Ritz-Carlton Chicago
 

Introduction I stayed here for 3 nights in April of last year. As this was only my third RC stay and the first at one with a club lounge, I’m less familiar with RC hotels than many others, so my expectations may have been lower than some. That said, I got an inexpensive room rate and used a club lounge upgrade certificate and $100 hotel credit from my RC Rewards credit card, which turned out to be a really good value. Room As a Marriott Platinum, I was upgraded from a basic City View room to one with a partial lake view on a high floor. The room was reasonably spacious and sufficiently well-appointed and the bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was also spacious, but with old fashioned styling. Oddly, the toilet was the lowest I've ever experienced anywhere, so it was unbelievably awkward and uncomfortable to use. In fact, I lost my balance trying to sit on the seat since it was far lower than expected. View from my room Gym Gym was large, well equipped, and the view and abundant natural light made it a great workout space. There was also a private room off to the side for exercise classes, which I did not attend. Club Lounge Since I’d heard a lot about RC club lounges, I was eager to try it out and forego eating in restaurants this time around. My only point of comparison is Hyatt club lounges, which really are not of the same standard, so perhaps not a fair comparison. Probably the best Hyatt club lounge I have tried was the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, but I found the RC Chicago’s lounge to be far better, though the GH Tokyo’s also had nice views. While service in the GH Tokyo lounge is flashy and corporate with little personal attention, the RC Chicago club lounge service is warm, personal, and attentive with local and international staff hailing from countries such as Ireland and France. Staff circulate around the lounge, asking guests if they needed anything, and strike up a friendly conversation to make them feel welcome. This I really appreciated, as it added to the warmth and friendliness of the lounge. The food presentations were substantial at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so much so that I had to skip lunch to avoid gaining too much weight. And the cookies, OMG, large chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal raisin cookies were always available as was wine (from dispensers) and champagne. Also, the lounge had many comfortable chairs, sofas, a TV or two, and plenty of natural light that gave it a welcoming feel. As a first-time user of an RC lounge, I found it to be very comfortable and solid, a kind of relaxing oasis with plenty of food and drink. While I was there, the club was never crowded. . Wine dispensers Location The hotel’s location is, of course, excellent on Michigan Avenue at Water Tower Place. I found convenient exits on the lobby floor into Water Tower Place mall where you could shop and then take the escalator or elevator down to the ground floor and to Michigan Ave. Overall Overall, I found the RC Chicago to be a very conveniently located and comfortable hotel with a solid club lounge and excellent service, though my contact with service was almost exclusively in the club lounge. Since inexpensive rates can be found during the week, if you have an RC Rewards Card, then this is a good place to use your club lounge certificate and $100 credit to get even better value.

Ritz Carlton Chicago closing again on Sunday Nov. 29th 2020 until March 2021
 

Continues to make me sad to hear of these closings. Won't be open until mid March 2021 at the earliest. Spoke with the hotel and was told occupancy was averaging 8% and can't sustain staying open.

WOW, I would normally expect this property to be busy from mid-November through NYE. It's a very good location for Christmas shopping and lights. Travel to Chicago falls off in January (other than for holiday weekends) except for conventions, which obviously aren't happening in person this year.

Just completed a one night stay last week. As Marriott Gold, was given a better view room (was really nice). Also didn't realize Gold members get 10% off food and drink which was a nice surprise.

Just had a stay here for the weekend. I had been planning to stay at the Westin River North, where I’ve stayed a few times before but my SNA request didn’t clear and it wasn’t sounding as appealing with no daily housekeeping and no club lounge, so I decided to try something new. (And with many of the mid-range hotels in Chicago not currently honoring elite breakfast benefits or offering something very limited, the lack of those benefits at the Ritz seemed like less of a downside than usual.)

In the end I was very glad to have made the change—I liked this hotel a lot. The staff were universally excellent, extremely helpful as you would expect at the Ritz and gave the above and beyond treatment (like many of them remembering us and saying hello from day to day).

The rooms are comfortable, modern and well set up. The bathroom was maybe a bit smaller than I would expect at a 5-star hotel (no separate bathtub), and the bed was maybe a bit too soft and pillows too floppy for my tastes, but those were the only minor things I could complain about. As an Ambassador I received only a “view” upgrade but Marriott.com was indeed showing nothing better on the day of check in and I appreciated that the check in agent specifically mentioned and apologized that there were no suites available.

The gym was particularly nice, not huge and did get busy but a wider selection of equipment than I would normally expect from a hotel gym, including things like a proper squat rack.

No breakfast for elites is unfortunate but as mentioned previously, as an Ambassador we received 20% off on-site F&B, which is a nice touch and which we made use of several times for drinks at the lovely lobby bar and adjoining rooftop.

I was about equally happy with the location as anywhere between there and the Westin River North; we probably would have saved a bit of walking this trip if we’d been at the latter from walks down to Millennium Park and the river, but it’s not that much farther. It’s certainly preferable for a tourist trip to staying in the Loop proper, which gets very dead outside weekday business hours (and is probably fairly dead even then these days). Mag Mile seemed to be fully recovered from COVID and the pedestrian crowds on Michigan were thick.

Masks were optional for the vaccinated at the Ritz and were not in wide use, including among some of the staff. The same seemed true most places in Chicago.

Really glad to see that you had a pleasant stay. Someone on Reddit scared me off this property and convinced me to make a back-up booking at the Park Hyatt. Still hoping the St. Regis opens before I visit Chi town.

Was the gym freely accessible or were advanced reservations required? Was there daily housekeeping?

Gym was open as normal with no restrictions or mask requirements (which I believe is a fairly recent change but not sure). And yes there was daily housekeeping, I forgot to mention clearly that that was one of the distinctions that attracted me vs. the Westin.

I last stayed at the PH in 2016 so much has potentially changed since then, but based on what I remember from back then, I'd definitely go for the Ritz-Carlton. The PH rooms were definitely more tired (I think from what I hear a renovation is planned but hasn't started yet) and the hotel had a very quiet vibe in general, which some may like, but coming out of quarantine I enjoyed the somewhat more bustling vibe of and people watching at the Ritz-Carlton lobby. Though that said, if you are Globalist, the PH breakfast apparently is great (I didn't make use of it back then so I can't say firsthand), so that is a consideration.

The St. Regis building looks beautiful and meets Chicago's high architectural standards, but from the outside also didn't really look about ready to open.

Overall, a great stay at the Ritz!

I had been excited to try out this property for some time as it is another I remember from Great Hotels with Samantha Brown (a childhood favorite TV show of mine). I booked a base City View King, and as no suites were for sale online, did not expect much in terms of an upgrade. When I checked in, the associate said no rooms were ready yet (1 PM - understandable). I said that was fine, but I wanted to see if any upgrades were possible (thinking Lake View). The associate looked a bit surprised, glanced at their computer, and said something along the lines of "How did I miss that?" I'm assuming they were talking about my Ambassador status. They did some clicking around, said they had a room ready now, and went through the rest of the check-in process. Once we were finished, they told me I had been upgraded to a Water Tower Suite on the 29th floor - score! No issue with 4 PM checkout.

The suite was fantastic (a few pictures below - sorry for the odd angles as these were the only ones sans my reflection) and was much more attractive than the photos posted of the suite by another poster a few years back. Very comfortable furniture throughout, two full bathrooms, an amazingly plush bed (this makes the hotel for me), super comfortable robes. Turndown service was provided without asking, and chocolates were left. The view towards the Water Tower, Park Tower, 900 North Michigan, and John Hancock Center was very nice.

Not everything was perfect - water pressure in the bedroom shower was not up to 5-star standards (more Westin level), and the magnetic toilet paper holder was very easy to detach through normal use. The water pressure was better in the shower-tub combination in the living room bathroom, but still not amazing.

All throughout the hotel, the bellmen were friendly and willing to strike up elevator conversations.

Although I received the 20% off Ambassador card, I did not partake in any dining as I chose to try out Wildberry next door for breakfast, which was quite good (large portions, too).

The bed, robe, and furniture comfort really made this RC a great experience, IMO, despite some shortcomings (but nothing is perfect).
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...471d5d110c.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7b64c89afc.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2bde3ae89e.jpg

Does anyone know the FHR credit associated with this? on the amex site it is blank - other hotels show 100 dollar property credit etc....

US$250 Property Credit at The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago

close

The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago

Receive a US$250 property credit when booking a stay of at least 3 nights at The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago. To take advantage of this offer, book from 05MAY22 through 02SEP22 for hotel stays from 17MAY22 and completed by 05SEP22. In addition, enjoy these valuable benefits with each Fine Hotels + Resorts® booking: 12pm check-in, when available, Room upgrade upon arrival, when available (certain room categories are not eligible for upgrade), Daily breakfast for two people, Complimentary Wi-Fi, Guaranteed 4pm late checkout, and US$100 Property credit to be used during your stay

• OFFER DETAILS

• Valid for bookings between:2022-05-05 - 2022-09-02
• Valid for travel between:2022-05-17 - 2022-09-05
• Minimum Nights:3
• Promotion Code:FHR26287

Stayed over Labor Day weekend. No upgrade to a suite (none were showing as available online) but really appreciated the lakeview room we were upgraded to on the 30th floor. The renovated rooms were in great condition & we appreciated the modern aesthetic they went for. Room had a nice soaking tub & separate shower. Minimal noise from the hallways even though there was a wedding party on our floor (only noticed since we passed them in the hallway). Weirdly the Club lounge was closed on Thursday but open the rest of the weekend, guess they are still having to have variable hours there. Overall great stay & would return.

Does this hotel still have beach butlers? or was the concept shuttered after Covid?
I can't seem to find anything about the hotel's sedan service for free rides within a radius of the building. Is that no longer offered either?

I inquired about shuttle service and the bell man (who had been at the property more than 5 years) chuckled and said the sedan service was cancelled during covid. Don't think they have plans of bringing it back. Also mentioned that occupancy sometimes was less than 10% during covid.
Do not know anything about the beach butlers.
Overall we had a great stay. It's a beautiful property. Staff is very friendly and professional. Lap pool was not too busy. No whirlpool unfortunately. The spa is a bit dated and the sauna didn't work properly. Steam room was solid.
Was upgraded to a Magnificent Mile Suite as a Titanium after providing a good tip :)
The suite was very impressive, however, it's facing away from the Lake, so make sure what your preference is.

Staying here this weekend for our anniversary. Lifetime titanium...don't think we get any benefits, but hoping we get an upgrade of some sort. Wife is using the spa Sunday AM...will report back after our stay.

how was the stay? I’m between the StR, Ritz and the Luxury Collection.