Since the W considers itself the purveyor of cool, it makes sense that the chain would decide to redo the W Chicago-City Center. It was the first W hotel to come to the city in 2001 and it was looking a little shabby.

The $35 million makeover targeted the W Living Room, a.k.a. the lobby, and the hotel's 235 guestrooms and suites. What was hot back in '01, aside from 'N Sync, was dark decor with oversized furniture. The hotel tried to get away from that dated look throughout the hotel with bright, airy spaces.]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-10-30T09:29:19-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/2/115038/9444 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/wcitycenterexterior.jpg" class="top"> <p>Ch-ch-check it out, Chi-town: <b><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/W+Chicago+City+Center/local/466">W Chicago City Center</a></b> just underwent a major, major reno (the first since its 2001 opening, obviously) that includes a redesign of the hotel's 235 guestrooms and suites, the W Living Room (goofy W lingo for "lobby," for those of you just tuning in), and a new brand new look for the meeting and event spaces throughout the hotel. <p>Warning: going over to TripAdvisor to check out reviews of this hotel may be a wee bit risky, as the reviews are about as all-over-the-place as they get. Here's <a href="http://chicago-hotels.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g35805-d220240-r30856325-W_Chicago_City_Center-Chicago_Illinois.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT">one guest's take</a> on the newly renovated rooms: <blockquote><P> The renovated rooms look like a page out of an Ikea catalog. White, cheap Jenna 2009-07-02T11:53:47-05:00 41.8794018 -87.633160 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/1/85017/14302 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/wchicagoext.jpg" class="top"> <p>When budget crunch time hits hard (or, like, being lazy with more money trumps working out and having less money), the ol' bought-with-good-intentions gym memberships go out the window. Luckily for Chicago residents (or hotel guests!), the W Hotels in Chicago have got your, um, butt: the trendy hotels are offering weekly, totally free workout programs to keep you totally in gear in a group setting through the end of the summer. <p><a href-"http://www3.timeoutny.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/2009/04/freebie-of-the-week-w-hotels%E2%80%99-workouts-by-the-water/">Time Out Chicago</a> gives us a heads-up about the <b><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/W+Chicago+Lakeshore/ian/112294">W Hotel Lakeshore's</a></b> "Workout by the Water" program, group fitness sessions that are totally free each Tuesday at 6:30 am, or Monday and Wednesday at 5:00 pm. The hotel's GM (yes, GM) and trainer Jenna 2009-05-01T08:56:47-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/4/9/85744/89303 <![CDATA[<p><i>This week we will be looking at some Chicago hotels, largely because we realized that we have New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Fran well-covered but really nothing on the Windy City. If you have a question about the city's hotel scene, send it our way and we'll investigate. Even better, if you have hotel recommendation, <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com"><b>we wanna hear it.</b></a></i><p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/wlakeshore.jpg" class="imgborder"/><p>TripAdvisor's popularity rankings are somewhat dubious. They seem to be a mix of price and comfort. How else to explain that a Hilton Garden Inn is in the top ten for the <a href="http://chicago-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g35805-Chicago_Illinois-Hotels-m10559.html">city of Chicago?</a> What's not in the TA top 10 or 20 for that matter is one of the two <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/w%20hotels"><b>W Hotels</b></a>. But juliana 2007-04-09T09:30:09-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/