W Hotel Lakeshore

Website for hotel is 3.5 and all other websites give it a 4 rating...more like a 3.5

I would definitely stay here again. Lake views were phenomenal, although I didn't have one in my room. Good services, large, stylish clean room and great bathroom. No complaints, other than overly loud music in lobby.

Adequate hotel. Does not feel very luxurious, feels like W took over from an inferior hotel chain. Location was not as central as other hotels to Michigan Avenue (10-15 min walk), however close to Navy pier and Lakeshore. May be worth getting if you pay for a lakeview room (extra $50 a night). Main complaint is no free Room Wifi. Hotels should no longer be charging for Wifi. Mini-bar fridge in the room was warm. When called reception, was told that the fridge is not supposed to be cold, but to maintain drinks at room temperature. Didn't buy this explanation, but it didn't matter too much to us. Might matter to someone else. We did however request a coffee machine which was delivered quickly. Wooden slat window between bathroom and bedroom. This can be closed to maintain privacy in the bathroom and didn't bother us, even though we had 3 adults sharing. Re check in/service - receptionist agreed to e-mail us when our room was ready, and deliver a package we received to the room. They did not e-mail us, and did not deliver the package. When we finally checked in, and went to our room, we were assigned a room that already had an occupant in. Luckily the occupant had bolted the door from the inside, or we would have had an embarrassing encounter. Whisky bar was sufficient, with a good view of the pier however the decor/design had much to be desired. Public areas were always crowded and busy. On the same weekend, there were two high school prom/lunch events and a wedding. This meant busy elevators and hallways. Concierge desk was always busy, it was challenging to get assistance some times. Music in the reception area (which was also the bar and restaurant) was loud in the evenings. Overall, sufficient hotel but would only stay again if can get a good deal. ...read more

This hotel was a bit disappointing to me. I notified the hotel around 5pm that we would be checking in late, after midnight. The person i spoke with said they would make a note of it in our reservation in order to avoid having our room given away. When we arrived to our hotel, where we had a reservation that was paid in full, they notified us that there was no room available for us. They did set us up at another hotel in the city, but it was very inconvenient as it was very late. The hotel informed us they could do nothing about it because we booked through a third party payer and Priceline informed is it was up to the hotel to provide any compensation. Very disappointing as we paid for a service and had to be shipped off to another hotel late at night. ...read more

Easy check in. Courteous staff. Clean room. Great location. Delicious coffee. Attentive wait staff. Expensive breakfast buffet.

We were immediately greeted by Michael at the front desk who surprised us with a room upgrade. Not only did he upgrade us from a double to king sized bed without our asking but he also upgraded our room to a spectacular 28th floor view of Lake Michigan. He certainly did not need to do that and we appreciated his graciousness in doing so. The room itself was well appointed and very clean. The Bliss products provided in the bathroom were a nice touch as were the two house robes. We also appreciated the extra pillow stored in the closet area. This hotel is in walking distance to Navy Pier and to many of the other area attractions. The only time we took a taxi from our hotel was on our day trip to Wrigley Field. Walking is easy in Chicago and the W provided us a great launching point. The Whiskey Lounge is a must see and the view is spectacular. It is a small space and I would recommend arriving earlier in the evening to secure a table. The lounge area downstairs is a bit less claustrophobic although you don't get the same great views or the same beverage selections! We would not hesitate to stay at the W again. They made a weekend getaway extra terrific. ...read more