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Fairmont Chicago
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: The Loop
Millennium Park
200 North Columbus Drive
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 565-8000
Millennium Park
200 North Columbus Drive
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 565-8000
- Nearest Transit:
-
Randolph/Wabash (Orange, Brown, Purple Express, Green, Pink)
Lake (Red)
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 6:00 a.m. - 5:30 a.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$$
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33 reviews for Fairmont Chicago
I stayed here in May og 09 because I got a free stay. Yes, it was free. My company is in the Aon Center (which is connected) and they gave all us administrative assistants a tour, lunch in the Aria restaurant and a free one night stay.
Anyhow, I had a king room on the 29th floor with a park view. The park view is high on my list of things that do not suck - I get no view at work since I don't have an exterior office. The bed was awesome. It was like sleeping on a puffy cloud on a warm sunshiney day in heaven.
We also decided to splurge on room service. I got a steak. It was done the perfect shade of medium rare. It was also crazy pricey. $113 for my meal and my BFs meal. However, when I called they were all "How may I help you, Ms. Diggs" Which I totally got a kick out of.
Maybe they were being extra nice to me because of the nature of my visit and due to the fact that our companies have a deal, but they brought me up a complimentary Perrier and a fruit plate. Not a fan of the Perrier, but the fruit was delish!
I did buy some snacks and beverages at Bockwinkles (this was before the CVS was opened - it opened two weeks later) because I didn't want to pay for anything in the mini-bar, but I do expenses for a lot of travelers at my work and I knew those items would be vastly overpriced.
The room was pretty big, the toilet had its own separate area from the shower and bath, and the food was good. I have no complaints. I'd stay there again if I came into some money or wanted to have a nice weekend with my BF on the town.
I recently stayed at the Fairmont in Santa Monica so maybe I expected too much from this location, but at the Santa Monica location, my God, you're treated like a king. It almost gets to the point of being a little embarrassing. Similarly, this location positions themselves as a top tier "luxury" hotel. Definitely not the case.
I'll start on the positives and work my way down:
LOCATION:
One of the best possible locations in the city, no question. You're right in the heart of it all.
LOBBY:
Great design of the lobby, very 'male'. My wife suggested that they need some flowers to soften it up a little, of course I'm oblivious to a note like that, looked cool to me.
The doormen were super friendly.
ROOMS-LAYOUT:
Very disappointed. We walked in and were like, really? This is IT? Literally, it looked no better than a Holiday Inn, very small. The furniture looked nice but it was form over function... literally, you get TWO drawers for clothes. Hopefully you are traveling by yourself or your party packs SUPER lightly.
It's a little nit-picky, but why in the world is the TV lined up with the wall of the hallway (dividing the main room from the bathroom area) while the two-drawer seat is lined up with the end of the bed? Maybe someone crashing in the hallway wants to watch some ESPN?
ROOMS-NOISE LEVEL:
What in the world is up with the 120 decibel toilet? I don't care that it looked like something you're see at a roadside gas station, but my Lord, when you flush it is insanely loud. With our baby sleeping in the main room, we would try to not wake her; closing the outside bathroom door, closing the immediate bathroom door, and literally taking a robe, wrapping it around the closed toilet, hugging, then hitting the lever... and it would STILL jolt her awake. I'm not even exaggerating.
The doors close normally then - BANG!! It just bangs shut, soooo loud. You learn, after the first round of stink-eye you receive after you startle everyone awake, to ease the door closed... however, all night long, count on your neighbors' doors banging shut. The walls were paper thin and it got annoying.
SERVICE:
This is were they really lost me. Maybe it was just in our case but compared to the Santa Monica location, it really was like a 'get over it' attitude.
When we booked this two months prior, we were crystal clear that we needed a crib, which is standard (it was waiting for us in our Santa Monica room, even with toys!). We called the week before as well as the day or so before to remind them about the crib, "No problem." When we got there? No cribs left. Awesome. I asked the worker at the desk, "What should we do with our baby?" "I don't know what to tell you, Sir." I guess saying 'Sir' and 'Mr.' helps sugarcoat bad news.
So the first night we had to sleep with our 11 month old in our bed, trying not to crush her during the night, trying to make sure she didn't quietly wake up and roll off the bed onto the hard floor. This would have been a deal-breaker had we known they weren't going to come through on this. On the second day, they finally got us one.
CHARGES
DON'T DRINK THE WATER!!! They lock the mini-bar and you can only open it if you request the key, which we obviously didn't want. At the Santa Monica location, however, they set out complementary bottled water. ANY hotel puts tags on the water if they plan on charging you for this... not here! The water's sitting right out there for the taking, no tags, no indication that they will be a charge, but get ready to pay $10.58 for two small waters when there is a CVS right across the street. This is just flat out b.s., don't rip me off with something like this. I called down, got a couple "Sirs" but they wouldn't take it off the bill.
MISC:
-There was a nail polish type of smell in the hallway every day.
-$1 a page to print at the "Business Center"!? It's like $.05 at Kinkos (which is around the corner, thank God... my wife needed to print a 60 page script).
-No free internet at this "luxury" hotel unless you're a member of the President's Club, which, fortunately, we were... sucks for other guests though. Internet is standard these days, it's like paying for cable.
OVERALL:
I gave it two stars because one star would have been overly harsh, a one star is something like a Motel 6, but the rooms aren't that much better - no pool, bad service, constantly nickle and dimed. What's the point of paying this price point? A hotel with basically the same location and everything else is Hotel 71 (where my parents stayed) for about $100 a night, a fraction of the Fairmont. I'd highly recommend that over this Fairmont.
At the end of the day, would I come back? NEVER.
I stayed here last year for the Chicago Gourmet festival in Millennium Park. Can't say enough about this place as far as service, location, and actual rooms.
I can't really speak to the amenities as I didn't do anything except eat, sleep, and walk while I was there.
When I go back to Chicago, I'm staying here. The price was just fine, I had a room with a view of the Lake, and the location was dead center in the heart of where you want to be.
Top-notch service, a spacious (for a big city) and spotless room, great location, a wine bar in the lobby--no complaints here! Room service was excellent, too. On the pricier end of the scale, but there are deals to be had if you time things right.
Stayed here on the night of July 4th even though I live in the South Loop. The main reason was that I was being "kicked" out of my own apt because of a bachelorette party. Got the Fairmont through PL as the "luck of the draw."
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.co...
Categorically:
A) Star Rating: PL ranks Fairmont as a 4 star establishment. I am not sure what qualifies them to be so, but I assume it has to do with the number of amenities that are in the actual complex, not by the shape of the amenities. I thought that for a 3.5 star hotel, Embassy Suites in Lombard was much more well-maintained and spacious than Fairmont.
B) Location: Fairly decent location in "Millenium Park." Since it is located close to where I used to work, I had no problems navigating. A word of caution: the physically address listed is 200 N. Columbus, but if you actually look up where 200 N. Columbus is, it's the lower part of the street. The auto entrance is there, but the main pedestrian entrance is upstairs on S. Water St.
C) Public Spaces: I did not get to check all of these out, but these are the ones that I did see and go into, at least to look: the main Eno Bar area in the registration area, Aria restaurant, and Aria Bar. The lighting in all these areas was fairly dim, to a fault I would say. Even the escalators that went down from the main lobby level to the ballrooms and parking area weren't the brightest, but they were much better than the other. I will post my review of Aria Bar where appropriate. Also included at the complex were ballrooms, a spa, and business centers as well as meeting rooms.
D) Room. The room I got was a double bed on the 5th floor. Not much to say about the view, but I didn't have high expectations about that. Room came with: safe, ironing board, extra comforter, a little mirrored/vanity area, bathrobes, the usual English "boutique" toiletries, separate rain shower and tub, BMI scale (did not use this, ha), a phone in the toilet area, LCD TVs mounted very well on the wall, art mounted behind the headboard, couch, and working desk/table. Walls were not very thick, and I could hear other guests walking about, as well as the people next door who were initially fighting when I got there. Babies.
E) Service. Had 2 with the registration desk. When I checked in, the person on duty seemed frazzled because of difficult clients right before me. He checked me in quickly enough, but forgot to tell me where the elevators were. He did mention the restaurants though. Upon checking out, it was also quick, and the staff person was very friendly. As mentioned before, I will include service at Aria Bar where appropriate.
Overall, a very good experience. A little pricey for what it was even with the PL bid, and some of the infrastructure seemed a little old (see my pictures). Would stay again if I had to, but would prefer the Embassy Suites in proximity to this hotel.
Love this hotel. We had a great view from our hotel room. We can see Lake Michigan. Staff was awesome and very accommodating. It's downtown and walking distance to everything.
Nice soft bed. It was a suite but given the really nice comfy, classy way of decorating the place I say I'll come back to this place again. Pretty pricey but then again-who cares?
The Fairmont is STILL fabulous. My Marathon Man and I stayed this weekend, and the location was just perfect. Less than a mile to the starting line. The hotel was rather gracious about extending the checkout time by an hour and a half, so that runners could get their post-race shower.
The bathroom is great...beds and pillows were just about perfect for me (husband's ribs were a little sore - I guess his sleep number score is a little higher than mine). The office chair was inspired by the Eames aluminum group - handsome. I especially like it that the rooms are spaced in groups of four, so hallway traffic is minimal.
Even if you aren't in town for a race, it's a couple blocks from Millennium Park and scads of terrific sight-seeing.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/10/2006
The Fairmont is great for weekenders, theater-goers, symphony fans and shoppers. Just a block east… Read more »
Its ok.
The good:
Pretty lobby. Smells like fresh flowers.
Great location.
Big bathrooms.
Great bath amenities.
Friendly staff.
NY Times delivered bright and early.
The not so good:
Small rooms.
The lobby is very pretty, but the rooms are super boring.
Thin walls. I could hear the alarm clock going off next door.
The towels weren't very soft.
Great place to watch drunk conventioneers.
Great location (steps to Millennium Park and Michigan Avenue) and well appointed rooms. We actually got a pretty good rate here ($120/night) through Priceline, but standard room rates are typically more than double that. For OOT guests, parking can be rather pricey around these parts -- the Fairmont charges $50/day with in/out privileges -- so if you're not planning on moving your car, park in the Aon Building (directly across from the hotel parking), it's $13/day on weekends.
View from my room on the 31st floor: most of Chicago, plus Lake Michigan. Hey, I could get used to this. Too bad I was in the hotel room, and awake, for maybe 3 hours total. Wait, actually, that's a good thing, but for other reasons.
Huge room, separate shower and bath (and makeup vanity, but I didn't use that), nice LG flatscreen wall-mounted, very decent bed.
Downsides: bad pillows (I HATE soft and squishy pillows); shower had one of those ceiling-mounted rainfall shower heads, which look awesome but don't function that well; there was a black extension cord just running along the floor to power a lamp. None of these are big things, but they are enough to warrant 4 stars instead of 5.
Great location! You are so close to Millennium Park and Michigan Ave. The rooms are very swanky. The bathrooms set the bar pretty high. Walk in shower, large tub, bathrobes included. I did have some problems however. I reserved a King bed and they gave me two double beds. They wanted an extra $100 a night for a king bed. I don't think I'll come back for that reason alone. Everything else was great.
Stayed here for a wedding and enjoyed a regular room with two doubles that was spacious enough that it felt like a suite. Loved the views, loved the location (right off Millennium Park, walkable to the riverfront, shopping, and shops). Great service (the front desk found us a pizza place that would deliver at 2am and they also helped us with an emergency wedding toast print out situation). However, a few quibbles: 1) room service that ends at 10:30pm (not good for those of us arriving late at night from the west coast - hence the needed pizza delivery above), 2) no vending machines anywhere in the hotel, meaning a bottle of water or a Sprite was nearly impossible to get late at night; 3) business center that closes before 6pm (hence the emergency printout situation above); 4) gym access by payment only - not complimentary for hotel guests; and 5) no in-room coffee maker. While I appreciate the extra service they provide to make up for some of these amenities, I have travelled quite a lot for both business and pleasure, and I have come to expect the above amenities to be standard. With this set of services, I imagine that they are targeting leisure travelers only, as this would not be acceptable for business travelers who stay on any frequent basis.
It was a nice hotel, great location, great gym that was connected and everyone there was very accommodating. I can't say much for the rooms though. The rooms weren't too big, it smelled, the beds seemed smaller than a full but bigger than a twin and the bathrooms in the lobby were better looking.
And it was weird how we had to take an escalator down a floor to take an elevator up to our rooms. And the carts that held all the towels, toilet paper and everything else they used to clean each room stayed parked outside our room all weekend. I mean it was convenient when we needed towels and all but just an eyesore.
The location is great though, there's a gym you can use for free if you join the presidential club on-line, small grocery store right around the corner, Millennium Park down the street and a short walk to Michigan where you can find almost anything you need.
I came here for a wedding reception and the hotel did a great job. They had a room off of the main ballroom for a reception for the guest until the wedding party arrived, then we moved in the ballroom which was very elegant.
The staff was great the food was decent. I would highly recommend this place for a wedding and/or wedding reception.
This place disappointing for a high class hotel.
Service is only marginal, staff is a little ridiculous and they nickle and dime you along the way. It's definitely nice decor, nice location but while i was trying to have a business phone call in the morning before i checked out, maid came by 4 times throughout the morning (as early as 8.30am) although the checkout is not until 12. I expect a lot more from a hotel of this class..
Also when i got there stuff like coffee, drink glasses and such was missing.. once again a high-class hotel like that does not have second chances when it comes to some of these basics. I would say go to W Lakeshore or Four Seasons if you want a nice place to stay.
This is not so much for the hotel but for the ballroom on the second floor where we had a party, and then for the restaurant, Aria.
For the party: 3 stars. We were welcomed into the hotel lobby, then swept up the stairs. All was fine until we walked into the ballroom... I've heard that there are a few beautiful ball rooms in this hotel, but this one was somewhat lacking. It transported me back to my days of bat and bar mitzvah's on the north shore of Long Island. Two big glitzy gold chandeliers, a small dance floor, mirrors on both sides of the walls, and... that's about it. The ceilings were kind of low, too, and coupled with the dim lighting in this space, it felt kind of oppressive.
Throw in two severely understaffed free-standing bars (read: one bartender at each bar) with rude bartenders (probably overstressed, overworked, and underpaid), and you see why this event venue was a disappointment.
For the restaurant: 2.5 stars. I'd read some good things about Aria, but having given it two shakes, I've decided I don't like it. For the price, you can easily find better food and a much more aesthetically pleasing environment. I will say, however, that they have a very delicious mushroom soup. I believe it's something like "mushroom soup your mother never made."
I think my greatest qualms with the restaurant is the space. It's very long and narrow, making it awkward to maneuver around. Also, the restaurant is kind of divided into three separate sections - the front area for the bar, then a hostess booth hidden behind a wall, and then, as you keep walking, what appears to be another room. The layout is very awkward.
Love this place! Spent my birthday weekend with my friends here. They gave us a really nice room on the 31st floor with a really rad view. The rooms were very nice and comfortable. The staff was outstanding. They gave us an empty mini fridge to store our drinks and food in for the weekend. The valet even told us a cheaper garage to park at for the weekend that was very close to the hotel. The bathroom was perfect for 4 girls to share it. Lots of mirrors, seperate shower and bath and lots of lighting. Very close to Milennium Park which was great for the St. Patricks Day parade. Great hotel!
Fantastic stay here. Just came back last night and I really, really enjoyed my time in Chicago (def. will come back) and this hotel. I got lucky and got a pretty good view of the city, including the navy pier and other various skyscrapers.
Fairmont was a great hotel; very comfortable and friendly staff. Helpful young ladies at the concierge's desk.
I will definitely want to come back and stay here again.
I really like the decor of this place. The rooms are comfortable and a decent size compared to other hotels at this price I've stayed at in Chicago. The view from my room was of Millennium Park, which looked really great at night. There were a few problems. We had paid extra for a package that included a late check out time of 5PM, when we got back at 4PM to get ready to leave we had been locked out of the room, and had to wait quite a while for them to get it fixed. Also, the rain shower shower head thing, looks good, but not really functional. I like water pressure. Other than those complaints, it was an overall good experience and we would come back again.
My choice for those weeks when it is so cold I prefer to sleep a half block from work, rather than the usual nine blocks.
This is an okay Fairmont, however not my favorite. The location is pretty good, close to Michigan Ave. and walking distance to a lot of good bars/restaurants. The concierge was very good and I used him daily (Tim, btw). The rooms weren't that big and the bathroom didn't have a separate shower stall from bathtub. The closet space was very minimal and the clothes drawers were almost non-existent. The espresso machine was a nice touch, however I spent 5 days there and couldn't figure out how to use it (probably says more about me than the machine). The cleaning staff was good except for today when they knocked on the door at 8 am. I probably wouldn't stay here again. There are better options for a lower cost blocks away.
There really isn't any other word to describe the Fairmont Hotel other than classy! It is such a fantastic hotel with a beautiful lobby and great rooms. I've been to parties here and the ballrooms are wonderful and the guest rooms are very nice as well. They also have Aria inside the hotel which is a bonus also! If you are looking for a really nice hotel for out of towners, this is it!
I've actually never been in the Fairmont Hotel until I attended a wedding here last night. The wedding was beautiful and I was very impressed with the hotel. It was an absolutely gorgeous ballroom that was elegant and simple so you can do a lot with it. I haven't seen any of the guest rooms, but I"ve heard they are very nice as well.
Great Hotel. 2 minute walk to Millenium Park, 4 minute walk to Michigan Avenue. Not sure how others are dishing the location? Rooms are very nice and BIG. Bathrooms are great. The restaurant downstairs, Aria, is excellent. Service was perfect. Highly Recommend.
I've stayed at the Fairmont several times and always had great experiences there. The rooms are spacious, and beautifully kept. Probably the high point for me is the room service from Aria, which is incredibly tasty!
i may be getting a bit elitist but this fairmont wasn't all i expected.
i originally booked here for one thing: the hd tv that was in every room in the newport beach fairmont. but alas, no LCD in this place. a nice overpriced minibar though.
my room was pretty sweet - view of navy pier, king bed, decent sized bathroom with the porn star shower (the clear glass door, classy yet shady), and overall the room was a/a- (a great room). this is all probably because they thought i was my dad who is a fairmont god (thanks pops). so absolutely no complaints there.
the lobby is very lacking, and the food is even more lacking, so i have to drop this to 3 stars (the tv hurt my feelings, what can i say).
I have stayed in five different hotels in Chicago and this is my favorite. I actually like the fact that it is a few blocks off Michigan Avenue. It is still a really great location. Our room was spacious and clean. The lobby is beautiful and the girl at the front desk gave us free drinks and snacks in the lounge when our room wasn't ready for check-in. We had a great stay, and I would love to stay at the Fairmont again.
this place was great for a holiday christmas party (see photos). as a reaction to last year's fiasco party: a lack of forks and dinner plates to begin with...have you ever fit an entire meal on an 5" appetizer plate? Good thing architects are spatial geniuses, otherwise it could have been really ugly. anyway, the "W" failed us, it was so tight i actually spilled a drink on someone who didn't deserve it. so we went to a much larger venue. MUCH. L A R G E R venue. It's over by the Hyatt, you know the one...the one with the big puffy lights from 1993. so we go in and it's very nice, very conservative. and we escalade down into the earth, two double flights of stairs (good thing it's a night party) to party in some cavernous sub-sub-sub-sub 30' high ceilinged basement. and this place is huge. the kind of place that's so big, they buy art more in accordance to size as a way to fill up a larger volume of wall space. doesn't have to be good, just very very large. i walked across the room to get a drink (there were four bars, one in each corner), a glass of wine (see picture), came back, and i was gone for fifteen minutes. THAT's how big it was. we could have played flag football. it felt like those fancy republican weddings from childhood where the bartender gives you a few underage ameretto sours and before you know it, you're pulling every wife away from their boring husbands to go DANCE! or it was like the bar mitzvahs, lacking only 300 gifts on the stage where the band was playing. not sure, but something was giving me fancy flashbacks, maybe it was the punch.
they did a nice job. this place is a large enough venue that they can handle seven or eight hundred people for a party. the bartenders were very rude, but they were dealing with total drunks who love to dance like elaine from seinfeld, so i couldn't blame them.
have your office holiday party here! but you better dust off your prom dress. this place isn't for deer antlers.
A beautiful place to stay, but maybe outside the average person's budget. Who cares...splurging every so often does amazing things for the soul. Really.
I am staying in Chicago on business and our client has a discounted rate at the Fairmont. In fact, I am enjoying their homemade apple-almond granola with fresh fruit and fresh brewed coffee as I write this review (delivered with the New York Times), and you can't beat it. I have a partial city, partial Lake Michigan view that is gorgeous, and the rooms are incredibly spacious. It is a great set-up for business travel (unlike some of the hobbit rooms you get in New York or San Francisco for twice the price). The service is impeccable as you might expect, and the location is great for running by the lake or shopping on Michigan Ave. Oh, and for work. Almost forgot why I was here.
Location of this hotel isn't very good but the rooms are nice and clean and the circle bar in the lobby is unique.
I love the decor of this hotel. It is very edgy and attractive to look at. The wine bar has a great selection and the food there is great for a quick snack or dessert. The Aria Bar and Sushi is great for a snack and a drink before going out for a bit. I stayed there with my friend this weekend for her bachelorette party and the only thing I will say is at other hotels I have been to they give a discount or upgrade or a special treat for the guest. Our room was fantastic and classy, but the only issue I had was the beds are TOO soft, not comfortable when you have been drinking all night because your head sinks back towards the bottom while your feet feel raised up in the air. I woke up multiple times during the night because I was uncomfortable. The tvs are huge and the view was amazing from our room. Love the proximity to Millenium and Grant Park for the Taste of Chicago as well as the Art Museum. Only a 5 dollar cab ride to get to the busier parts of the city and the red line train is a 2 block walk.
The Fairmont is an excellent hotel in the Illinois Center area of downtown. It is a tall tower with a bland tan-colored exterior. Its interiors are more elegant in design, and the excellent guest rooms are laid out in an L-shaped floor plan.
