I stayed here for a wedding with the rest of my family in a renovated room. Becuase we asked for a renovated connecting room we had to wait for 3 hours to get the room. We arrived at around 1:00 PM and check inn was at 3:00 but the room was not ready until 3:30. The front desk staff we originally not very friendly but after they found out we were part of the wedding party, they were very friendly for the entire stay which was odd. The hotel is huge so if a nice quiet hotel is what you want this place is not for you.
The room was really nice with all new furinishings. The room was extremely clean and the bed was extremly comfortable. I could not belive how thin the walls are. You can hear every word that anyone is saying beside you in the hallway and even across the hall in rooms over there. You can also hear if they are in the bathroom as you can hear practically anything. Also try to get a room on the other side from the El. Even being on the other side you could hear it.
The pool/fitness centre was closed for renovation which was a downer but they moved the exercise room into the confrence room and the strange 8.00 fee was waived.
We were given brunch coupons becuase we were part of the wedding and if I had to pay for the food I would have been very upset. The food was absolutely terrible and I counted 2 waiters the whole time I was in there. We checked the menu for lunch and dinner and it was a ripoff. There are tones of places to eat for all three meals all over the area.
Parking was very expensive with valey 45.00 a day.
Chicago is a great city and you can practically get anywhere with public transit and there are always lots of taxis available.
The staff at the door were very nice but the lower concourse was shut down so you have to walk up the staircase to the really nice lobby to get to the elevator.
Overall, it was a really nice stay and we would come again once they complete the renovation and everything is open.

I stayed here as part of a business trip. My meeting was at this hotel.
For the price at a "full service" hotel, I expected much more. Granted, it is a historic place, but for $250 per night what we got was the room which was quite small, had a view of the building and a tub that took 10 minutes to drain after a 5 minute shower.
Internet access costs around $18 per day? There is a big fee to use the fitness facility as well and it is nothing special.
The staff is very friendly however.
We didn't eat at the hotel's restaurant...wasn't impressed with the menu for the prices. Walked 2 blocks to a historic italian restaurant and got a full dinner for two for the price of one entree at the hotel.
If you do happen to stay here...there is a place called the Corner Bakery Cafe just down the block...great breakfast, coffee, sandwiches, pasta is ok, soups and cakes/cookies...good prices. (Breakfast with coffee was less than $10)

A colleague and I booked a room here this past Feb for three nights. We were assured that a room with two double beds would be available but when we got there they told us that there were none but added that a rollaway bed could be brought up to the room for $30 a night. The front desk clerk was one of the most rude and condescending people I've ever dealt with. We turned them down on this offer and asked if we could be put on a waiting list for a new room. I reiterated again that we were assured a room would be available and the clerk told me that she "wasn't sure what Priceline promised" but there were no guarantees. The first night I slept in a chair while my colleague took the bed.

The next day we were given the good news that a room may come up but the catch was we had to be in the hotel to receive the room or it would be given to someone else. We were told that we'd have an answer by 2pm. 2pm came and went, finally we were told at 3:30 that the room would be available after wasting a perfectly good afternoon waiting in the hotel lobby. To add insult to injury, upon checkout, they tried to bill me for the rollaway bed even though it was never brought to our room.

The only bright spot in this whole place was the building itself and the conceirge service, the other staff could learn many lessons from them. They were phenomenal offering great suggestions. I would warn anyone about staying here, especially if they booked through an online travel service. If you book through Expedia, Priceline or the like you'll be treated like a second class guest. A flat out horrible experience.

The lobby was very nice and the food was above-average, but the room was very small and the air conditioning did not work. The walls were very thin: I could hear every conversation taking place in the halls and adjoining rooms. The valet and bell service took approximately 30 minutes at check-in and check out. I tipped the bellman while I was waiting for my vehicle, which was a mistake because he left while I was still waiting. I would recommend the Swissotel, better prices, better service, and bigger air conditioned rooms.