JW Marriott Chicago

The room had coffee spilled on a corner wall, the caulk around the toilet was brown, and the hallway on floor 10 smelled of cigar or cigarette smoke, though that might not have been the hotel’s fault. Our TV remote didn’t work at first, but an engineer quickly brought a replacement and it worked perfectly. The service was kind, but not efficient. At check-in I was about to be charged a random $163 even though I’d already paid through the Bonvoy app. I asked what the charge was for, and he said, “oh….i apologize.” A strange interaction. I have Gold Elite status, so my room was supposed to be upgraded if there was availability. I know rooms were available because they could still be booked. Instead, I was offered “a room on a high floor with a nice view,” which turned out to overlook the neighboring buildings’ rooftop AC units. The employee seemed about 25 and didn’t seem experienced enough in fine hospitality to realize how average the room and view were. The location is great, there are a few coffee shops a short walk away, and the parking garage is half a block away. Entering through the grand lobby was a nice experience, though the furniture colors felt a bit all over the place.

The room itself was fine, though I wouldn’t call it luxury. What really threw me during the first ten minutes was finding that the toilet hadn’t been flushed after the previous guest. I never would have expected that. It clearly hadn’t been cleaned after checkout, and it made me question the housekeeping and whether the sheets were clean too. Two of the towels were also worn and frayed, with stains. I travel a lot for work, and this wasn’t the standard I’m used to.

The room was spacious, clean, and fine overall, though pretty drab. The window faced an office building across the street, so there wasn’t much of a view. But basic things kept going wrong in Room 681. The bathtub stopper didn’t work, the in-room phone was dead so I couldn’t use it to call the front desk about the problems, the toilet didn’t flush properly, the shower leaked, and the light over the tub flashed like a strobe, so I had to leave half the lights off. The room seems jinxed. 😱🏚️ I was there for just two nights and asked them to fix the tub on the first night. They didn’t do it as promised, so I couldn’t take a bath either night. I was told the broken stopper was a common complaint here. They seem to blame guests, but if it’s happening often, I don’t think that’s the guests’ fault. Just saying. 😖😏

After a long conference day, I was in my pajamas at 10:30 PM and called Guest Services to ask if someone could bring my food up. I’ve never stayed at a hotel where that wasn’t possible, so I didn’t expect this to be a problem. Brian from Guest Services let me down. He said staff couldn’t help because it was a “security risk” and the food came from a third-party service. I understand not letting delivery drivers upstairs, but it was surprising and confusing to hear that hotel staff couldn’t bring it up either. The way he explained it felt distasteful, like I was being brushed aside when I was trying to settle in and decompress. There wasn’t any alternative or empathy offered. In 2025, at a hotel of this level, I didn’t expect such a simple request to be handled that way. The comfort and convenience of a hotel usually make travel manageable, but I didn’t feel that from Brian that night. I’ve stayed at many Marriott properties and usually had wonderful interactions with the staff, so this stood out and affected the rest of my night more than I expected. I’ve never felt compelled to write a review like this before. I hope the team reflects on how guests can feel cared for instead of overlooked. I wish the stay had ended differently, and hope sharing this helps spare another guest the same feeling.