Thursday, April 19, 2007

Hotel 71 Chicago

Was looking for something close to Michigan Ave. shopping, and yet convenient to the Loop. Yeah, I know not really too far from each other. Due to some trade show/convention/baseball insanity most places were either full or ridiculously overpriced. I don't mind paying a lot for a room, but I'm not willing to pay triple the regular price. So I found Hotel 71, seemed cute from the website and was in the location I wanted. Booked a non-smoking cityview room.

Flight delays get me in at around 10:30 pm (instead of the 8 pm I was supposed to get in, in order to have dinner at Tru). At check-in I'm told all that is left is a smoking room. I ask if there really isn't a non-smoking room left, she looks realizes I am only in town for a night and says she will upgrade me to a new renovated suite. Apparently, the only other room left. Non-smoking.

I go upstairs and wow. It's huge. I suspect at least 750 sq. ft. With both city and river views. The entry way was all marble floors with the bathroom and bedroom to the right and the living room to the left. Cute light fixtures on the wall along with lots of art.

Bedroom with King Bed, no down comforter, but high threadcount sheets and a 32 inch flat screen tv. Modern furnishings. Overlooking the city. Walk down the marble hallway to the living area.
The living area was enormous, overlooking the river with a queensized pullout sofa, and two chaise lounges, another flat screen tv, a desk area with two comfortable chairs. There was also a kitchenette/bar area tucked off the side with a microwave and a wine fridge.
The bathroom was enormous, with a mosaic tiled shower with a raindrop showerhead (so relaxing) in a separate area from the sink and bathtub that screamed "take a bath in me"! Also, another flat screen tv, in case you need to watch tv while taking a bath (possibly with another person, it was a big deep tub!)


Bathroom amenities were all Bath and Body works, towels were soft, but not overly thick and plus.
The room had free wireless, but I was only able to get a connection in the bedroom, a call down to the front desk got an offer of sending up a technician, but I opted to just go to bed and leave work behind.
There is no restaurant in the hotel currently, it's being renovated, there is room service however. A pot of coffee, glass of cranberry juice, muffin, croissant, toast ran $40. Service was prompt.
I'd rate the hotel a 3 star, mostly for the lack of the restaurant, down comforter, and plush towels. Concierge was nice, but wasn't able to easily recommend a restaurant that was open late. Also despite being on the 14th floor, the garbage truck noises were completely audible in the morning and woke me up.

1 comment:

Lesley said...

I always have a need to watch tv while showering.