ldsant

Not of the room or hotel, but pics of my nephew and I having a private tour of the Chicago White Sox field, yes

KENNECTED

drats, you know I like pretty pictures in reviews. Nice to score a free tour of ChiSox home! ^

cpsri99

I heard they are renovating the guest rooms at this hotel. Anyone know if they are done yet?

ldsant

My report is two posts above yours. . .was there <5 days ago. Don't think they're finished if in fact they are renovating.

mke9499

Stayed at the Westin on Michigan Ave in Chicago a couple of weeks ago; the room was newly redecorated.

New carpet, window treatment, wall covering...all very attractive. The bedding, of course, is still the same. Most interesting was the use of mesh roller shades, in lieu of sheers, on the windows, with decorative blackout draperies over the shades.

The property was badly in need of room updates; they did a nice job.

Is it my imagination, or are they cutting back on the bath toiletry ammenities? The only toiletries provided were soap, shampoo, & conditioner.

Still think this location is among the best in Chicago.

KENNECTED

Any recent stays/experiences?

abk

my wife and her best friend were there for a birthday outing last week and loved it although they are not that picky.

KENNECTED

Umm, OK. Can you tell me about the room, service, gym and amenities? That would be helpful, not only to me, but the board as a whole.

banquisha

Don't expect even a decent bed, not to mention even a decent upgrade.
Arrived at 3am. Chicago time due to delayed flight. Obviously, I had to go to bed ASAP as there was a 7am meeting. Checked in and, went up to the room. Here's the surprise...
Got a TINY room with a MURPHY BED... for $409!!! Un-f*cking-believable... I've never been so insulted... not even in hotels where I have NO status. As a platinum member, I would have expected a decent room. Not THE WORST room possible. I don't care if I checked in at 3am... they shouldn't have put me in that room to begin with. Especially not at the rate I booked it at.
I did not have the time nor energy to spend arguing with the front desk. When I called down to complain, they said that they'd give me a 50% reduction off my book rate. Whoop dee freakin do...
This experience makes me really think twice about my platinum status with Starwood.

KENNECTED

I understand you should be upset, but slow your roll there.

Your experience cannot be translated to those scheduled to stay in the future. How can you make a generalization like that?? Therefore, your first sentence comes across as over dramatic. As asked here many times, you're going to let one stay, make you consider switching? Take a day, get your head together and reevaluate the SPG program.

I Even though the hotel has credited you, suggest you call hotel customer service and explain the situation. This way they can examine the real reason as to why you received a room up to your expectations. Crediting you 50% is only a band-aid to what could be a larger problem.

banquisha

Still trying to get over the horrible experience. Some day manager (or something like that) had called and left a message saying that they were going to "investigate" why I got the room with only a murphy bed. He was "very sorry" and asked that we return his call. Called him and, its been two days since then... no reply.
Problem is, I need to go back to Chicago for a special trip (taking better half there for birthday) and am not sure which property is best now. Perhaps any property aside from this one is best...
I'm so angry now that I'm considering spending the extra money for the Peninsula and just saying F-it all to *wood in Chicago (To Cheap Elite: Yes, I've cooled it enough to not say F-it all to *wood in general ).
Does anyone know how I might be able to get a hold of the GENERAL MANAGER, or someone that actually will give a *hit about this total BS of a situation at this property?
In regards to the 50% credit, it really didn't do much for me. Even then, a murphy bed (those beds that have to be pulled out from a wall) at over 200 a night is unacceptable. My treatment there, for anyone, was unacceptable.

KENNECTED

I recently completed a wonderful stay here. Trip report with LOTS of pictures to come shortly.

Also, as reported here thousands of times. If you're not getting the response you want, call corporate customer service, information in the sticky thread at the top of the forum

BlissWorld

Still waiting

pbjag

I had a wonderful experience there also, in May. I have avoided this hotel for 5 years, staying at every other *wood property than this one during my frequent trips to Chicago because my prior experiences here were so bad.

This was the conference hotel for an event my company sponsored in May. I had planned to move to the Westin River North post-conference for the remainder of my stay in Chicago, but actually changed that plan to remain at the Michigan Avenue location, foregoing the additional stay credit I would have received by moving.

Their remodel is well done; the lobby is much nicer. I was upgraded to a massive room facing Michigan Avenue and the service throughout was wonderful.

The whole group was quite impressed with the service and the meals for our conference -- and let me tell you , since this conference was for senior restaurant marketing executives, the group is pretty tough to please when it comes to food or service.

xtremeflyer

Had a great stay here this weekend. Booked 10/30-11/02 on Cash and Points for a wedding at the Newberry Library down the street.

As Plat was upgraded to a renovated two room suite on the 15th floor of the West Tower facing Michigan Ave. The bedroom was average sized with 32" Flatscreen and full bath. The Living room was extra large with a walk-in closet, full bath, 42" flatscreen and a murphy bed (guess we could have brought the mother-in-law).

It was nice getting 4 waters a day as it was dryer than we were used to, but great weather for this time of year. The staff was great except for the bell hops. Called down and asked for a "van cab" as there were 4 of us and a baby seat. They said no problem. We got down there exactly when we said we would, no cab. They said they'll flag one down, we waited 10 min while they just stared into Michigan Ave and we finally just took 2 cabs.

Then that night, I left my cell phone in the cab, realized it as he drove away and got the cab number, but not the company. I told the bell hop and he said he couldn't help without the company name (turns out, the cab numbers are unique and aren't duplicated, so he didn't need the company name). We described the cab (color, markings) and he went inside, never came back out for over 20 min. I just kept calling the phone until the cab driver picked up, told him I'd give him a $20 if he brought it back ASAP. He did. Phew! .. Anyway, this is when I expect staff to rise to the occasion and help out lost tourists and didn't meet expectations.

Didn't use the concierge as our entire weekend was planned, so can't comment on them.