My family and I stayed at the Sheraton Chicago, right on the Chicago river and near Michigan Ave., for one night this past weekend and the following is my review of our stay.
Firstly, the directions from the Sheraton website (http://www.sheratonchicago.com/) for how to get to the hotel were great and very helpful. Once we got there, we decided to do the self-park option ($35/day self park vs $49 for valet), and the directions to the self-park garage were perfect. The valet option does offer in and out privileges so that allows you to leave and come back as many times as you want for the same $49/ day, but we weren't planning on leaving again, so the self-park option was fine for us. It was a bit of a walk from the garage to the hotel, but it was indoors through a pedway, so overall not too bad.
The check-in process was smooth and quick. The woman who checked me in was great; very nice and professional (I wish I could remember her name!). We were upgraded to Club level so I was excited about that! We stayed in room #3222, so we had an excellent view of the city, Chicago River, and Lake Michigan! We had a fun time watching the boats go by on the river, watching the cars and people, as well as looking at all the different buildings that were nearby.
The room itself was nice overall. The bed looked super comfy with a very soft duvet and comforter, and the sheets were very soft as well. There was a small fridge with an assortment of beer, soda and wine, and a few snacks. In front of the bed, there was an LG flat screen TV with cable and HBO. Wireless internet was available, though we didn't use it. There is a daily fee for internet, but free if staying on the Club level, so that is a nice extra little perk! The bathroom was nice and clean, had a tub/ shower combo (shower head sprayer attachment-type thing), hairdryer, and make-up mirror, and the bath products were Shine by Bliss (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and soap). In the hallway area, there was a small closet with a bathrobe, ironing board and iron, and safe. Although our room was located near the elevator as well as the stairway door leading to the Club Lounge, we were never disturbed by any hallway noise of any kind and our room was very quiet.
Another extra perk of the Club level, is access to the Club Lounge, which offers snacks and drinks in the evening, and a light breakfast in the morning. We were looking forward to seeing the Club Lounge, so we went up to have a drink and appetizer. I have to say it was definitely 'light' in the offerings. There were some crackers and cheese, some breads and spreads, a little bit of fruit, and water. There was one waitress taking orders for sodas or cocktails. She got to us within 5 minutes or so, but I was surprised to hear there was a charge for drinks. At other hotels' Club Lounges, drinks were free so I wasn't expecting the charge, but so be it. The waitress was a little frazzled, but she was nice, and she assisted us with dinner reservations to the hotel restaurant, Shula's, for that evening. She gave us a coupon for a free appetizer as well, so that was nice. We left after our drink to get ready for dinner.
Our dinner at Shula's Steakhouse was very good! The service was outstanding! We were very pleased with the service, as it just seems so hard to come by these days. The restaurant manager came by as well to introduce himself and to ensure we were enjoying our dinner. I love that! I just think good management and good service is so important and I appreciate it so much when we get it! =)
The steak menu is on a football (a' la Don Shula) so that's pretty unique! I ordered the 12 oz filet + steak fries to split with my daughter, and my husband ordered the NY strip + baked potato. I also got the wedge salad which was FANTASTIC! Yummmm. And we also ordered the shrimp cocktail with our free appetizer coupon from the waitress upstairs. So much food, but it was ALL de-lish! Everything was cooked perfectly, and tasted very good! I only wish we had room for dessert! I would definitely rate this as a great restaurant, even though it's a bit on the pricey side. There isn't a kids menu and is probably a bit too fancy for younger kids (under 7 or 8), but our daughter dealt with it ok (and sitting at a table near the city street is great for people/car watching which passed the time quickly for her). Even though we stuffed ourselves, we still each had half of our steaks left, so we had the leftovers wrapped up and rolled ourselves out of the restaurant. ;-)So after dinner, we decided to go out and explore the city a little. The Sheraton is walking distance to Millennium Park (http://www.millenniumpark.org/) so off we went! It was a beautiful evening, and Chicago is definitely one of the greatest cities to walk around and soak up the city vibe. It's safe (if you're smart and careful of course), and there are always so many interesting things going on.
We went to the 'Bean',
walked through the Pritzker Pavilion (a free concert had just ended),
and splashed in the 'face fountains', though I'm not actually sure what the real name of this is, but wow what an interesting attraction! The faces spit out water and the screen also turns into a waterfall, and splashes water down from the top. So fun!
This is my favorite pic from our walk....
So we had a great time and the Sheraton provided a great location and home base for our Chicago explorations. After walking back to the hotel, we went down to the pool for a quick swim before going to bed. The pool was nice, but no hot tub unfortunately and my husband was bummed that the men's sauna was out of order, but oh well. The pool was attached to the fitness center (also free if staying on Club level) and though we didn't use the fitness center, it was nice with all the latest machines and weights. The ladies locker room and showers were nice and bath products, towels, and hair dryers were provided there as well.
Overall our stay at the Sheraton was very nice and we had a pleasant time. Just one thing that I wish hotels would change is the in-room fridge. I know the hotels want to sell their $4 sodas and $8 cans of beer, but do people really buy those and pay those crazy prices? Maybe people do or hotels wouldn't offer these convenience items. But for us to get our leftover box of steak in our fridge, we had to remove 5 cans of soda and 2 cans of Pringles chips..... and even then the box was crammed. So I just don't understand why these fridges have to be so small and sooo take-out-box-unfriendly. Maybe most people when traveling don't deal with leftovers, but even still I think it would be nice if these fridges allowed more space for the guest to add things if needed.
So, I just want to give a big THANK YOU to Sheraton Chicago and to Starwood as well. I would absolutely recommend the Sheraton Chicago to my clients, and if you have any questions about the Sheraton or would like to book your next vacation to Chicago, give me call!
So, I just want to give a big THANK YOU to Sheraton Chicago and to Starwood as well. I would absolutely recommend the Sheraton Chicago to my clients, and if you have any questions about the Sheraton or would like to book your next vacation to Chicago, give me call!
Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
