Great location, beautiful hotel, although desk staff not exactly the friendliest initially.

Finished a 3-nighter at the Chicago Fairmont about a week ago.
Overall, the experience was okay. Unless I need the stay credit, I don't think I'll stay at this hotel next time I go to Chicago.

Drive-up:
Taxi pulled up to the hotel. No doorman in sight. It was 3 pm. Perhaps all occupied with other guests. Don't know. Good thing I only had the one carry-on.

Check-in:
Line-up was not very long, but it took a while. No check-in packet was prepared ahead of time with my info, etc. on it. First time I experienced this at a Fairmont. Person was pleasant enough, though.

Room:
Used an upgrade coupon and supposed got an upgraded view room. Well, the view was still primarily the building next door, though I did catch a glimpse of the park.

Furnishing looked fresh and new. Maybe a bit too "new," in the sense that it doesn't have the typical Fairmont flaire, but felt more like the normal upscale business hotel. Like perhaps a nicer version of a Westin.

Pretty small room, though. Checked the floor map thing on the door, and it seemed to me that this FPC Plt was in one of the smaller rooms on the floor. Well, I was alone, so it's not that big a deal. But certainly the upgrade cert was wasted.

Never was offered a further upgrade (not even for money), electronic or otherwise.

Bathroom was good-sized. Surprisingly, not even mouthwash in the room. That's a first for me too.

Housekeepers are friendly and nice.

Coffeemaker is the Nespresso thing. Pretty cool. Large flat screen tv, probably too large, considering how small the room itself was.

Closet was absolutely TINY.


The Lobby Bar:

Indifferent service. Very indifferent service.


Breakfast at Aria's:

Greeted with great apathy. But waiter was fine. Food was okay. Not great, but it's only pancakes and stuff. Never mind. I think I'd rather go to the Hyatt next door and pig out for the same price.




Overall, not a bad experience. But really, there was a reason why I switched from a lot of business class hotel chains to Fairmont. The Chicago Fairmont would not justify such a switch in my mind. It's all about expectations, I suppose. Properties like San Francisco, Washington, heck, even the old Frontenacs and Chateau Lauriers, they have a certain character. This is greatly lacking in Chicago.

We have a tradition of visiting an American city every year that we haven't been to before. Last year, it was Washington D.C., which was AMAZING. This year, we picked Chicago, and it was a bit of a letdown. It did have a little to do with staying at the Fairmont. My inner voice said Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, but my little heart said give Fairmont another try since they have such a great loyalty program. The exterior of the hotel is very impressive, with it's tall buildings and amazing views of the lake and city. Location was a little inconvenient, so we did end up taking a lot of taxis, especially for dinner. About a 15 minute walk to Michigan Ave, where the shopping is truly to die for. Navy Pier about a 10 minute walk. Check-in was brusque, a bit too sterile. However, I'm glad to say that we were given a very high floor room (two floors from the top) with picturesque views and the elusive King bed. Toiletries were the Fairmont standard Miller Harris stuff, shampoo, conditioner, soap and lotion. Bathroom huge, marble, walk in shower and separate tub. Comfortable bed and linens, overall very clean. Did call and ask about a DVD player for the room, and the charge was $150 for 4 days? That didn't sound right. Breakfast at Aria was fantastic, didn't order the buffet but did order off the menu and selection was great, price was cheaper than I've experienced. Our waitress at breakfast was for sure one of the sweetest people I've met on my travels, her name was Loli or something like that. She really brightened up our day. Went to quite a few famous places for dinner, not impressed with this "Foodie's City." Quite disliked Moto, dropped $600 and found the food to be different, even innovative but quality, presentation, taste was even downright hideous for some dishes, chef must have been heavy-handed with the salt this particular evening, anyway it just didn't live up to the hype. Ironic that Aria, the restaurant in the hotel, was even better for dinner. Service was good, food was excellent! Would recommend one dinner here early in your stay in case it should be repeated for lack of a better choice. One of my favorite things about staying at a Fairmont and if you are a President's Member, which is FREE by the way, is the complimentary use of the gym. Gyms at the Fairmont are typically huge, and connected to a spa. Which means you have access to a steam room, sauna, showers and great amenities. I spent most of my getting ready time here after a workout. Their gym is a little on the smaller side, with an aerobics/yoga room. Approximately 3 treadmills, 3 Precor machines, 4 bikes, a few weight lifting machines and a row of dumbbells. Not to worry, there was never more than 2-3 other people using at the same time as you throughout the day. The biggest complaint I have about this place are the room walls. There may as well not be any. Someone just shuffling above you, you can hear it. Toilet flushes in any room nearby, you hear it. The ice machine is down the hall, like all the way down the hall, and you hear it. Earplugs are a MUST if you stay here. However, those coveted earplugs would not have worked our last night at this Old Dame. Not 1, not 2, but THREE weddings on one night. Besides the obvious, what the heck? You would think they would put aside 1...maybe 2 floors for non-wedding guests. You know, so you can get a good night's rest. Regardless of everything, I would never come back to this hotel if I ever return to Chicago in this lifetime.

This hotel is absolutely gorgeous. The rooms are just beautiful - large & modern with a fabulous bathroom. However, a few nights I got woken up by some early risers in the hallway. Also, I expected a little more friendliness from the staff - check-in seemed terse. Otherwise, the location was great; although I wish we were closer to the restaurants on the other side of the river. I'm not recommending this hotel because in a big city in Chicago there must be better 4 star hotels.