These guys offer no points availability in the summer. .... Has anyone booked a date on points this summer?

booked July 2-4 using points and last night free as CC credit card promo.

Memorable? Absolutely!
 

Are you kidding?!? Tell me, how many hotels have you stayed in where, as a guest, you can play basketball on a half-sized court; take a sauna and/or steam bath; grill your own lunch or dinner outdoors on the patio; or workout in a large, fully-equiped gym?

The rooms (note that there are two decors to choose from, and you can let the hotel know at check-in which you prefer), are in great shape since the hotel is still very new.

Finally, it's only a short walk to one of the most amazing public spaces in the country -- Millennium Park.

I stayed in a Business Class room, and thus also had access to the Lounge staffed by very friendly, helpful staff members.

My stay was exceedingly memorable. I can't wait to return again!

FYI, Fox & Obel was closed recently due to pest issues, haven't opened for a few days now, so serious issue.

Hope this late response is useful: I have booked at this hotel when there was no award availability. I called the hotel directly and asked nicely. It was about five days before my arrival.

which was when? what month etc.

Nope

Thanks for your great review. I will be staying here 9/27-9/30 with my wife to celebrate a special occasion. I had thought about the Park Hyatt but after studying up a bit I think the radBlu chicago is the way to go. i will post a detailed review upon my return. Thanks again.

Actually in France they call it "Pain perdu" (which literally means "lost bread"), or "Pain doré" (golden bread) in Quebec. Toast is just... a toasted slice of bread.

Otherwise I stayed at this hotel, there was definitely not a huge recognition of Gold status (very limited upgrade in one of the smallest room of the floor but "with balcony", no welcome amenity and just a 2pm check-out which was better than nothing), however staff was quite nice and room comfortable (although, I prefer a real door between room and bathroom, as here you can hear everything from the bathroom in the room).
I was not over impressed by the breakfast, it was ok and reasonably priced.
Pool and whirlpool was fine, however I did not find stream room and sauna (unfortunately)

My Fav. Chicago Hotel
 

I try to stay here 3 to 4 times a year and in fact some times go out of way to come here. Treated well each time. While I was Gold I got nice complimentary snacks or deserts and usually a slightly upgraded room, but only once (a week-end) did I get upgraded to business class room with lounge access (the room was actually smaller than some others but with an Ipad to use and the lounge had an "ok" continental breakfast but free wine/beer during the evening. I like having the two floors of "entertainment" - jogging track, fire pit, outdoor pool, indoor lap pool, indoor basketball court, pool table and games room, TV room with microwave for popcorn, outdoor bbq's - a lot of this is more for residents of the condo/apartment but all have access. The only downside for me is that it is a bit of a walk from Michigan (say 5 minutes) which is np in summer but winter less so. There is a Mariano's Fresh Market nearby closer to the Park (really no signage for this which is a pity as you can see it from the Hotel balcony's if you know what to look and it has lots to offer for quick fresh casual meals, sushi, snacks, beer, wine etc.) and a Dominick's and Fox & Obel if you go over the river the other direction.

Well...i am booked to stay here 9/27-9/30, my wife and i are celebrating a very special occasion. I hope this hotel is a good choice, i had the park hyatt booked previously but given the middling reviews here on FT I choose the Blu...will provide a detailed trip report upon my return.

There is a great breakfast place about a block away called Wildberry Cafe. Great coffee there too. On weekend, try to get there on the early side.

Radisson blu is a fine hotel but I don't think it compares to a Park Hyatt, it is really not the same range.
Radisson blu is not a top end luxury hotel.

Blu Acqua - Options
 

You may have some choices on rooms. They have both mansion style (rich but darker) and naturally cool (light woods, more minimalist). I have stayed mostly in mansion rooms but recently tried a naturally cool room and liked it a lot (brighter and I think these have both bath tub and shower vs mansion which is I think mostly shower only). Some also have balconies and a park view is premium, but it is generally too windy to leave anything on the balcony so not as great as it first sounds. When you made your reservation (at least if on the Carlson/Radisson booking site) they often offer you discounted paid upgrades. Business class rooms with lounge access was recently an extra $25/nite, with complimentary continental breakfast, water/soft drinks and beer/wine in the evening is likely worth it, the rooms can be the same size but with more upscale coffee machine and an Ipad in addition to the lounge.

I have to say my stay there from 9/27 - 9/30 was tremendous. I was upgraded to a Park Suite with beautiful hardwood floors and was given access to their Lounge which is also top notch. Their fitness facilities are also great, probably the best i have ever seen. Can't imagine that Park Hyatt could beat them in that category?

Anyway it was a tremendous stay i highly recommend this property. Any questions feel free to PM.

Mrs Willie & I treated another couple to a staycation this past weekend at the Radisson Blu Chicago

I was driving and did not utilize self park this time, but I believe self park is up to $47 if I read sign correctly. If you can time things right, there is generally plenty of overnight free parking on the streets nearby but that free doesn't start until 9pm (maybe 10pm as the city switched some areas to 10pm). We had a late night & upon our return found 40+ spaces w/in a couple blocks and one less than 100 feet from front door. Seeing as Sundays are all day free parking, we didn't have to worry about getting up early for our car.

As a silver Mrs Willie & I were given a corner room w/balcony.

Bar on 1st level was packed w/pre-wedding crowd, thankfully got there early to snag a table before all were taken. $30 for 4 drinks, not the best all night deal in town;)

Room as clean/fresh as before, VERY comfortable bed!!!! Only bed more comfortable is the one in our house.

A few blocks away from the Rad Blu is the Chicago Cultural Center, and every exhibit I've attended there has been free, they almost always have something going on. Sat night at 6pm we listened to a music performer who used looping equipment to create a fantastic sound, along with a local lighting company who provided constantly changing light/shadows. Well worth the 50 minutes we spent. Further info on Chicago Cultural Center here: http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en...alcenter.html/

For some of our evening's events we went to The Second City (comedy) www.secondcity.com and had a very good thin crust pizza dinner a few blocks from Second City at Bricks http://brickschicago.com/BricksChicago/home/index.html
--

CC holder. redeemed for two nights. was upgraded to 17th floor business room i believe with access to lounge. The lounge was a little disappointing. Yea they got booze wine and beers and drinks but the food... it was lacking. Just some cookies and such. The selection changed each day. In the morning the breakfast was more continental. oatmeal and bagels and breads and such. I was hoping for hot breakfast w bacon.
the exercise facility was impressive. Jacuzzi, the gym, pool etc. Didnt use to sauna and steam room. Weird that they were on different floors. Locationwise it is a little far from the subway.

3 night stay coming up
 

Looking forward to 3 nights here next week in two separate reservations:

1) Sunday night. Free night from promo earlier this year. It was expiring 12/31/13 so I had to use it finally.
2) Burned 50,000 points and as a CC visa credit cardholder I got an extra night (Monday/Tuesday).

So 3 nights for 50k, not bad^

I am Gold and will try for an upgrade. Business rooms do not appear to be much nicer than regular rooms ( I have my own ipad) and lounge sounds like it is not a draw if you are not a drinker and offers continental type breakfast (really?). Upgrade at reservation time were subpar, just better views (no suites, no business rooms).

I am wondering if I should pour my charm on and go for the Presidential Suite only to settle for the suite a notch below? :)

I am getting in at about 12 noon and not sure of early checkin options. Should I be checking in later to max upgrade options? Fitness facilities sound great!

Radisson Blu Chicago - Master thread
 

George I loved the fitness facilities - which are shared with the condo, and include a bball court. I was working out with an actor from Chicago Fire.
I don't think the upgrades are that good at any time, but I'd love to hear a success story.

Was yours a paid or points stay? Also, what status do you have?

It was a paid stay, got a great rate of about $100 per night so i figured I wouldn't use the FF rate. I am CC gold.

Yeah, that is a great rate. Normally it's around $200-$300. How did you
get such a discount?

I booked about three days in advance, if you watch their rates they drop them for their advance purchase rates on regular intervals. I believe i snagged it at 128 or something like that.

I am trying to decide between the Radisson Blu Chicago and the Conrad as a tourist in January. I'm CC Concierge and Hilton Gold. Any input?

Does anyone have experience with Concierge upgrades at this property?

I am CC Gold and was upgraded to a Park Suite. Just email them ahead of time. PM me if you want the GMs email address. The business level here is very nice.

I am HH Diamond and chose this over Conrad as Conrad does not have an executive level or pool.

This is a little further off the Mag Mile than the Conrad though so if you want to be in the thick of it Conrad would be the way to go.

Upgraded to a Park Suite for my last (third) night here. So much nicer than my corner room. Had an nice email from Guest Services wanting to satisfy me with my stay. Twitter works folks! Lounge opens at 4.30 pm, will continue from there ^

The lounge at this property is fantastic. I was Gold and owing to the hotel being very busy (over the Summer) when I stayed, I was offered an upgrade to the Business floor for only $40pn, well worth it. Nice to see that in the low season they are upgrading Golds to Suites with lounge access on a gratis basis.

In one of the first posts on this thread, Sweet Willie mentioned Bockwinkel's, a city-style small grocery/convenience store a block away. If you check their website, you may find a coupon. Right now it's $10 off $40 purchase (excluding alcohol). Good prices, net. We loaded up for a room picnic.

7 am-midnight, 7 days. Very useful for a quick hit, especially late.

http://www.bockwinkels.com/

Question - how many points are required to book a room here? Or have the points changed? I looked and they are asking for 75,000 points per night (have the card so would get me two), but that is a lot of points! I thought they capped out at 50k?

I guess you never saw the email and thread on devaluation of their program. Yes, used to be 50k, now 75k.

If a standard award is not available but a premium award is available, the site will show the rate for a premium award (1 1/2 times the standard award).
50k x 1 1/2 = 75k.

I noticed a lot of the upcoming nights next month aren't offering a standard award for 50k points. Does this mean they are purposely blocking them out and only offering the premium award?

I'm Concierge so was hoping to book the standard award and get upgraded. What kind of upgrade could you expect with Concierge and the 75k premium award?

The issue is that this property has four categories of non-Business Class rooms:

City View
Park View
City View Balcony
Park View Balcony

Only the City View rooms are available for standard awards, and they tend to sell out first, at which point no standard awards will be available.

Stayed here last weekend. Terrific property.

We're going to be staying here shortly and I'd be grateful for reports on late night drink offerings in the "24 hour" lounge.

We'll have eaten on the plane and it will be at least 9:30pm by the time we check in, so we're not planning to leave the hotel again the night we arrive. Will we be able to get (i) a drinkable glass of wine and (ii) a beer that isn't Bud/Coors/Miller in the lounge, or are we better off just heading straight for the bar?

if you mean the exec lounge, i believe they put the wine away after a certain time, they will have a fridge there with waters, cokes and beers i believe but not sure about the brand. best bet will be the bar.

Could someone with the GM's email address at this property PM it to me? I'd appreciate it!

Following up post-stay (and answering my own lounge questions from above):

We arrived a little earlier than expected for our three night stay and went up to the lounge just after 9:00pm. There were a few snacks (there would have been more earlier in the evening, as we saw on subsequent days), soft drinks and juice, coffee (Nespresso machine), wine (generic-looking: a Prosecco plus red and white options from Argentina) and beer (reasonable selection: Peroni, Stella, Guinness and an enjoyable local brew, Argus's Holsteiner).

Breakfast in the lounge was limited but good. Decent bread rolls, bagels and bread for toasting, pastries, oatmeal, cream cheese, jam/marmalade and fresh fruit. Small amounts of fresh cheese were occasionally put out as well.

Check-in was the only real weak spot: the man who checked us in refused to answer any questions about wifi or newspapers ("you can look that stuff up on the TV in your room") and gave me incorrect times for breakfast in the lounge. On one occasion housekeeping forgot to replenish the coffee supplies in our room.

Everything else was very good. Our room (a Park suite) was extremely comfortable without being OTT "luxurious". Only one wash basin, which was fine for us but might present a challenge for those who need serious mirror time before heading out. There was a customised iPad in the room, but I couldn't find anything interesting on it.

Toiletries were by "This Works" rather than Anne Semonin. They seemed to be of good quality.

Gold benefits: high floor and a small bowl of Maltesers. There were also two glass bottles of water in addition to the two plastic bottles of water everyone gets, but both seem pretty pointless in a city with perfectly drinkable tap water.

We paid less for our suite than we would have paid for the cheapest available rooms at the Conrad, Intercontinental or Waldorf-Astoria on our dates. That, plus the lounge access, made this a very good deal. We'll be back.

My Fiancé and I are headed to Chicago for the 4th of July weekend. I have no status with Carlson.

I'm debating between using 150k points for 2 nights in a "Premium Award-Business-King Room" or booking 2 nights at the Marriott Magnificent Mile and hoping my Marriott Plat status gets me a nice upgrade.

Seeing as the rooms are going for $269/night, I suspect the 150k points is a good value, but can anyone confirm? I had attained them through 2 total stays back in 2012 during a promo so this helps use them and not have to worry about expiration. I don't know anything about typical value for points though so wondering if ~$0.004/pt is a good value or not. Are there better redemptions out there?

Just wondering if anyone can compare this property to the Marriott.

I would not consider .4 cents a good value for CC points.

If you get the Club Carlson credit card, the last night on a multiple night redemption is free. Highly recommended and works great; with 5x on all spend, it's my #1 card now.

So only 75K for 2 nights. That is a decent deal for Blu Chicago.

Might look at Hotwire, though. My brother once got the Sheraton (on the river) surprisingly cheap on July 4. With websites like www.biddingfortravel.com you can often uniquely ID the hotel.