Four Seasons Hotel Chicago

100   Recommended
December 9, 2015 by EXPERT

 Map | 3 Reviews | 67% Recommended
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Four Seasons Hotel Chicago
 Map | 3 Reviews | 67% Recommended

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Share
Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
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FOUR SEASONS CHICAGO

As with our stay at FS Toronto I used the concierge to plan our stay in Chicago. The concierge I had contact with, Karen Farmer, was excellent and helped us with all our restaurant reservations as well as recommendations for activities. One thing she really insisted we should do was the architectural river cruise, and it was one of the best tours we've ever had. The guide was fun, interesting and knew everything about every building we passed.

As for the food, I don't have a lot to say except that it was very good. We had breakfast each morning and dinner the first day at Allium, and were very happy after each meal. We didn't make time to use the spa here, but we did swim in the pool a couple of times and the pool area was very nice.

Our Room
We had booked the Lake-view Executive suite and received a one level upgrade to a Premiere Lake-view Executive suite at check in, room 3225. The upgrade meant we got a corner room which gave us great views of both the city skyline as well as the lake. The room was in good condition, but it felt a bit dated. This was even more apparent as the room at FS Toronto was very modern.


Sitting Area


Bedroom

The Incident
I'm not sure if it's our fault somehow, but things always happen when we stay at hotels, the most extreme of which happened during this stay. After what happened at FS Toronto, I was hoping for a simple and uncomplicated stay at FS Chicago, but that didn't seem meant to be. After the first night we were getting ready to head down to Allium for breakfast when something happened. Out of respect for all involved I will not go into details what it was, but rest assured I couldn't make it up if I wanted to. As soon as it happened and I had informed the staff, I sent an e-mail to our TA to let him know what was happening, would I require assistance. This is how grave things were.

At first, the response was rather passive from hotel staff, but as things escalated and things were investigated, they went from passive to proactive. What followed the next couple of days were the exact opposite as compared to how the staff at FS Toronto had handled things. We also got to meet and talk to pretty much every manager, including the GM Michele Grosso who left a meeting in order to see us. Things could not have been handled better than they were, it was a textbook example of service recovery at the absolute top level. At FS Toronto the treatment we experienced felt impersonal, here it felt genuine and honest. What could have ended in absolute disaster will instead be a special memory, not all good, but in the end positive.

As part of our compensation we received an upgrade from our upgraded Executive suite to a Deluxe One-Bedroom suite, a bottle of wine and a selection of pastries. After meeting with the front desk manager we were informed that the cost for the first night would be removed from our bill, and after meeting with Mr. Grosso later the same day we were told our stay would be fully complimentary. The only thing we paid for was tickets we had bought from the concierge and charged to the room. They also arranged our return transfer to the airport free of charge.

Our Second Room
The suite we were upgraded to, room 4427, was of course a big step up from the first room we had. I'm not sure when it was renovated, but it didn't feel at all dated like the Executive suite did. Being on the 44th floor also meant even greater views. Thankfully, we didn't need to use the ear plugs provided, the wind noise was not an issue when we stayed.


Livingroom


Livingroom & Dining Area


Bedroom


The View

Final thoughts
We will never forget the stay at FS Chicago, and the staff who did everything they could to make sure our stay wasn't ruined by what happened. Coming of a stay at a hotel with great rooms but poor service, really helped us realize that we value less impressive rooms with great service more.

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