The Hyatt Regency Chicago is "Hyatt's flagship property." and has received "over 500 awards for excellence in hospitality and cuisine." Or so brags the website's description. I chose the Hyatt because it had a slight price advantage over competetors and the location looked decent.

Pricing - I stayed 4 nights over Labor Day Weekend and used Expedia to make my reservations about a month and a half before my trip. My price was approximately $116 per night($133 after taxes). Using Hyatt's website yielded the same price results. I checked back with Expedia about a week before the trip. Prices hadn't changed though availability was much more limited.

Location - Like most downtown hotels, the Hyatt braggs about its excellent location. Personally, I wasn't really that impressed. True, the hotel is within walking distance of most locations. It's one of those hotels that is "sorta" close to everywhere yet not right-on-the-dot close to anywhere. The only thing that is right next door is Grant Park (which, it turns out was one of the places I DIDN'T visit). It's also nice to be right along the river shore; there are a number of charter/tour boats that dock right outside of the hotel.

We first took the L from O'Hare on the way to the hotel. It only costs $1.50, but takes pretty long (about an hour), and then you have to walk for about 4-5 blocks from the L stop to the hotel. Going back to O'Hare, we took an airport shuttle (airport express, i believe). It costs much more ($15 per person?) but was relatively quick at about 30-40 minutes.

But the closest L trainstops (Randolph and State) are still about 20 minutes away walking, and the magnificent mile (shopping) is about 20 minutes away. Even Navy Pier is about 20 minutes away, on the other side of the river. All in all, during our weekend stay, we found ourselves doing a LOT of walking.

Luxury and Decor - Entering the Hyatt, you'll be taken back by the lavish fountain court, bordered by several restaurants and a massive bar. However, the excess vanishes once you step into the elevator and enter the actual living areas. The dimly lit, AC-overblasted, ugly-brick hallways rival that of your average community college.

Rooms - The room itself was of smurfy proportions and strikingly ordinary decor. Otherwise, I guess I can't complain(too much...). The soft, poofy pillows were definitely a plus. Also, we had a pleasant window view of the building across the street and part of the street itself(our room didn't face the river). I read other epinions touting the high-pressure, blast of magma water that generously surges from the showerheads. *Scooby-Doo-Hmrph?* I usually had to wait 5-10 minutes before the water would hit luke warm. Once it did begin to warm up, it would do so suddenly, going from mountain-cool to hellish-hot in a matter of seconds.

The toilet was totally ghetto, looking like it had been stolen from the aforementioned community college. It had one of those cold metal, peg-flushers, which was partially hidden under the sink counter. There was an ice machine (but no vending machines?), but I occasionally had to go up or down a floor because our floor's machine was too slow or just not working.

There were various other features, most of them pay-to-use, such as a mini-bar, safety vault, and a phone (pay for local calls). I noticed a lot of strange noises at night. Creaking bed springs, various growls from the plumbing in the walls, and strange dripping noises.

Service - Maid service was pretty good. They always knocked before entering and were very neat in fixing up the room. Another nice feature is the baggage check, in case you check out but need to stash your luggage somewhere.

Be careful if you try to call the hotel for help(312-565-1234). You'll have to wade through an extensive automated help system. Seeking directions on how to reach the hotel by subway, I listened to a useless automated description on how to drive to the hotel, tried to connect to the operator, got put on hold for 10 minutes, and finally reached the operator, who prompty reconnected me to same automated directions before I even finished asking my question.

Eats - I didn't actually eat at any of the restaurants in the hotel, though supposedly Stetson's is one of the best. I did order room service once. The pizza and salad were decent though pricey($30+ for both), but I guess that's to be expected in any "luxury hotel." There is Houlihans next door, which is open pretty late (11:30, I believe), and there is a Bennigans, which is open even later(12:30). Of course, there are no vending machines, so smuggle in drinks from the Walgreens (about 10 minutes away) instead to avoid being price-gouged by the room service.

Swimming Pool - By "Swimming Pool," I mean "your bathtub," because there was no actual swimming pool, an odd omission in a hotel of this stature. The bathtub was kind of small.

Overall, "unimpressed" is the word I would use to sum up my experience at this 4-star hotel. Perhaps I would have the same complaints with any so-called "luxury" hotel. Luxury hotels are always big on show, yet lacking in many of the small, practical matters that more economical, middle-class hotels have. All in all, I wouldn't recommend this hotel for personal vacations. If you plan to use the subway, get something closer to the loop. If you plan to shop, there are plenty of options on North Michigan Avenue.

Recommended: No