As mentioned in the title, while the Fitzpatrick has changed hands to the Affinia hotel group, renovations have not yet taken place. That being said...
BIG plus on location. You couldn't ask for a better launch point to hit Michigan Avenue, Navy Pier, a variety of restaurants (if you have the opportunity, go to Roy's), or just about anything else you'd like. Taxis are readily available, and the el train isn't that far away that can whisk you away anywhere else you'd like to go. I can't think of a time when I needed to walk any longer than 15 minutes to get somewhere, and the walk was very pleasant.
The staff is very friendly and accommodating. Daniel was extremely friendly and told us that renovations were going to be taking place over the next year, floor by floor. If you are thinking about booking a reservation during the renovation time, you may want to check and see if you can get on a renovated floor, and maybe also ask about the impact of the renovation (i.e. noise, dust, etc.) when staying there. Whenever we ordered ice, it arrived promptly (they have no ice machines), and they were able to accommodate us with wine glasses and a corkscrew when we bought some wine in-town to enjoy with an in-room dinner.
The pub downstairs was awesome. The look and the feel of the place was great. Sometimes I would just go downstairs with a book and read in one of adjoining pub rooms. The staff was wonderful, the food was plentiful and delicious, and the Guinness was very good. I'm not sure they are keeping the pub post-renovations (I heard two different stories on this), but I hope they do since it is a wonderful place and definitely adds to the hotel.
The rooftop pool was a neat concept (unless, like me, you hate heights). The pool wasn't very large (you wouldn't be swimming laps), but looked clean and, on a hot day, would be the perfect way to enjoy a Chicago summer day.
The breakfast buffet on the 7th floor was very good and the staff was very attentive to the needs of the diners. I thought it was a tad expensive for breakfast (the Corner Bakery two blocks away is a lower-cost alternative), but it was nicely appointed and the food was well-prepared.
Four things that concerned me - two or three of which will probably be handled by the renovation...
First - the furniture/carpet/wallpaper was dated and old. It was still nice stuff, but obviously was starting to move past its prime. I wouldn't count this against them, since I'm assuming this will be part of the renovation.
Second - some aspects of the room were rather noisy. Two in particular were the elevators (if you had a room next to one) and the air conditioning vent in the bedroom. The elevators would make some squeaking and clanking noises when they approached your floor. The vent in the bedroom was very efficient (it blew directly on to the bed), but the power of the vent made it louder than was comfortable when trying to sleep. If you are a deep sleeper, neither of these should be a problem. I wore earplugs, so I didn't have any trouble. Again, the renovations may address this, so I wouldn't count this against them either.
Third - housekeeping would occasionally cut a few corners. In particular, the room was a little dusty (my wife's allergies went crazy) and they seemed to have a thing against replacing glasses. Our first night there, we noted that one of the glasses was dirty (toothpaste-like residue in bottom). So we removed the paper cover and put it elsewhere in the room. The next day, after housekeeping had stopped by, the glass had been put back with a new paper cover. However, it was the same glass we started with. We kept taking it out, and it kept getting put back. Part of the allergen problem might have been the old carpet. The renovations will probably handle that, as well as any dust that may have accumulated in the ventilation system over time.
Finally - the size of the bathroom. The bathroom was *small*. How small you ask? Well, if you were standing in the bathroom, it was difficult to shut the door because of the limited floor space. One of those cases where the door practically brushes the toilet when closing. Two people standing in the bathroom at the same time also would present a bit of a challenge. However, the bathroom sink area was nice, as was the extra vanity outside the bathroom. The shower always had hot water at a good pressure, so no complaints there either. I don't know if renovation would address this, since they'd need to do some fundamental re-architecting of the room to fix it.
So, overall, a positive experience with a few minor inconveniences. Nothing that I would call a show-stopper. I would be interested to see how it comes out after the renovations.
