After checking out of the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower the other day, I left the hotel, crossed the street and started to walk EB on Chestnut while looking for a cab. I was still within sight of a Sofitel doorman when I sighted a cab approximately one block away and attempted to hail same. After doing so, I immediately heard a Sofitel doorman yelling for me to stop and then heard the sound of his whistle. As the cab slowed to pick me up, the doorman continued to yell at me and blow his whistle as he started to run in my direction. When the cab stopped, I quickly entered cab and locked the door for fear of being physically attacked by the Sofitel doorman. After locking the door, the doorman attempted to open the door as he continued to accost me from outside of the cab. After claiming that he had hotel customers waiting for cabs, he suggested that I had no right to hail a cab in the vicinity of the hotel and then called me a "jerk" before allowing the cab driver to depart to my destination. Consequently, unless you enjoy being accosted by hotel doormen, please don't attempt to hail a cab anywhere near the hotel under any circumstances without first securing the permission of a doorman. Lastly, as for the rest of my stay, you will enjoy this hotel if you seek a highly pretentious staff who prefer to speak to guests in French instead of English. While I have nothing against the French or French language, I much prefer communicating in English when visiting one of the best cities in the best country in the world. Viva la USA!
