The W Chicago Lakeshore offers, apart from a breathtaking view of the lake, a decent service at affordable prices for a major US city and this range of hotel. But the brand’s fans risk being lost and disappointed.
At Travelguys we have a rather mixed relationship with W hotels. We like their large rooms, their “non-standard” feel, a certain kind of exuberance when it’s in good taste, and we like it a lot less when the coin falls on the wrong side and the hotel and its clientele sink into bad taste.
We’re having more and more trouble with the “historic” Ws, and while they may have corresponded to the expectations of a certain type of customer when the brand was launched, these expectations have changed, and the most recent Ws seem to have corrected the situation. A W still have a strong personality, but is more neutral than before, and avoids errors of taste.
I hesitated for a long time when it came to finding a hotel in Chicago. There’s no shortage of choice for a Marriott in Windy City, but with a busy travel program over the next few weeks, I had no intention of breaking the bank. Strangely enough, the two Ws in town were among the least expensive, which is never innocent. As Olivier had already tested the W Chicago City Center, I decided on the W Chicago Lakeshore.
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Booking
I booked on the Marriott site two months before my arrival and, as said before, I was surprised to see that the Ws were in the cheapest Marriotts for this stay. And generally speaking, and this is a good thing, the wind of madness that had blown over hotel prices in the US had died down.
The W Chicago Lakeshore is the only hotel on the shores of Lake Michigan, which promises a great view, provided you get a room on the right side. I let myself be tempted at 200 euros a night and, in the end, I decided to pay for my 4 nights with my points.
For this price I booked a Wonderful City View room, i.e. the entry-level room: standard size, low floor, city view.
Location of the hotel
As its name suggests, the hotel is located on the shores of Lake Michigan, close to Navy Pier and within walking distance of all the interesting sites to visit. In any case, Chicago’s touristic center isn’t all that spread out.
Arrival at the hotel and check-in
The day before my arrival, I check-in online and find that I’ve been upgraded to a Fabulous room, on a high floor with a lake view.
I was unlikely to do any better, and it’s time to start giving a few details about the property.
First thing to know: although the hotel is 33 storeys high, it only has 25 suites, which is not very many, especially for a W.
Then, apart from the suites, there’s only one type and size of room. It will be called Wonderul, Spectacular or Fabulous, depending on the floor and the view (city or lake). A Wonderful is on a high floor with a view of the lake, but apart from that it’s nothing different from the others.
Here again, something rare at W, which generally offers a wide choice of rooms that vary greatly in terms of features, size, layout and decoration, so that very few are alike.
Anyway, I arrive at the hotel in the early evening from O’Hare airport.
At first glance, the hotel doesn’t look like much, but rather like a classic hotel, unlike the Ws, which generally try to be remarkable from afar.
I enter the lobby, where there are no surprises. Dark tones, neon lights, electro music…this is definitely a W.
It’s just the first contact but I think it’s in pretty good taste compared to what I’ve experienced in other hotels of the brand. In fact, it’s quite reasonable
Heading for check-in…
The reception was very friendly, and they confirmed my upgrade as well as the late check-out I had requested for my departure. 5 minutes later I’m on my way to my room, located on the 32nd floor, out of 33, and overlooking the lake.
The room
The elevator is a bit rickety and I find they’re limited in number (4) given the number of floors. This will be confirmed: at certain times there will be a bit of a wait.
The corridors are very W.
Once the door was open, I found myself in a small hallway with the bedroom opposite me and the bathroom to one side.
Let’s start with the bathroom.
It is a very decent size and includes a large shower.
Surprisingly, I won’t find a bathrobe.
Let’s move on to the bedroom.
At first glance, it’s large, with a furniture layout that reinforces the impression of space.
The bed is large and very comfortable, as always with W, even if I find that W Barcelona is still a little above the rest.
There’s a very large desk, which is becoming rare and which I always really appreciate.
But a closer look reveals surprising dents and signs of wear.
Last but not least, a sofa and a corner bench that can be converted into an extra bed.
And, of course, the best thing about the room: the view of the lake.
Superb sunrises for waking up.
A beautiful, pleasant room.
I’ll find several bottles of water provided for free, which will be replenished every day. However, no coffee machine or minibar. Very, very surprising for a W, not at all in keeping with the brand’s standards.
So I’m still a little unsatisfied, and this will be confirmed by the rest of my experience, so I’ll start to give you the beginnings of an explanation.
This hotel was built in 1964, so it’s not exactly new, and at a time when rooms were much more standardized than they are today. It was a Days Inn, then a Holiday Inn, then a Westin, then finally a W and was renovated in 2014 still as a W. 2014 is a long time for a hotel, which suggests that it’s not far from its next renovation or rebranding.
So we have a Holiday Inn / Days Inn that was built to the standards of these chains and haschanged brand name over time, with a lick of paint each time but the basic structure has remained the same, resulting in a virtually unique type of room. This is particularly evident in the windows, which are of normal size but no larger, as floor-to-ceiling bay windows are now the norm in this type of hotel.
Another detail: the sockets are not in multistandard format.
And that’s exactly what it feels like: a classic hotel that’s been given a W polish. It’s fine, the room is big and comfortable, but it’s missing something. A bit like Canada Dry: it looks like a W, it almost tastes like a W, but in the end…it’s not a W.
But with his unassuming personality, it’s at least certain to appeal to the widest possible audience.
We end with the video visit.
Bar and restaurant
The hotel features a bar and restaurant, both located in the lobby. I’ll only try the bar.
It’s rather nicely decorated, with no lack of taste, but it feels empty and lacking in personality.
The service will be super friendly but unstylish, even a little familiar. Medium-loud music that’s still bearable….
Again, not much to complain about, but it has no personality and is a little bland and insipid.
In the end, I’ll make the same comment as for the room: they disguised a Holiday Inn as a W. The illusion lasts two minutes, but no longer.
Facilities
It’s rare to find a W without a Spa! Another point that confirms my general opinion.
On the other hand, there’s a gym and a swimming pool.
Gym
It is located on the 7th floor and therefore enjoys natural daylight. There’s a cardio section and another dedicated to machines and free weights.
It’s a decent size, fairly well equipped, but I have three complaints.
The first is anecdotal, but the air-conditioning in the cardio section is very cold indeed.
The second is that we’re quickly squeezed into the other part. It’s virtually impossible to use both benches simultaneously, and if mats are available, only one can be used unless you want to sit in the footway.
The third is that access to the pool is via the gym. It’s an occasional nuisance, but it also happens that people returning from the pool get water all over the place, which means the room’s occupants are bound to slip afterwards.
Which brings us to the pool.
Pool
Anyone who knows a thing or two about W knows that the pool is generally a living space, and in the worst cases, even a little (too) festive. Not here.
It’s a good size but what about the setting, which shows the hotel’s age only too well? Very good for swimming, not for relaxing.
It opens onto a small terrace…
A little nicer, but a bar would have been welcome. Especially for a W…
Staff and service
Correct in absolute terms, but disappointing for a hotel in this range.
However, everything started well. The check-in was perfect, and when I realized that I’d forgotten my adapters and that the room didn’t have any multistandard sockets, the front desk immediately lent me some.
Then it gradually got worse.
I had noticed that there was never an agent at the concierge counter (Whatever/Whenever in W-speak), so that should have caught my attention.
The second evening I left a pair of pants to be cleaned, and they were to be returned to me the following afternoon. Not finding anything in my room when I got home after dinner, I contacted the hotel via the app’s chat. Immediate response and pants returned within 10 minutes. Fail fixed, but a fail all the same. But it can happen, and I wouldn’t have mentioned it if something else hadn’t happened the next day.
The day before I was due to leave, I gave another pair of pants to be cleaned. And there I go again, coming home in the evening to find nothing. The next morning I contact the hotel and …. “uh yes it’s still here we forgot to take care of it but we can make sure you get it tonight“. All right… I’m leaving early this afternoon! So it will be returned to me in the morning, not cleaned and much more crumpled.
On the day of my arrival, I also found a t-shirt belonging to the previous customer tucked between the bench and the wall…
So no bathrobe, no coffee machine, no minibar…
And finally the bar… as I said a bit familiar, especially the waitress.
Check-out
I’ll check out on my cell phone and not go through reception again.
Bottom line
There are two ways of looking at it.
The first is that the hotel is quite nice in design, clean, comfortable, the rooms are a good size and the service is decent…as long as you don’t use laundry service.
If you’re looking for a higher-end hotel at 200 euros to visit Chicag you won’t be disappointed.
The second is that if you rely on the brand name and go there because it’s a W, you’ll be disappointed.
At Marriott, W is part of the luxury brand portfolio, with a lifestyle boutique hotel positioning. The brand has its own codes with strong markers and generally the prices that go with. To a certain extent, a W is a destination in itself: you go there because it’s a W and you want to spend time there to enjoy a W experience.
Here, at first glance, everything looks coherent. But only at first glance. It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to see that this is a mid-range hotel disguised as a W. Room size, quality of service, overall style of the property, basic amenities (bathrobe, coffee machine, minibar…) everything is missing.
You can make any Holiday Inn or Novotel look like a W. Darken the corridors and common areas, play an electro playlist in the elevators and corridors, add neon lights and you’re good to go. But it doesn’t fool anybody either.
So it’s up to you to make up your own mind depending on what you’re looking for….
For me, it’s a good hotel, but it’s got the wrong brand … or the brand’s got the wrong hotel. It’s up to you.
The articles about this vacation in the USA
