I recently was in Chicago on business and chose to stay at the Swissotel, Chicago. The hotel sells itself as being stylish, sophisticated and luxurious and says it is in the center of the city. I would have been better off anywhere else. I was not impressed with the interior, finding them bordering on clinical and too modern for my taste. I guess 'stylish' might be modern in some people's minds, but not mine. Also, luxury to me means plush not hard and clinical. When I made my way to reception, I hardly encountered the friendly customer service boasted of on the website. I had organized an executive suite as I was planning to work some of the time from my hotel room, and thought the extra space would come in handy. When I proceeded to check in, the girl at the desk told me, while smacking gum, that I had no reservation. I handed over my booking confirmation and she told me that at first she had spelled my name wrong, even though I had spelled it out for her. She then proceeded to tell me that due to a conference, all of the executive suites had already been allocated, but that they would be happy to assign me to a lake view room. Correct me if I am wrong, but this is a step down from the room I had asked for! Surely if you give away my room, you should try to compensate me with something better! I said that no, I really needed more space as I would be using the room as an office, and finally she said that they did have a corner king room available, and that if I wanted to switch the following evening, I would be welcome to do that. The room was ok, although, again, I was disappointed by how cold and clinical it felt. I did attempt to make use of some of the hotel services, but found them sadly lacking. Some comments on the services: the high speed wireless was not available in the room unless you were willing to pay a fee for a cable to connect, and also a per day fee which borders on extortion! There was free wifi in the lobby, but requires you to sit near the doors which open constantly letting in freezing blasts of air, plus deal with the noise and bustle of people constantly coming in and out. I did phone room service on my arrival to request an extra pillow and towels, but had to wait 2 hours before they arrived. The fitness center and pool which I was looking forward to using, were closed for cleaning when I went up. Breakfast the next morning consisted of continental items, which is not what I would have expected for the money. All in all, I would say your money is better spent elsewhere.
