HotelChatter

For what we were paying, we expect every little thing to be just so.  And enough little things were just so for us to have an overall positive impression of the Peninsula Chicago, and we can recommend it with a clear conscience.  We'd even go so far as to say it's a good value for the money.  But every now and then, something would happen that would embarrass a Motel 6 manager.

We figured two gimlet-eyed hotel guests and a high-maintenance poodle (that's right, Peninsula accepts pets up to 30 lb.) would be the match of any hotel, even one with Peninsula's reputation.  So let the games begin.  We pull up curbside and pop the trunk, and the bellhop takes our two suitcases -- and the dog bed -- and the cooler full of special dietary dog food -- and a bag full of squeak toys -- and another bag full of various canine medications.  As soon as the dog jumps out, he wants to make friends with the nice bellhop, so while he's up to his armpits in our stuff, there's a small dog just asking to get stepped on.  But give the feller a hand, he pulls all this off with aplomb, all the while directing us towards the revolving doors.  First impressions are important, and this one's pretty positive.

The positive points keep piling up at check-in -- we get a free upgrade for the asking, and we're escorted to our room so the nice person can explain all the features.  Turns out she needs to -- if hotel rooms were new cars, this one would be "fully loaded." Most confusing of all is the bedside control console, which sounds like something from the USS Enterprise.  But nothing on Star Trek was this complicated.  You can, for instance, turn on just enough lights to get from the bed to the bathroom.  You can control the TV and radio, both of which are wired into speakers set around the room.  There's a similar touchpad right by the door, at which you can turn the "Privacy Please" light on and off, and which tells you the temperature and humidity outside.  Wow.  Almost too much, actually.

As for the rest of the room, it's big, with separate dressing area (but a too-small closet), a big, opulently appointed bathroom with separate shower and tub (but only one vanity, not enough for this husband-and-wife team), a working desk with a silent fax that actually functions as your message center (we got daily faxes from Housekeeping that they didn't make up our room because we had the "Privacy Please" light on), and a loveseat-size sofa in front of the picture window, which looked down on Michigan Avenue (and which you could open!  That's very rare anymore).  We're in the practice of checking tags to see who makes the mattress, especially when it's as comfortable as this one.  But every time we got on the bed, we fell right asleep.  Verrrrry nice mattress.

About that Michigan Avenue view.  Our original reservation was for a Deluxe room, which is advertised as having a view of Rush Street or Chicago Avenue.  The Michigan Avenue view, which requires an upgrade to "Grand Deluxe," isn't worth the extra cost.  You hardly see any of Lake Michigan, but there's a great view of the half-occupied apartment building across the street.  However, they also advertise corner rooms with panoramic views, and I believe these are on the north side of the building, which if high enough gives you a view worth an upgrade. (These rooms also have telescopes, which is probably as fun as it sounds.)

Another noteworthy point -- no ice machines in the halls.  With a cooler full of perishable dog food, this could have been a bad situation, but the staff were more than glad to fill it for us regularly.

More positive points piled up at the Spa.  Highly skilled employees, a wide range of treatments, and a killer view from the 20th floor.  Strongly recommended.

We didn't try the restaurants, Avenues and Shanghai Terrace.  We did try the Bar, which was pretty expensive ($14 for a glass of Alsace Pinot Gris, a bottle of which probably costs $20), but we figured, well, we are staying at a Peninsula.  We also tried the Sunday Brunch, where we had one of those "Motel 6" experiences.  The food was very good, and again expensive.  But the service was awful.  We were utterly and completely ignored in a room that was at most two-thirds full.  It's bad enough I had to go to the front stand and say, we're done, that's our table over there, charge it to our room.  But then they added a service charge! (Apparently they thought we would have tipped, had they actually brought us the tab like they're supposed to.)  This at a Peninsula?

Our experience with the Concierge was not positive.  We wanted show tickets; the Concierge told us the particular show we wanted to see wasn't near sold out, we can walk up and buy tickets.  I didn't pursue it beyond that, and maybe I'm nitpicking, but it would have been nice if they were proactive and got us the tickets anyway.  On another occasion, they charged me $0.23 for a postcard stamp.  I've been to Hampton Inns where they stamp mail for free.  Again -- this at a Peninsula?

Despite these negatives, we agreed the overall impression was positive as we checked out.  Then came the big whammy -- valet parking is $36 a day.  Shame on me for not clarifying that upon check-in, and yes, this is the place that charges $14 for a glass of wine.  But the going rate at the nearby garages is $20 a day, and if you're going to the spa as a non-guest, they hit you up for only $12.  So consider yourself forewarned if you intend to drive to the Peninsula.

To sum up, we recommend the Peninsula.  It's worth noting that on a given day, a room here is a little cheaper than at the nearby Ritz and Four Seasons, at least by my research.  And I'm sure the little glitches we saw weren't at all typical -- right?