Justin Knoll

Modern, Good Location

Jul 18, 2007Justin Knollplace

★★★☆☆ We just got back from a long weekend at the Pitchfork Music Festival and the W Hotel in Chicago. We were familiar with the W Hotels, but had never stayed at one. After booking the room, but before boarding the Amtrak Hiawatha for the trip, we Googled the place and found that the reviews were split between one and five stars, with little middle ground.

Many of the one star reviewers complained about the loud music, low light, or inattentive doormen. To the first two: yes, but this is the W. It’s supposed to be half lounge and half nightclub, and that doesn’t leave half for hotel. We did have to open our own door on more than one occasion, but as an able bodied human being, I didn’t take offense.

The real failing of the W was in the area of caffeine. On Saturday morning I headed down to the front desk and asked about the cafe. They pointed me in the direction of a table and said the coffee was complimentary. The table held cups, three cream options per usual, etc. But in terms of actual coffee there were only two small pebble-filled white ceramic dishes with a small pool of coffee in each. Not wanting to betray my un-hipness, I regarded them coolly until I realized that they were the drip catching dishes and that the dispensers themselves were gone. I waited with my empty cup for a few minutes, then a single dispenser was carried in. It was decaf, and minutes later it still sat alone. I headed back to the room, and when I returned a bit later the whole table was gone, and I headed out to buy a coffee on the street.

Internet access in the rooms was pay-to-play, and wired, not wireless. Given the W’s target demographic, I would hope to have hotel-wide wifi included with my room, but then I’m a free wifi idealist.

They enjoy wordplay involving the letter “W,” so the courtesy phones are labeled “Whatever/Whenever,” etc. This was taken to an extreme with a graphic projected on the floor of the lobby declaring this the “Summer of Wuv,” which struck me as a taking it a bit little far.

We ordered a Chicken Breast a la Caesarini with a side of Tuscan Frites from the Ristorante We and it was good but not great and was served on slightly over-grilled (read burnt) toast. The frites were good and well cooked, but the portion very small.

On the plus side, the lobby was gorgeous. They’ve commissioned video projections which are tailored to the architecture of the lobby, so when projected they conform to the arches and crests in the high walls. They have a collection of Assouline and Phaidon design titles set out on the couches for guests to peruse. They have some beautiful wooden chessboards, but only checkers pieces (a slight mark against).

The location was excellent for our purposes, just east of the Sears Tower, close to Union Station, the Loop, the various El stops, free trolleys, and Millennium park.