Is this a good location for sightseeing ?

I've never stayed at the Trump, but all of the hotels discussed here are near each other and fine for sightseeing. Plug the address into Google maps and you can see for yourself.

Very cookie-cutter and bland. If you like that area the Langham is nearby and great. I've had good luck recently at the PH. Disappointed with the Pen, and the W-A has a beautiful hard product, but I've had service issues every single time I've been there to the point where my SO thinks it's "cursed" (jokingly) and refuses to stay there.

A bit late to the party for your inquiry bhrubin - but my A/C taste run very similar to yours. We stayed at the Gwen 2 days after the re-brand for a 5 day weekend, and I consistently got our suite down to 65F.

Stay was quite nice though there were a few minor switch over issues i.e. how much $$ credit we got for breakfast - Day 1 $17.50/pp, Day 2, $14/pp, Day 3, $17.50/pp, Day 4 $16/pp, Day 5, $14/pp - in the end, they just comped us the entirety of our incidentals bill.

One thing to note - drink service in the lobby bar, and the outdoor terrace was painfully slow. Several times we had to into the restaurant to locate someone, who would then insist on calling a waiter to come take our order at the table when we already knew what we wanted. I racked this up to switch over issues, and as mentioned above was promptly and well dealt with at check out.

Location was good for our purposes, and though I'd never call this a luxury property, sufficed for our group.

I completely agree with callmedtop: the Trump is mediocre at best. It has graciously-sized rooms, but that's about the only nice thing I'll say about it. Check-in was a mess (the room wasn't ready, even at 3pm, and the lobby is poorly designed so that if there is a line, it snakes around and interferes with getting to the elevators.) The bathroom was underwhelming. The sauna was tiny.

The Langham is the far, far better choice.

I totally agree, especially with the last statement.

My fav in Chicago has been the Waldorf. Perfect suites/location ect. Only downside would be the relatively small dinning room, but, amazing food is never too far a walk.

Not sure what the "best"/most current Chicago thread is, so hope this will do :)

Just went to Chicago for the weekend and saw two properties: the Four Seasons and the Peninsula.

Two conclusions:

1. The Peninsula Chicago is probably the best luxury hotel in the city:

- The F&B is insanely good. Ate at the Shanghai Terrace for my birthday dinner with a party of 10. You'd think a bigger party would have slower or spottier service, but on the contrary, it was quite flawless. The chef came out to meet us afterwards, which was a nice touch. Fabulous dinner where we basically shared everything, and every single thing I ate was a 10/10. Cantonese style BTW.

- The renovated rooms are gorgeous. Not much to add there ;)

- While I normally don't like a hotel's attempt at over-integrating the room w/ technology, this worked VERY well. It was common sense technology that made operating lights, TV, A/C, etc a breeze.

- Great staff, very warm and helpful.

- Appreciated the a la carte breakfast [the Chinese breakfast was killer]

- All the lux hotels have [more or less] great locations in Chicago, and this one was no different.

Wouldn't hesitate to send a client here/go back here whatsoever. Maybe my favorite Peninsula outside of PVG and HKG.

Ever run into a property where you think to yourself, "wow, they've thought of it all!" Well, that's this Peninsula.

My Peninsula pictures.

Great pics. That room looks amazing. Not gonna lie, I am loving that mini cooper.

Waldorf is under construction, they were even jack-hammering while I was getting a massage... Disruptive with crap service recovery. I love the Waldorf location, however... far better for shopping and restaurants than Trump/Langham.
The Peninsula is a classic, yes... but stuffy and rooms are small with meh views. The spa, service and dining are most redemptive.
Ritz is being renovated now and has always had killer views with larger rooms/suites. I'm looking forward to checking it out post-renovation as they are opening a club lounge, too.
The Langham is modern set supremely tranquil, Club river suite is the way to go.

Lovely pictures, thanks for sharing!