Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Chicago

The Park Hyatt Chicago is a unique hotel, located in the lower portion of the Park Tower which is the 35th tallest building in the US. The upper floors of the building are luxury condos with prices starting around 2.5 million USD. Guests and residents alike have access to floor 7, which is made up of NoMI’s amazing restaurant, spa, and lounges.

I was excited to try this hotel for the weekend. Right in the heart of downtown, I was pleased to find that this hotel is on the Magnificent Mile of shopping and restaurants, and just steps away from the Water Tower. The Navy Pier, museums, and the aquarium are all close by.

The valet would have been happy to park my car, but at $62 per day (for overnight guests) I opted to park in a garage a block away for a fraction of the cost. City parking is often difficult, but there were plenty of reasonably priced garages close by.

The lobby area was impressive, and I was greeted by a cheerful check-in host. I was using a Diamond confirmed suite upgrade, and she assigned me a Park Suite. I zipped up to the suite in the elevator, and when I stepped in the room I noted the large size. It was around 831 square feet, which is quite generous for a downtown location.

Fun artwork lined the walls, like this picture of two duckies bobbing for food.

Moving into the sitting room, there was a comfortable couch and plenty of lighting. Everything was spotless, and there were two moveable tables that were really convenient for working or eating on. The large wall TV was just the right height for watching a movie while relaxing on the couch.

There was an Nespresso machine on the desk, with all of the standard color offerings intact. Sometimes the decaf is there but the regular red doesn’t get replenished. Housekeeping hadn’t missed a step in this room.

The bedroom had plenty of fluffy pillows, a perfectly comfortable duvet, and wonderfully soft sheets in the upscale style of Park Hyatts. The furniture was intuitively placed.

Bedside, a Geneva hi fi was ready to play music, and worked with any of the iPods/iPhones with an older connection port.

The bedroom was roomy enough that a seating area was next to the closet, and two bottles of water with glasses were perched on a little table.

There were electric buttons for the curtains and lighting controls, which I loved! I played around with them for a bit, and at the touch of a button you could have sheer window coverings, or a complete blackout. Absolutely marvelous.

The bathroom was great. There was an oversized tub, ample counter space with double sinks, and lots of towels.

The tub side candles were a nice touch lending to the relaxing decor that included imported marble.

The bathroom even had a mirror TV, so you could watch the news while brushing your teeth.

No detail had been overlooked. After a long day and a tub soak, I climbed into my cloud-like bed and closed my eyes, ready to drift off to dreamland. Suddenly, I heard the screech of an ambulance careening around a corner and my eyes flew open. After the sound subsided, I covered my head with the pillow, but still heard horns honking, motorcycles, and some revelers enjoying a night out on the town.  Then I became aware of the “ding” of the elevator, which happened to be positioned next to the room. The longer I laid there, the louder the sounds seemed to get. DING!

The most important thing in any hotel room is a good night’s sleep. Even lying in the carefully darkened room in a fantastic bed, this hotel room didn’t do the trick. I sighed, and called down to the front desk. Perhaps they had another suite, further away from the elevator? The front desk host responded that unfortunately, all of their standard suites are located next to the elevator on each floor. None of their specialty suites were available that evening.

I requested to move to a regular room on a much higher floor, knowing the elevator would be further away, and hoping that the city noises would be quieter. Anyone who has changed rooms in the middle of the night knows the drill. I packed up my belongings, someone met me on the floor with the new key, and I stealthily crept towards the new room in my pajamas, hoping no one would see me along the way.

The second room was whisper quiet, but I don’t think I would return to this hotel without confirming a suite both away from the elevators and without downtown traffic noise. Overall, I thought it was a good property but still feeling tired, I skipped breakfast and the fitness center the next morning.

A few months after my stay I was talking with the General Manager and mentioned the noise issue. He admitted that it was a problem that they couldn’t do much about, and wondered if guests would be offended if they were to leave earplugs in the room? I’m not sure that I would stay in a luxury hotel that required earplugs, though I appreciated that he was trying to think of a way to fix the problem.

Hyatt Category 6. 25,000 points for a free night, or 12,500 points + $150 Cash & Points redemption.

Park Hyatt Chicago

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