laloglz

I guess I was, I never even blinked at booking a reservation at a Renaissance since I have always gotten exceptional service. After my stay I will now start doing more research about the property that I am staying at. I gotta say this is the worst Renaissance hotel I have ever stayed at. Rooms are small, looks dingy and to top it all off they only have wireless and they want to charge me per device!!!!! So an extra 9.95 a day if I want my iPhone or second laptop to have connectivity.

Beware of this property...

cyberdad

You're absolutely right. And in fairness to the hotels, usually you're paying a much lower weekend rate when the lounge is closed.

But the fact is the majority of hotels still extend the free breakfast benefit on weekends anyway. I always make it a point to remember these in my future plans. I've also found that a little polite but firm pursuasion more often than night gets the clerk at the front desk to see things my way.

(One night in St. Louis a few years back, when being "Mr. Nice Guy didn't work", asking them to go ahead and cancel my three night stay magically made the "nonexistant" breakfast vouchers appear.)

EndlosLuft

Hi,

I will be going to a conference that will be at this Hotel next year:

Hyatt Regency O'Hare Hotel

I would prefer to stay at a Marriott operated Hotel that is nearby (of course only if it makes sense).

Are there any Chicago experts who can give me Marriott alternatives either near or on the same metro line as this Hotel?

Thanks!

EndlosLuft

Benny8444

If you dont mind staying at an Intercontinental the IC is by far the best airport hotel in ORD and is about as nice as an IC city hotel.

SanDiego1K

Hotel Magician has a nice tool that allows you to look for hotels near a specific address. It then allows you to filter the results by brand. I did that, inputting the address for the OHare Hyatt. The closest Marriott I found was Marriott Suites Chicago O'hare. Google maps says it is a .9 mile walk, taking 17 minutes.

I have walked from the OHare Hyatt to the subway stop, and would say that is going to take you 10 minutes. It might be easier to stay at a hotel that is within a 20 minute walk that to walk to the subway stop, wait for a train, go to another station, and walk to a hotel from it. (Hopefully others with specific knowledge of Chicago area Marriotts will weigh in, as I'm simply using online tools.)

travelismylife

I've stayed at that Marriott Suites and walked to the Hyatt in about 12 minutes. May not want to do this if it'll be icy/night. It's a straight walk up River Rd. Marriott Suites is nice but not gr8. The real gem is the Renaissance O' Hare, long walk as there's a forest perserve between the two. You can stay at the Westin it's across the street from the Marriott Suites. Stayed there too, lobby is real nice and rooms are pretty nice nothing spectacular. The closest hotels to the Hyatt O' Hare are the Intercontinental (looks really nice) and the Doubletree (stayed there, so-so, pretty much exactly what you'd expect at a Doubletree), and the Crowne Plaza (stayed there- didn't like it too much, a Holiday Inn at best). Those are south on River Rd. whereas the Westin and Marriott Suites are north (after the subway). Another option is the Hyatt Rosemont which is even further north on River Rd. but I imagine you can get on the shuttle as it goes anyway to the Hyatt O' Hare all the time as they share the shuttle for O' Hare. There's also the Marriott O' Hare but that's farther than the Renaissance (same subway stop- Cumberland but north). May pay to stay at the Renaissance as it's right next to the subway and only one stop, and reall nice rooms with free wireless in the lobby. Let me know if I can help any more.

EndlosLuft

Thanks SanDiego1K for the website tip and to travelismylife for the hotel recommendation.

I was able to get the Renaissance Chicago O'hare for $89 with an advance purchase rate. In the mornings I don't mind walking and with that rate my company can't complain in the worst case paying for 2 cab rides a day :-).

Great advice -- thanks!

EndlosLuft

cyberdad

The Ren is not walkable to the Hyatt O'Hare....but it would be a fairly easy 5-10 minute drive in most instances. Marriott Suites is theoretically walkable....but not an appealing prospect in the midst of a Chicago winter.

jammers

travelismylife is right on. I stayed at the Marriott Suites a lot; its a very nice hotel. Reneissance is much better, but it could be a tough walk depending on the weather. Cab is probably a good idea. I typically lean towards SPG hotels, but imo the Westin O'Hare doesn't compare to the Marriott properties in this instance.

Big Mo

The lounge was closed until 7:30 p.m. on Sunday night. I asked about weekend breakfast coupons, and they said that I can have breakfast in the lounge on Monday. When I pointed out that that wasn't what I asked, the reply was "we don't do that anymore."

I stayed on a 2-for-1 EEO. Typical of Marriott, the folio ignored the EEO. When I went down to resolve the issue and check out, they said they couldn't fix it at that time because there was no manager on duty . . . at 9:30 a.m. on a Monday.

On the flip side, it's a beautiful property. Marble everywhere. As a MR Gold, I was given a partial lake view without asking.

brooks5018

let me chime in with a dissenting vote. the room i stayed in there was dirty and was smoky. called to front desk to ask for new room and was told none were available. not a pleasant stay.

bsb21

Cool! I have only stayed at Ritz-Carlton's, which offer the mirror TV's.

However, it is a shame that ,like most American Marriott's, they chose to close the lounge on weekends!

Big Mo

The Ren in Schaumberg, IL also has TVs in the bathroom mirrors.

stupenal

Yes, I did a search through the forum, but there were only two threads about the property, and the reviews were a mixed bag.

I'll be going to Chicago for two nights at the end of February, before flying out to London via the Priceline deal several months back ($245 ai!). I'm currently a Marriott Plat, and was browsing through the offers available via the elite rewards. Unfortunately, there was nothing available for Chicago.

However, right now on Travelzoo, you can book a room at the Blackstone for $99. I'm not sure how things work when you book a marriott room via travelzoo, so my question is - do you still get the same platinum treatment and access when don't book directly with Marriott? Also, I've read that the lounge is closed on the weekends, yet others have reported receiving complimentary breakfast instead. Some have noted that there is a plat gift, yet others have noted that there is nothing.

Any thoughts about the hotel would be great!

I put the ?? with a space after "blackstone," in case the search function recognizes it as a different word with the punctuation.

IrieDame

I think the tone of the reviews of this hotel are very positive actually...this is a lovely non-traditional hotel in terms of layout and decor. Service is top notch. I always get an upgrade of some sort. I find this to be one of the best FS Maariotts in the country.