Needs some work...
Written: Dec 12 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wonderful restaurant, beautifully designed.
Cons: Service needs a serious upgrade!
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| overeasy's Full Review: Burnham Hotel |
Hi!
Let me first say this; The Drake has been our hotel of choice for a long time in Chicago. We generally go in for older, classic places that still deliver the goods, and that is what The Drake does consistently.
However...this time out, we decided to try the Burnham, as it promised that European, small-hotel style experience which we also enjoy.
So, here's our take. The facility itself is great. Our room, in the style of these smaller hotels, wasn't big, but was wonderfully appointed.
But I did find a couple of small problems. Though there was the ubiquitous data port on the phone, there was no place to plug my laptop's charger into. The only unused outlet was near the door. This is hard to believe in a building which was so recently restored. Not a major hassle, but a hassle nonetheless. In addition, though there was a small mini-bar fridge, there was no key for the lock. Since it really wasn't an issue to us, I was never sure whether the fridge had been decommissioned or the key was simply missing.
Then other little things began to pile up. A wake-up call we left for the late afternoon never came. My coffee didn't show up with the continental breakfast (and I NEEDED that coffee:) Actually, later on that day, we realized we had also paid for two juices which never showed up either! On another occassion I asked for a flower vase and the front desk clerk said she "would try to find one." What showed up was a tiny one that was probably meant to hold two buds on a restaurant table. Later, when we asked for another one, nothing ever showed up.
You start to get the idea....
Though the Burnham is portraying itself as being in the class of luxury hotels, it has a long ways to go in terms of luxury level service.
There were bright spots, though. The Atwood Cafe, on the ground level (corner of W. Washington and State Sts.) was fantastic. We had lunch there one day and it was about as good an experience as we've ever had. Attentive, but not annoying service, and terrific food in a beautifully designed space. Kudos all around to the staff of the Atwood. My wife and I joked that the restaurant must be under separate management, because the service was so different than that which we got at the hotel... Perhaps they are?
Finally, one more hotel bit. On the Sunday morning that we were checking out, a man asked the Desk Clerk where he could get a paper (that's right, there is no paper outside your door in the morning...Doesn't even the Red Roof Inn do that!!!) The Clerk responded that the man could go across the street to one of the boxes, but that they hadn't been working well recently. Bottom line. Here we are in a big time, big city hotel on a Sunday morning, and this guest can't get a paper. Ridiculous!
The owners of the Burnham successfully restored and renovated the old Reliance Building, what they need to do now is bring back some good old time service!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
overeasy
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
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