IL Chicago Sheraton Towers Mag Mile Wacker Drive

[pjmystic]

HOTEL REVIEW:

I thought it wouldn't hurt to review the hotel after we stayed there. Thought it was great. We requested early check-in, king sized bed, non-smoking and all were granted w/out a problem at all. Hotel was very nice, we had view of the river and Lake Michigan. We were treated no differently for being hotwire customers. Was my first hotwire experience and was a little nervous. I give the hotel very high marks.

[AaronJB]

I was fooling around with Priceline, attempting to see if I could get anything for the following day for a very cheap price. Saturday checkins with Priceline in downtown Chicago are usually a problem....

...but not this time. I gave Priceline a shot for $66 for a 4 star and it came back with the Sheraton. $66 is not only a vast savings over the hotel's regular rate, but it's substancially cheaper than the worst hotels in downtown Chicago.

The Sheraton is in a wonderful area, just a few blocks from Navy Pier, a few blocks from Michigan Ave and not that far of a walk from downtown. Fox and Obel, a wonderful grocery store, is also a block or two away.

Despite the low prices that I've gotten for hotels, I go in asking things like, "how would I feel had I paid full price?"

Things started off fine enough. Check-in was going slowly (I've visited different chain hotels in the city and I've seen check-in go faster and the staff was still welcoming.), but thankfully, there weren't many people in line and there were plenty of staff checking in.

The person who checked us in was very nice and, unlike some other hotels, not only was priceline not mentioned , the staff member told us about how they want every guest to be treated well and if there were any problems, to call them.

I was going to try to see if I could pay for an upgrade, but didn't really have an "in" in the conversation. When I saw that we had a room on the 25th floor, I didn't really make an issue of it, as I figured we were far up anyway.

We walked through the lobby, which was quite lovely, and went up to the floor. When we arrived, the door had been unlocked by the maid staff, who looked as if they'd just finished cleaning it (the cart was in front of the room). So, that wasn't too pleasing, and there were still also what appeared to be some breakfast room service plates (in one case, while I admittedly didn't see what the dish looked like before it was eaten, the remains didn't look too good) in the hall.

The room itself, however, was pretty nice. It appeared clean, with no noticable dents in furniture or other concerns. There appeared to be some light wear (not dirt, but just wear/tear) to the bedspread, but aside from that, it was fine. The room was fairly plain - not all-white plain, but certainly nothing too fancy. Size-wise, however, it was definitely pretty roomy, with a couch and a nice view.

I took some great pictures out the window, which would have been nicer had the window not been dirty. The windows, while not terrible, were certainly in need of a wash.

We got snacks at the Walgreens across the street, as well as at the previously mentioned Fox and Obel. We were pondering ordering room service, until we looked at the prices. Had I just ordered a burger, with gratuity (18%) and service charge ($3.25), it would have cost just under $20. Breakfast was similarly ridiculous - $19.75 (plus gratuity, plus charge, so we're talking in the neighborhood of $27 for what you can get for a fraction of the price at several different and very nice places within a half mile) for 2 eggs, meat, bread and coffee/ beverage. I don't know what the Sheraton is thinking with these prices, given that there are definitely other options in the area, including PJ Clarkes across the street if you want a burger or something similar. Also food-related - there are no vending machines. They obviously want you to order one via room service or go to the gift shop. Walgreens is across the street, and both Fox and Obel and another grocery store are down the street. Get your snacks there.

We stayed at the W City Center last Summer and, interestingly enough, the room service was cheaper there - if not by a whole lot. However, the service was excellent and so was the food. Somehow I didn't think I'd have the same experience with the Sheraton, and despite the fact that the menu noted that if the food wasn't there in 30 minutes or it'd be free, given how they seemed to charge for everything in this hotel, I felt like if I did make an order and it came in 31 minutes, I'd have a debate on my hands.

The bathtub did have a massaging showerhead, which seemed to work wonderfully most of the time, but sprayed all over the place on a couple of settings. The bathtub was fairly nice but - didn't drain. We were only there for one night, settled in and didn't want to sit there while someone came up and fixed it, so we just left it. When we woke up the next morning, the water was still there.

The bed was one of Sheraton's relatively new Sweet Sleeper beds and, while it was not up to the W's Signature Bed (still, by far the best bed I've experienced), it was around the same quality was the Westin Heavenly Bed.

Continuing the feeling like nothing was complimentary was the fact that there is a charge of one full night if you change your dates of stay after check-in (in other words, no leaving early.) and a $75 charge if you check out after noon. Internet was pretty standard at $9.95 a day, although there are a few chains now offering complimentary internet.

Fitness room/pool? Couldn't get a chance to check those out, because you had to sign-in at the fitness room and while apparently they didn't charge you for pool use, they do charge (I believe it's $9.95 a day?) for the fitness room and I didn't want to have to sign-in at the fitness room just to go through there to take a peek at the pool.

There are a few restaurants on the premises (including the famed Shula's Steak House) and, while I would have loved to have tried room service or the restaurants just to discuss them in this review, there's a point where things are just too overpriced to "try". I'd have liked to have given room service a try, just to be able to discuss the service and food, but the prices were just too high to "try" anything.

Believe it or not, during the night, we began to hear noise from the pipes behind the bathroom. Not enough to keep us from sleeping (and I did get a good night's sleep in the Sheraton bed), but this is the first hotel we've stayed at where this has been an issue. We also heard quite a bit of hall noise.

The TV offered a pretty decent lineup of cable channels. I've seen better, I've seen worse. I've read reviews of this hotel noting that they only offered a handful of channels, but there were definitely a bit more than that.

It's too bad that this hotel charges for just about everything (moreso than any other hotel I've stayed at), as it really produces a feeling in the consumer that they can't just sit back and enjoy - it's a "don't touch anything, they might charge us" feeling.

Staff here was okay. We got a good morning or two, but nothing too overly friendly, and most staff we encountered just went about their business.

The final issue was check-out. The in-room system was not working (the menu would not come up, so express check-out was not possible), so we had to check out the old-fashioned way. Thankfully, there wasn't much of a line. When I informed him of the bathtub issue, he didn't seem to care much. I certainly wasn't trying to get any sort of discount or anything, I was just trying to tell him the issue. I didn't even get a "thank you for telling us."

In an episode of "The Apprentice" a couple of seasons ago, when teams had to furnish hotel rooms, Trump noted how important the last impression was. I've really felt that way when I've stayed at hotels, as well. The Sheraton didn't do that well in this regard.

So, overall, for what I paid, this was a fine hotel. We got a clean, fairly spacious (if no-frills) room with a pretty good view. Given that there are definitely great views to be had from this hotel, I was really hoping for that, and certainly succeeded in that regard.

Would I pay full price? No. There are other hotels in this area (including a very nice Holiday Inn a couple of blocks North - the Holiday Inn City Centre) that are cheaper and there are other hotels for the same price that are a better value.

Rating? I've seen the Sheraton rated 4 stars, and it's rated 3 1/2 by some services. Personally, I'd consider it to be a good 3-star hotel. The public areas are very nice, but the rooms were pretty comparable to the Courtyard Marriott over on Hubbard and State.

Would I come back? If the price was right - and by right, I mean in the range that I paid this time - I would probably consider another stay here. It's a lovely area, and very nice to stroll around.