tagandrelease3

Several months ago, I commented on this board that the Sheraton Chicago was a place to avoid at all costs. Well I have changed my mind. There has been a change in general management - Rick Ueno has taken the reigns and has done a fabulous job bringing the hotel up to standard. Now when I check in - I find people working the Platinum Desk, people working valet at 4:30 am and an attentive staff when something is needed.

My hats off to the changes Rick and his team has made and for anyone passing through Chicago I would recommend the Sheraton for its staff, rates, and location.

I truly hope they can replicate this level of service going forward.

Regards,

tagandrelease3

EquityMind

Is this sentiment still going on? I have a 4 night stay here booked next week and I cant find any recent talk here on how this property now treats Platinum guests. What are the chances of a suite upgrade on a weekend stay? Does anyone know what type and how many suites this property has?

Thanks all.

Pizzaman

Stayed one month ago. I was upgraded to a mini-suite on the top floor of the property. At the time, I was waiting for comp status to GOLD, not platinum. The desk looked at my account, and happily upgraded me as a lowly potential gold. I was happy with all elements of the property, except for the breakfast restaurant which was just okay for the price. The buffet is sufficient, but not spectacular.

EquityMind

Update:

Staying here now. At check-in, my platinum key portfolio had already been printed out with my name on it, I was asked which amenity I preferred and I was upgraded to a huge 4 window bay suite with a very large parlor area and bedroom + a seperate bedroom. The suite has two bathrooms and so much room I think I need to throw a party. Not bad considering the hotel is now sold out for a large advertising convention.

steven b

I had the pleasure of staying at this property last week. I also am lowly gold and a got upgraded without requesting. maybe because i arrived late on a sunday night and something was going on in Chicago the next ady? The personal attention was great. Even the maid addressed me by my first name... Hard to go sleeping in my own bed now! i could get used to that hotel very quickly!

brianbCID

Wow, after two bad experiences at this hotel I was thinking about never going back, however I might have to now. Thanks for the update.

Scott218

I'm also at the Sheraton right now.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a suite upgrade even though I'm a Platinum (I got a room on the 34 floor with a King and a small sitting area). I checked in at around 6.30pm on Sunday. There is indeed a big convention going on here.

Also, the check in agent didn't ask me about my amenity choice. I had to call them Sheraton Promise to request the 500 points.

Jakebeth

I was very hopeful when I read this post, as I had a very subpar experience there a couple years ago.

So, I tried again. Not impressive.

A) Front entry is currently under construction. Driveway is blocked. No signs to show where one should go to drop off, so cab driver leaves me, with luggage, in frigid temp, on the street. It's around 9pm on Sunday night.

B) As noted, no signs, and no bellman or anyone to direct me. It turns out, they're using the ballroom entryway to the East as the main entrance during construction, as the signs INSIDE note. A little late, thanks.

C) I was pleasantly surprised to be told that as SPG Gold I'd be receiving a room upgrade. Given that I haven't been upgraded before (I'm new to Gold), I thought, well, that's nice. I'm anxious to see the room. It was 2605 (perhaps someone knows the hotel well enough to comment?) I have to believe that she either made an error, or their idea of an upgrade is very different from mine. It certainly wasn't bad enough to complain and ask for a move, but there was nothing impressive about this room. The entryway was clearly designed around a stairwell and/or mechanical (I think stairwell from the graphic on the door), so you immediately walk in and have to traverse an inside-the-room hallway. You get to the rest of the room, and it's a basic, small, square room with barely enough space for the desk and club chair, etc. Poor light-switch placements, and one of the lights was not functional.

d) As I am the proud owner of a broken laptop, I was anxious to get down to the business center, which I'm assuming must be nice. When I ask at the front desk, though, I not only learn that it closes in the evening (it must apparently be staffed, though not sure why since I've been able to use 24 hour centers at other Starwood properties...) but that they closed 20 minutes early because nobody was there. Thanks.

e) The receptionist says, wait - I'll try to see if there's an internet cafe nearby. No dice. Oh, well. You could just go over to the Hyatt and ask them to use their center. "That place is huge!" Thanks. I'm really excited to walk across the river at 10pm in the 5 degree weather.

f) So, I go back up and order room service. The menu clearly states, if you don't get your food in 30 minutes, it's free. So I call and order - sir, it will take 45 minutes, is that ok? Thanks. And I really appreciated the 18% + 3.75 or so in delivery charges (i.e. both). Now, I don't expect to get any deals on room service. But TWO mandatory charges and late delivery.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, none of this was a disaster. I had a nice, clean, friendly place to sleep, and I was able to get a reasonable price. It's irritating, however, to find so many little issues every time I go there. I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall. It's such a beautiful property, in a great location, that I hate to give it up.

toomanybooks

For what it's worth, my brother was able to Hotwire two rooms here for way less than a third of rack rate on one of the busiest weekends of the year (Taste of Chicago).

For what he paid, it was a screaming bargain.

BlissWorld

I too had a stay at this property Dec 17-18. I absolutely disagree. I had a wonderful stay. I was upgraded to Chicago Suite on 34th floor as a platinum. Staffs were wonderful and accomodating. The lobbey was warm and beautiful with a huge x mas tree.

Yes, driveway is blocked, however, the street 6 feet next to the driveway isn't. I took cabs six times during my stay. Every single cab driver knew where to take me and drop me off 15 feet away from the front door.

I don't think 26th floor is an upgrade since tower rooms are on 31-34th. I think they meant the upgrade as you probably were in the circular tube at the end of the hall way--the 05 sounds like it. I was told all tower rooms had plasma TVs. There were 2 in my suite.

I believe there was one in the Club lounge with a fax machine and phone with complimentary local calls.

They told you in advance and asked if it was OK. I think that's fair. The mandatory charges are standard at most hotels.


I know for this past weekend, there was the triple starpoints promotion (on top of SPG triple) with $25 food credit for $129 a night. That's 1419 points as an elite PLUS 500 online booking bonus, PLUS AMEX points, PLUS possible 500 Platinum Welcome Amenity.

More than reasonable...that's 2500 points. 1/4 to a free night at a category 4 hotel.
I wouldn't complain unless the ceiling came down, but then if that happened and stayed alive, I would probably be able to stay at Starwood free for life

Again, this isn't the best Starwood property I have stayed, but for the price, it really was a good product.

Jakebeth

BlissWorld wrote: I too had a stay at this property Dec 17-18. I absolutely disagree. I had a wonderful stay. I was upgraded to Chicago Suite on 34th floor as a platinum. Staffs were wonderful and accomodating. The lobbey was warm and beautiful with a huge x mas tree.

This is the funny part - one of the main reasons I keep getting drawn back is that it's such a warm-feeling, beautiful property.

Yes, driveway is blocked, however, the street 6 feet next to the driveway isn't. I took cabs six times during my stay. Every single cab driver knew where to take me and drop me off 15 feet away from the front door.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the street 6 feet next to the driveway". In any case, I got there with luggage, there were no signs, and the secondary turn-around driveway wasn't six feet away. I understand the need for construction. One exterior sign would have been nice, though. I'm glad your drivers were smarter than mine.


I don't think 26th floor is an upgrade since tower rooms are on 31-34th. I think they meant the upgrade as you probably were in the circular tube at the end of the hall way--the 05 sounds like it. I was told all tower rooms had plasma TVs. There were 2 in my suite.

Definitely not anything like your suite. She did say upgrade, though.

I believe there was one in the Club lounge with a fax machine and phone with complimentary local calls.

Well. I'm not familiar with the Club lounge, and as you can tell, it wasn't offered to me. That makes it even worse IMHO. She wanted me to walk to the Hyatt.
....

Again, this isn't the best Starwood property I have stayed, but for the price, it really was a good product.

This is kind of the problem, though. The price was good. But it's frustrating to have consistently better experiences at other Sheraton properties, particularly when this one has a kind of 'flagship' appearance, and it's also well known in Chicago that Clinton used to stay there.

BlissWorld

Well, the driveway was closed, but the street that led to the driveway wasn't. So, if your cap driver dropped you off on the street adjacent to the driveway or just before, it would have literally been 6 feet away.


Oh, and never mind about the Club lounge. It would have been closed when you were there anyway....my bad

FlyingToFly

I've been reading up on the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers since I have a stay coming up this Friday night. I must say, the reviews are not reassuring whatsoever... I'm seeing horror stories of moldy bathrooms, horrible attitudes, rooms with bad smells, etc everywhere I look! Should I be worried? I don't have any status with SPG.

Starwood Lurker

I stayed at this hotel last summer and had a wonderful stay. I did not experience any of the problems cited above. Just my two cents.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

FlyingToFly

You are Super Super VIP with them

With your words in mind though, I will be sure to give them a try without bias and see how it goes. Are there any particular phrases I should mention regarding room selection when checking in? (e.g. "newly renovated floor," "non-smoking," etc etc) I can deal with a smaller room, I just can't deal with a musty looking dirty one.

P.S. Do they allow you to leave your luggage at the desk after checking out so you can conduct your business in the city in the afternoon without baggage, and then come back to pick it up in the evening when you are finished?