UA-NYC

Excited to see a non-NYC Design option in the US!

https://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefe...opertyID=70080

Hopefully it opens on time so I can knock out one of my two missing brands for the 11 brand challenge

dw

Wow, just mapped the address and wasn't expecting to see something come up in Wicker Park. A great alternative to the existing SPG alternatives if you don't need to be downtown.

Horace

More about The Robey, Chicago, a Member of Design Hotels:

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2016...orthwest-tower

travelista

Awesome!! Thanks for posting this... yes, glad to see a US non-NYC property! And same as the OP, now I should be able to make the full 11 brands w/o completely re-arranging European vacations to achieve. ^^

travelista

And..... it's right by the CTA Blue line, so it's super easy to reach via ORD. Yes!!

paytonc

I used to live one block from this building, and had some friends who had offices inside. Everyone always dreamed about how awesome it would be as a hotel... and earning SPG points makes it even better!

The neighboring warehouse building is apparently a separately flagged hostel called the Hollander. I'm curious to see how that works.

Pro tip: Coming from the Loop via the Blue Line? Walk down the platform in the direction the train's going, and over North Avenue. This will take you to a secondary exit from the 'L' station that is just a few steps from the hotel entrance. It's exit-only, and the station only has stairs, but it's easier than crossing the street at the six-cornered intersection below.

travelista

Just returned from a 2-night wknd stay here. Used a free night award night #1, and then paid stay night #2.
This place is a gorgeous renovation of the office building that it previously was, i'm sure!
As a Lifetime Platinum, we got the room that was reserved and no upgrades. It's my first stay at a Design Hotel property, so I already understood that Platinum benefits are "limited", so I was prepared to not get upgraded. Platinum benefits, i believe we received: Free bottle of water per day, 500spg points I believe are automatically posted
We had the Landmark room, and it was comfortable for us.

As a brand-new hotel, there were a few minor quirks but they were minor things and I'm sure they'll get sorted out soon. Overall the location is awesome - so many great restaurants and shops in the neighborhood; and yes, the blue line was VERY convenient to get to snowy ORD today.

The 13th floor cocktail bar/lounge area was very cool. Fantastic city skyline views!

Staff was very friendly! Enjoyed meeting the GM Santiago in the elevator, and Sergio the F&B manager was super friendly and hospitable too!

The hotel is on a busy 6-way intersection, so you can hear some siren and more honking than normal (due to 6-way). The room doors to hallway aren't too soundproof, as you could hear "loud" people chatting through the hallways.

Nice Waterworks fixtures in the bathroom. ^
Great decor throughout!

This will be our go-to hotel for future Chicago visits.

thecoldhandoftechnology

Stayed on their opening night which went very smoothly. Interestingly there is NO signage at this time, however it is the only building of its height (13 stories) in the area so it was not difficult to find. At check-in I was given a one room class upgrade, and asked if I wanted points for my amenity; a few minutes after check-in the staff brought up a bottle of water, that was the only mention of SPG during the visit.

This is a converted 1920's office building in a great location between Wicker Park and Bucktown. Two restaurants on site, one at an adjacent sister property, and a guests only roof-top cocktail lounge for food and beverage offerings. Breakfast at the first floor restaurant was very good, with excellent service. The rooftop lounge is worth a visit for the great views into downtown. There are many other restaurants and bars in walking distance, but this really is a residential area that is great for walking. If you are bringing a vehicle plan to valet at $45 overnight at the time of writing or SpotHero has some options, street parking will be challenging due to permit parking in the residential areas. There is a train station attached to the property providing easy access to downtown, and a 24 hour Walgreens in a very cool bank conversion across the street if you need sundries.

Unique room layouts due to the triangular shape of the building with some rooms featuring a fantastic panoramic view of downtown Chicago. Rooms are comfortable and up to date including Bluetooth speakers but they have a retro feel with physical keys and a room phone your grandparents may have used. The staff was kind enough to show off a few rooms, none I saw had proper desks if that is important to you. Stocked Minibar is available, but don't expect a microwave or much room in the mini-bar refrigerator. Bedding was great as was internet speed (free). Note that many rooms have a frosted glass wall between the bedroom and the bathroom that some might not be comfortable with if there are two guests in the room, but is much preferred to the glass enclosures that many Radisson Blu’s have. While the renovation did a great job with windows and blackout blinds, you WILL hear some noise from the adjacent L station and tracks; because of the location of the trackway, city view rooms will have the least noise as will rooms above the 2nd floor station.

Next door is a sister property, the Hollander, that has some shared (hostel) and some private rooms with a casual restaurant/bike repair shop at street level. Rooftop pool deck is slated to open in late spring of 2017.

Despite any real SPG branding, the property ticked all the boxes for me and stay and points posted promptly and correctly. Other than some very cool AirB&B options in the area, the Robey is the best of the few properties in this area.

mahasamatman

There are now 4 such hotels.

SNA_Flyer

Had a stay here and can agree with all of thecoldhandoftechnology's comments. It really is in a great neighborhood and really easy to get to from the airport. Probably my new first hotel choice for Chicago stays. My only complaint is the bathroom countertop - or lack thereof - it's just a sink with not a lot of space to put your stuff.

lingua101

Any opinion between this hotel and W City Center? Both 12K with points. Only a night stay after 3 nights at Sofitel before my flight to Texas at 11am.

UA-NYC

If you are doing the Blue Line to ORD, Robey is definitely closer. Nice unique property in a cool neighborhood - Violet Hour nearby is amazing.

I haven't been in a couple years but never found the W CC to be one of the brand's better examples.

SNA_Flyer

Robey no question. Much better local neighborhood. Rooftop bar has nice views. Much closer to ORD.

Violet Hour is great. Publican Anker across the street. Lots of great good coffee bars (Wormhole, Buzz Killer, La Colombe).

thecoldhandoftechnology

Unless you have to have the W vibe, IMHO to Robey wins hands down. Nice property, great walkable neighborhood.

paytonc

The adjacent Hollander Hostel was subsumed under the Robey name last fall, and as of today the 20 "annex" rooms are bookable on SPG.com. Many still have the bunk beds ("loft beds") from their hostel days, which might be fun for children or groupies.

Here?s Why This New Wicker Park Hostel Is Already Changing Its Name | Chicago magazine | Travel & Visitor?s Guide August 2017