My girlfriend and I arrived at the Sutton Place Hotel on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 for her 30th birthday celebration night on the town. The hotel is conveniently located near Rush street downtown and was easy to find. Upon arrival, I opted for the onsite parking ($42/day) with valet service. Check-in went smooth and the room was nice although 10 floors lower than the one promised on the phone. The backside view was mainly of two buildings under construction but we could see the spires from the Sears Tower in the background which was nice.
The room itself was luxurious and spacious and the bathroom was very nice... until you try to take a shower. The water pressure on our floor was trickling at best but I am glad I was able to take a good shower upon arriving before hitting the town.
The next morning, we used the included continental breakfast voucher for room service which arrived in a timely manner. After breakfast, we were going to finish watching our movie, take showers, check out of the hotel and hit the art museum. Just as we were finishing the movie, the cable went out.. every channel. We waited a while and my girlfriend just got in the shower. She mentioned that there was not enough water pressure to make the shower work so after fiddling with it, we got it to work by starting on cold, activating the shower head and then gradually working it back to warm until it hit that sweet spot of luke-warm/showerhead turn-off. Little did I know she was lucky to get a shower to start with. When it came to my turn, there was no hot water at all (no water running through hot spigots in the shower or sink) and yellow water from the cold making us gag just looking at it. The toilet then started running continuously and filling with yellow water. A call down to the front desk at least a half hour into all of this indicated that a transformer was out down the street. I asked if there was anything they could do and they stated that it was out of their control and that there was absolutely nothing that could be done. I would have at least appreciated a call with an update or a late checkout or something - nothing was offered except a quick hang-up. I am not a rude traveler and I usually let the little things slide but not having water for a shower is a pretty big deal for me in a hotel. I am pretty sure I have never had that problem in other, less luxurious hotels - I HAVE had better service at almost ANY other hotel.
So, if you are staying in Chicago for anything important and do not want to be at the mercy of excuses and poor customer service for problems "outside of the hotel's control", try out the Four Points by Sheraton downtown. I stayed there 2 years ago for a week and the service was impeccable. I was kicking myself mid-morning about not revisiting the Sheraton again this time.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
no way!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Great food / Wine