The St. Regis Chicago

The rooms at The St. Regis Chicago are beautiful, elegant, well designed, and comfortable. The service, unfortunately, fell well short of what I expected from the brand. The valet misplaced my car keys, and when they were found, no one apologized or took responsibility. The comforter also had a tear along the hem. It took several calls to the concierge and far too long to get it replaced. At this price and with the St. Regis name, basic room quality and prompt service should be standard. I expected more professionalism and attention to detail, and I won’t be returning.

We had a lovely stay, especially thanks to the calm spot by the river. The hotel sits on a quiet, nearly dead-end street with little traffic, and most major attractions are walkable or a short Uber ride away. There’s also an in-house car for nearby drop-offs, which was a thoughtful convenience. Our immaculate suite was well appointed and had wonderful views. The gym was well equipped, the indoor pool was relaxing, and the gender-designated saunas were a nice extra. We did have a couple of snags. Our booked room type wasn’t available, and we waited until nearly 5 p.m. to hear about it. Since we had reserved a high-floor room, the team handled it graciously by upgrading us. On two evenings we had to call for turndown service. The butler service was consistently excellent, with our morning coffee arriving right on cue each day. I’d happily stay here again.

The lake-facing location is great, and the staff were helpful when we checked in. They told us about the champagne ceremony, which we made sure to attend. The gym stays open 24 hours, though the pool closes in the evening and wasn’t warm enough. The sauna is gender specific and located in the locker and shower rooms, so a family can’t enjoy it together. The spa is on the same floor, but I didn’t get a chance to try it this time. I had a wonderful stay.

The room we got was small and looked nothing like the photos in size. I booked with points, and at check-in they called it an upgrade, but it felt like they had just put us in a spare room. The TV cord was cut or disconnected, so an engineer had to come fix it. The bathtub also didn’t work, and the engineer said it couldn’t be repaired that night, leaving us without that amenity. Then the food I ordered went missing. Staff gave me the runaround instead of helping, so I had to go downstairs myself. We were also charged for minibar items we never took. For a five-star hotel, this was incredibly disappointing. I agree with others that you should look at a different luxury hotel in the city. There are older properties that are far superior and worth the cost. I regret using my points here, and we won’t be back.