IMH

Lounge access is included in the room description at the hotel website:

"[...] Business Class Room, which provides access to the Business Lounge."

Rene23

Would someone please PM me the GM's email? I'd like to ask if they'll let me book 2 nights instead of the 3 night minimum for a weekday award redemption that's popping up for the week I need. Thank you.

SFOTerry

Tried to book award stay online - says 7 day stay required. Really?

coltonatx

I have a 2-day weekend stay in August booked two weeks ago. Did you try the mobile app?

Namaste1

This is probably due to a convention in Chicago. The week after I'm booked in May, there's a 4-day stay minimum.

scruffy

There is now a Whole Foods roughly a third of a mile north of the hotel on the west side of Columbus Dr. I prefer Mariano's.

coltonatx

I must be lucky. I was able to get a two-day stay in August.

coltonatx

I requested an upgrade as a Gold member through email, and the response I received said I got a corner room on a high floor, but due to capacity, I couldn't be upgraded to a business room even though there are at least four business rooms available. Should I push the issue any further or wait until check-in and ask again if there's still availability?

coltonatx

I replied and asked if I would be eligible for an upgrade to a biz room if there was inventory at check-in. Manager responded 'yes, but a discounted rate'. I've never stayed at a property where management sells upgrades

italdesign

Stayed here over the weekend. Impressive, but the lack of upgrade was disappointing.

Pros
-Location. One of the best in Chicago.
-New and stylish.
-Lots of free facilities - gym, sauna, steam, pool, basketball court, outdoor terrace, running track?
-Bathroom ledge/bar. More space to put things.
-Comfortable bedding.
-Generous bottled waters for Gold members.

Cons
-Lack of upgrade. Gold member here, only upgraded to better view, same room type. No lounge access (and no free breakfast). I can understand no room upgrade when hotel is full, but no lounge/breakfast is disappointing coming from Marriott.
-Valet is $63/day, self parking $49. Did not see any "overnight free" meter nearby.
-Useless welcome gift - a pack of gummy bears.
-Incredibly cheap toilet paper.
-Drape not fully closable (light will come in morning).

Hard to believe we splurged on the valet. Felt very un-travel hacker-ish. Traveling with parent does that to you.

But that location is really something.

Explore

From attending the Star Megado 6 and paying for a few CC nights, I was comped Concierge status through February 2017. Does anyone know if the Radisson Blu Aqua upgrades Concierge members as a matter of course? Is the included continental breakfast only in the lounge, and what is the fare?

Thanks....

Nehawk

I was at the hotel the same weekend as you. I was also disappointed at the lack of upgrade. Was really hoping for a balcony room at least. However, the Lollapalooza festival had this place sold out. I had contacted the hotel in advance inquiring about a business class room and they quoted me $160/nt for the upgrade. We declined.

The welcome gift gummy bears went to good use since we had a bottle of vodka on hand for pre-Lollapalooza cocktails. Poured some vodka in with the gummy bears and put them in the cooler. The gummies soaked up the vodka and were pretty delicious afterward.

Overall, I really liked the hotel and am glad I have two more award weekends booked prior to the recent devaluations (50k vs. 140k for 2 nights). It's a great location and that pool deck is tough to beat in downtown Chicago!

DeltaNeutral28

as if 70K isn't bad enough, i see some dates are 105K a night. Which is the most frequent since the double deval for the Rad Blue Chicago?

robcheshire

I am trying to book a few nights in January to tag onto the front-end of a Company Conference, and the room rates are showing as $499/night!

I did the exact same thing this year in January, and paid around $180/night.

The $499 is presumably a "rack-rate", perhaps because I am still almost 6-months out?

Any idea when the hotel might start charging sensible rates?

We are after all talking about Chicago in January! Bleak doesn't even begin to describe what the weather will be like!!!

Bohemiana

I was really looking forward to 4 reward nights here but I wasn't very impressed. Maybe that's because my last reward nights were in Paris at the Park Hyatt Vendome, so it's not a fair comparison. I was greeted at reception and given an "upgraded" room on the 18th floor. I was given a welcome letter and a plate with a peach, tiny bit of chocolate and small macaroon (delicious), and two sparkling waters. The room was quite small as was the bathroom with only a shower (no tub). I had a small view of the river between buildings. WiFi was terrible and unfortunately, I have T-Mobile which only worked while I stood near the window. After I filled out the online survey mentioning these complaints, the GM emailed me and said my upgrade included lounge access--too bad it wasn't told to me while I was staying there! I guess I will always ask just in the future, just in case. My room only had a coffee maker--nothing to make tea with, which is my morning drink. (Website says coffee/tea-making facility, whatever that is.) It was a hassle to leave the room for a cup of tea in the morning.

Personally, I didn't really like the location. I've stayed at the Sheraton across the river a few times and those 2 blocks to Michigan Ave seem long to me. I would prefer to stay on the other side of Michigan.

The positives were the staff is incredibly friendly and the gym/pool are outstanding. I wish I had more time to use the workout facilities.