The Sheraton Chicago.....If It Only Had A Soul
Written: Nov 17 '01 (Updated Jan 28 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Convenient location, professional (if brisk) service, good Towers lounge
Cons: Very large hotel--one can feel lost at times, somewhat soulless
The Bottom Line: The Towers section here is better. Ask for a discount--you can be at the Four Seasons for the rack-rates here. Service on the Towers floors is good.
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| tombarnes's Full Review: Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers |
The Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers has a good location on the Chicago River at 301 East North Water Street, fairly convenient to most downtown attractions and not far from the Navy Pier with its big (very big) Ferris wheel.
Lobby and Public Rooms
The lobby of the Sheraton Chicago is quite large and attractively furnished, with leather club chairs around a central table. The elaborate "mosaic carpet" is busy, but nice. Given its great breadth, the lobby somehow feels constricted, as the breadth of the room is not compensated with enough corresponding height. Reddish blonde paneling creates a warm, if bland effect. Registration at the main desk may take a long time. I stayed in the Towers, so I was able to circumvent these lines and proceed directly upstairs to the Towers reception, 29 floors above it all.
Rooms and Suites
Make no mistake, this is a very large convention property with 1209 rooms, including 33 suites. It will never feel intimate in any way. The rooms in the Towers are considerably better than those on the main floors, and include more extras than those on the Club Level. That said, the room I had was well furnished, but not very big. Beige carpet, darker brown draperies, oatmeal carpet and accents of black and gold created a pleasing, but unexceptional room. It did not lack for technical amenities. There was a large desk with a good work area. A fax machine and printer, two line telephone, and data ports ensured that any guest ought to be able to get his or her work done easily enough. If you are going to spend lots of time on the telephone, be forewarned that their "free local and 800 calls" policy only extends up to one hour. After that, it is billed at punishing rates. What, you ask, would anyone be doing spending that much time on the phone? After a few days, it does accumulate.
I was shown some of their Presidential Suites. These are quite large, and handsomely furnished, with somewhat more daring colors than the rooms. Alas, none were available during my visit.....
Try to get a room with a view of the river. other views are of downtown, which is not really a bad view, but the river view is better.
Baths
There is really not too much to say about them, beyond the fact that they were mostly white marble and well-stocked with thick robes and towels. The amenities were not impressive. In a Towers level room, I have come to expect more. The baths were also not particularly large. The designers of this hotel obviously planned its rooms to conserve every inch of space possible.
Towers Lounge
The dramatic two storied lounge for Towers guests is a welcome retreat from the city, and the rest of the hotel. During a convention (which is all the time) most of the public areas throb with crowds running at a frenetic pace to the next meeting. In the evenings, an attractive buffet of hors d'oeuvres is laid out. It is quickly gobbled by the guests there (replenishment can take a while--the kitchen is 30 floors below), so you are advised to get there early. Mmmmmm....I can just taste their eraser-like mini-quiches now. Actually, it is a bit better than that, usually. The continental breakfast buffet is well stocked with cereals and fruit. Horrible coffee, though. One final note about the Towers lounge is that the staff here are really much more accommodating than their counterparts on the main levels. Service in the main lobby often seemed rushed and one felt as though one was ruining the day of the desk agent addressed. Upstairs, this was not true. The concierge in this lounge was more than helpful with restaurant reservations and directions.The directions I was given by someone downstairs were inaccurate, perhaps as retribution for simply asking. I cannot stress this enough. There is a great difference in the levels of service here. Go for the Towers rooms, despite the cost. I paid about $175 for a Towers room, using a Starwood frequent guest award for the upgrade. Regular rates for the rooms are usually about $169-$239, with Club Level and Towers rooms starting at $419.
Dining
There are five restaurants and bars here. I shall give a brief description of each, but I did not dine in any of them. I usually make a point of visiting the dining room in any hotel I am staying in at least once. In this case, there was nothing to prevent me from going elsewhere, so I did. Herewith:
Shula's, a chain steak house owned by Don Shula. Many of these are popping up everywhere. I have visited the branch in Washington's Wyndham City Centre and found it to be dull and expensive. Not a fortuitous combination. My advice? Don't bother.
The Riverside Cafe actually did look nice. A jazzy design with black and white tiles to wake you up in the morning caught my eye as I passed by. I was already so stuffed on the waxy croissants from the Towers lounge, that I never went in.
The Esplanade is an indoor/outdoor cafe on the sidewalk by the river. As it was October, the idea of outdoor dining did not appeal at the time.
Waves is their lobby lounge. I did stop by for a drink here one evening. The service was fast and there was a nice bowl of almonds. What more to say? Oh, except that it can seem busy here again too. Avoid during a conference, or you may never be served (I visited when the conference attendees were in session).
Spectators is their riverfront sports bar. Not being much on sports bars in general, there was nothing to draw me in. It looked nice enough and was, predictably, always crowded.
Fresh Cup is their answer to Starbuck's. I did try the coffee here, and it was not bad. I wish they had had the same coffee upstairs.
Some of the restaurants I did try on this visit to Chicago were Spruce, the Everest Room and Topolobampo. The Everest Room breaks one of my rules, which is never to visit a restaurant at the top of anything. This one is very well worth your time and money. Topolobampo is Richard Bayliss' masterful classic Mexican restaurant featuring ancient Aztec recipes..getting in can be difficult. Spruce offers clean and contemporary American cooking.
Pool and Recreation
As I recall, their indoor pool was one of those weird metal lined pools that always makes me feel like I am wallowing in a large baking-pan. Nonetheless, it is long enough for laps and has a cheerful view of the river through big windows. A well-equipped gym is adjacent, and there is a good sauna. For sunning outdoors, there is a large sun deck too.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tombarnes
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Thomas Barnes
Location: Fort Lauderdale & Washington, DC
Reviews written: 688
Trusted by: 443 members
About Me:
With Barbara in Miami, 2004
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