Loved this hotel. Loved the executive lounge. It was a GREAT experience.

The hotel looks very nice, kind of a boutique hotel. I really loved the soap in the room - leaf shape - and the massage shower. Big rooms, very clean, helpful staff at the reception.
Food in the restaurant was not exceptional but still acceptable.

We stayed over Valentine's Day weekend and got an awesome rate of just $129 a month. Sign up for the e-mail blasts and they will send you notices of special rates. You cannot get a better hotel in the heart of Chicago for that price anywhere. The hotel is located along the river and across the street from House of Blues and a great wine bar called Bin 36. You are also just a short walk to Michigan Ave. and a lot of the major Chicago attractions. The L is not too far either. We stay here all the time!

We stayed here for a long weekend after placing a bid on Priceline to find a hotel in downtown Chicago. We were presently surprised after we discovered the Westin River North would be our home for the weekend.

The location is right on the Chicago River, overlooking Wacker Drive and downtown Chicago. It is very easy walking distance to the Loop, the El trains and Michigan Avenue. The River North neighborhood is home to many great restaurants and seems to have better nightlife than the Loop. All in all, it really was a very convenient location for exploring the city. It seems to cater primarily to business travelers, but is also a very comfortable and accomodating property for leisure travelers as well.

The room was large and comfortable, with a very nice chaise lounge (fainting couch?) right by the floor-to-ceiling window. A great place to sit and watch boats sail along on the river down below. The bathroom was also very large, lots of counter space, large mirrors, etc. The style was somewhat Asian, with dark marble tiles and sleek lines. (I think this property was previously a Hotel Nikko, or something like that. The architecture and some of the furnishings are definitely a hold-over from that, although still very nice.)

The only drawback I have about this property is their unwillingness to place us in a different room. Three of us (adults) had purchased the room using Priceline. (Yes, I know the fine print at Priceline tells us that the reservation is technically only for two people.) When we checked in, we requested a room with two beds but were told they had us in a room with one king bed. We asked for a different room but was told they were "sold out" for 2nd night of our stay and they wouldn't be able to move us. Even though two of us are Starwood members, we were still refused on our request to get a room with 2 beds. I find it hard to believe the hotel was sold out -- especially since they kept saying it was sold out the next night. I feel like we were somewhat given the shaft because we were Priceline customers. I, of course, have no way of verifying this.

We tried calling down to the front desk later in the evening, and even stopped by there in person the next morning and were still met with resistance. Even though the room was very comfortable, the front desk staff and their service left me with a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth. They were not accommodating and were not sympathetic to our request for a different room.