Advertiser Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers.
I’ve been looking forward to the opening of the St. Regis Chicago for some time. I’m staying here tonight and will post a full review soon. Unfortunately, it has not been a great first impression. It might be just opening-week kinks, but some of my issues will transcend time.
Elite Benefits
The hotel has 192 rooms and suites on floors three through nine. Only floors three through six are currently open. This limits the upgrade pool. It looks like the hotel is completely booked tonight, so no upgrade was available. I’m okay with that, but the lack of other benefits is not great. Here is what’s missing:
- Welcome Amenity: 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy® Points is the only option. Breakfast is not offered because, per the front desk, they do not own the restaurant (it’s operated by Lettuce Entertain You). She did offer to make me a breakfast reservation, so the meal is offered but it is not a welcome amenity.
- Wi-Fi: The Wi-Fi has been spotty since I have been here. You can select the network. A box pops up and then the circle just spins and spins. I’ve gotten it to work, but it’s a process and runs pretty slowly.
Common Areas
The lobby, halls, and common areas are all pretty nondescript. They feel elegant, but there is no sense of place and most of the space is barren. There is no lobby bar and the only place for food and beverages is on floor 11 in the restaurant named, Miru. The library space and patio on the 11th floor is nice.
Rooms
The room is spacious and the bed is very comfortable. The room lacks a desk and has a large, wasted amount of space. There is next to no tech (curtains are manual). The windows are filthy (to the point that the “view” is hard to enjoy).
Amenities
The gym is huge and gorgeous. The locker rooms are well appointed. The pool has a strong chlorine smell and several children swimming in it (who likely raised the ammonia content).
Overall
The staff is on day five and it’s obvious. Every request is met with a confused look. If you dial the hotel from the app, you’re connected to the voicemail of a director of sales in Connecticut instead of the front desk. The hotel needs to settle and get into its groove, but it’s one of the more lackluster St. Regis properties. I’ll provide a full review soon.
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
2 comments
If you don’t have a restaurant then you can not be a st Regis or similar level hotel
1) You should have invoked the $100 compensation guarantee.
2) How is that a St Regis? The room looks like any Renaissance, Westin, or Sheraton that’s newly built or renovated. It certainly from a decor and design standpoint does not look like a St Regis.
3) Is this a Martiott-managed St. Regis or a franchised property? I ask because the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago is one of just two or three franchised Ritz-Carlton properties. Of all the brands, only St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, W and Edition are reliably still managed by Marriott.