Location
The Ritz-Carlton in Chicago is located at 160 E Pearson St at the Water Tower Place. This is directly off the famous Magnificent Mile street in downtown Chicago and is an ideal location to stay. It’s close to Lake Michigan, to public transportation, and to just about every store, restaurant, and other amenity you can imagine. Other than the Conrad Chicago, I’d say this is one of the best-located hotels in the city.
Arrival & Check-in
We were coming from the Conrad hotel just down the road, so arrival was quick and easy. The “Ritz Carlton Apartments” next door were under construction, so we had to enter through the “garage”, which was just around the corner from the main street-side entrance. Oddly, we had to take an elevator to the lobby to check in.
Once we checked in, we had to take another elevator to our room. This strange two-elevator arrangement got rather tiresome after several trips, and there didn’t seem to be an accessible staircase.
Room
We didn’t receive an upgrade and thus were left to the standard room, which was still quite nice.
The living area was suitable spacious. My poor photography skills drowned out the view, but it was swell.
The bathroom was nothing special, but perfectly fine.
Ahh, there’s the view. Delightful!
Lounge
Despite having Ritz-Carlton Gold Status, we were not entitled to lounge usage (you can only get in if you pay!) so we didn’t have a chance to check it out. Boo.
Value
We used two free-nigh certificates (from the three awarded to Ritz-Carlton credit card holders) so this stay didn’t cost us a single penny. The going rate for a standard room during our stay was $279/nt, so we got a $558 stay for free. I’d say the value was pretty stellar!
Summary
Honestly, we didn’t spend much time in this hotel as we were running around seeing friends and then flying out early on our morning of check-out. The value was fantastic since we didn’t pay anything for the room, yet we got to stay in a perfect downtown location and have use of their admirable workout facility. Although the paid price isn’t all that terrible, I’m not sure I’d stay here again because of the annoying elevator situation and the fact that you can only access the lounge by paying for it. That being said, it certainly served us well for two nights!
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Brandon Chase is a writer, endurance athlete, and guide based in Maine. He is a former Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State and spent nearly a decade overseas serving at embassies in Egypt, Cyprus, and Pakistan.
Along with a 98-day thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, he has summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, hiked the West Highland Way, fastpacked in the Himalayas, and trekked around New Zealand and South Africa. He also regularly competes in ultramarathons at the 50k, 50-mile, and 100-mile distances. He is a Lead Guide for Andrew Skurka Adventures and the New England Outdoor Center.