Weather for business or pleasure, make the W City Center in Chicago one of your top choices. The rooms are stunning, the service is impecable and the on-site restuarant and bar are fabulous. I stayed for an entire week and didn't have any complaints -- most times I didn't even want to leave the hotel. It's conveniently located to lot's of shopping (on the Magnificent Mile), the Sears Tower, and many other tourist hot spots.

The next time I visit Chicago, I'll be sure to stay at the W City Center.

had a great stay. read some of the other reviews AFTER i made my reservation so i expected the worst. but i had a great sized room, the staff was super friendly and the el was a faint sound in the distance. i had no weird incidents or stains like some others reported. all and all, i'd stay there again. its not for people who don't like a club in the lobby or super dimly lit hallways -- its a hip hotel aiming at a younger, urban-sophisticate crowd. if that's not you, you should not come to this hotel!

This is the 4th W that I have stayed in and I must admit that they are somewhat of an acquired taste.
This hotel (like the other Ws) is dark and has a real "cool and hip" feel to it. At the age of 50, I am somewhat beyond being hip but I enjoy the feeling that I am cool for staying at the W.

I enjoyed this hotel and would return. The desk personnel were very nice and recognized my Starwood Platinum status. They also gave an upgrade to my friend that was traveling with me. The lobby is very nice and has the usual W living room feel but this time with more of a classical library appearance. The drinks are quite expensive.

The room was very nice and had a sitting area. There were 2 baths. There was no problem with cleanliness. My friend's room was also very nice and had more than enough room for his belongings. The beds are very comfortable. The rooms were quiet.

We did not try the restauants.

Loved the W! Chose this hotel for it's proximity to a training session I was attending. Stayed 3 nights in February 2004.

The room was small, but comfortable. Loved the building, the lobby and the exercise room. As a female travelling alone, I felt comfortable and safe the entire time. This was not the case during a previous trip at a different hotel.

The service was impeccable. I have never been so impressed with service. From check-in, to the concierge - the staff was amazing. I don't think I will be able to stay anywhere else when visiting the Chicago area.

I very highly recommend this hotel.

I made reservations for me and my 2 girls through the W’s central reservations number. I asked for an early check in and was told that we could check in at 1:00. We arrived at 1:00 and I was told that the room was not ready. I mentioned that my reservation was for early check in. I was told that I should have never been told that I could check in early because their rooms are never ready early and their check-in times are only guaranteed at 3:00. The clerk then offered to downgrade my room from a Mega to a standard. I refused and said that I would rather wait because I wanted a Mega. They offered to request a rush (for 2:30) and asked if they could store our luggage.

Hoping to some kill time by doing something fun, we went to the concierge to ask about the bus tours. He was not very helpful and didn’t seem very knowledgeable about what is offered. I told him that I was interested in the Double-decker bus, but he kept insisting that the free trolley would be better for us. I really wanted a narrative tour and told him so. I asked him where to catch the bus and he said, “out there in front of the Sears Tower.” Well, directions and street names would have been more helpful since I was not at all familiar with the area. We ended up asking people on the street for help in finding the Tour’s payment center and bus stop. I spent $50 on the not-so-good tour in order to kill time waiting for our room to be cleaned. The tour company over sells their tickets so we waited in the hot sun 45 minutes for the 3rd bus to come by before there was enough room on the extremely over-crowded bus for us to get on.

We returned to the hotel at 4:30. The lobby was completely crowded and reminded me of a campus on the first day of college. I waited and waited to get to the front desk. While waiting, the concierge noticed me standing there and came over to ask if he could assist me with anything. I told him I was still trying to check in. He was a little surprised because he thought we had already checked in. He brought 2 bottles of cold water for us while we waited (we were a group of 3). Finally I made it to check-in (15 minutes waiting) and, again I was told my room was not ready. I complained and said that this was unacceptable. The clerk left and returned a minute later and told me the room would be ready in 4 minutes…they were doing a final walk through to make sure the room was clean. He said that several people checked out late and the housekeepers were not able to get in to clean.

I went to the business center to check my email and then we sat and sat and sat out in the busy lobby. Finally, I stood in the line again to check the status of my room that was promised in 4 minutes. By now, it is 5:15. It was apparent from the conversation with the couple in front of me that they were experiencing the same problem. Finally a 3rd person was helping me; again I am asked my name. I was furious. His apology did not seem genuine. I mentioned that I was paying $250 for essentially what is supposed to be 9 hours and that my room was not available for more than 2 of those hours (not counting the promised early check-in, and told him that I spent $50 on the tour to give them time to clean the room by 3:00. He offered to reduce my bill by $30. I told him to not bother. He then said he could take of $40 and that was the best he could do. I again told him not to bother. That if all that the W could do for this kind of snafu is to reduce my bill by $40 than forget it…I’d rather pay full price but I would never be back. He said, “okay, that is your choice.” I was really wanting to hear a sincere apology more than anything. Okay, finally we get a room key. We enter the room and...Wow! The floors were not vacuumed. There was obvious dirt everywhere. I called the whatever/whenever number and demanded that someone come with a vacuum. The “Head Stylist” (housekeeper) came to the room and looked around. She insisted that she was there when the housekeeper vacuumed so she knew that it had been vacuumed. I told her that I would not dispute her but that the floor is clearly very dirty. I asked if they vacuumed in the dark and she said no. She pointed to an area behind the front door to show the vacuum cleaner mark as proof that the floor had been cleaned. I said to her that we would just pickup the dirt ourselves because we were tired and I was already upset. She finally acknowledged that the floors were very dirty and said that they were rushed so maybe they didn’t do a good job. They finally vacuumed the floor. The Head Stylist offered to send us on a complimentary boat ride. I declined because we already had plans. She then offered us a complimentary meal at the We Ristorante and offered to still take off the $40 that I had refused earlier.

Other complaints: There was a dirty towel in the bathroom! A huge brown streak down the folded side of a white towel. Yuck! The dark purple blanket was dirty and hairy. The very small closet was almost impossible to open. The knob would not turn so we had to yank the door open with all might. The $9.95 internet (web TV-like) service was a total waste of money. It was very slow and extremely limited. Phone calls were $1.50 local and $2.00 for using the 800# for the calling card. There was no liner for the ice bucket. The view was horrible. Nothing but the L-tracks, the top of the roof next door and construction work down below. The L train was very loud. The entire hotel was very dark. The location was not very good for a leisure trip because it is too far away from Michigan Ave. They don’t offer a shuttle service, it takes 15 to 30 minutes to get your car from the valet, and (parking is $38 per day). Even the common areas were dirty during our entire stay. It appears that they are severely short on cleaning staff. By the way, the same vacuum cleaner mark that the Head Stylist pointed to when we checked in was still there, undisturbed, when we checked out. No one walks in the corner wall behind the door! Duh!

This is the worst stay that I’ve ever had and I would have to say that I am most disappointed by the lack of professionalism and training from the staff. They are not customer-focused, they never remembered or called me by my name, their apologies were insincere appeasements and being a Starwood Preferred Guest meant absolutely nothing to the outcome of the situation. I will never stay at a W Hotel again and would definitely discourage anyone I know from staying at a W. I will pay more attention to hotel reviews from now on. I will be traveling to Chicago again on Labor Day weekend and we plan to stay at the Swissotel.

This is probably the worst experience that I have ever had at a hotel. I was at a conference that had 19 states represented. After talking to almost all of the attendees, I found only one that was pleased with their room, and then I found out that they were given a suite, for whatever reason. The rooms were very small with less than a foot between the foot of the bed and the wall. Then there were these ridiculous shadow boxes on the walls with cigarette lighters in them. It was virtually impossible to pass around the end of the bed without hitting your shoulder on one of the shadow boxes. The view from my room was a gorgeous tar and gravel covered roof of another part of the hotel. The bathroom was very small and even the closet was so narrow that you could not hang your clothes up properly. To top off the diminutive room, the food that was served to our conference was down right raunchy. First of all, they served fish to this large group, not taking into consideration that many people are allergic to fish. Then, the fact that the fish and the side dishes were completely tasteless didn't help matters. The meal the 2nd day was even worse than the first. Therefore, if I am ever scheduled to attend a conference at this hotel again, I will do a search for a local Motel 6. At least I know that I will be comfortable and perhaps can find food on my own that is palatable. Other than this horrible hotel, Chicago was fantastic.

The 1st room they sent me to was so small, I couldn't get my lugguge thru the entranceway into the bedroom. Dark Purple walls with a view of nothing but an office building's windows (no matter how you cranned your neck) denied even the thinnest ray of sunlight. Tons of hair on the blankets. Strange stains in weird places. Dirty towel in the bathroom. Thin walls that let thru the neighbors voices even when they were speaking in a normal tone. When they began to laugh and scream I asked for another room. The 2nd room was better than the 1st by far, but it was also very small, situated directly over the L tracks (remember the scene from 7even with Pitt, Paltrow & Freeman?) with a view of the next building's roof-top which was under construction and contained debris. I wouldn't walk barefoot in either of the rooms. You probably don't want to stay here for more than $59 a night. Instead, try the W Lakeshore. It was fabulous (2 years ago anyway).

The customer is always right at the W hotel. My experience at this hotel could not possibly warrant a single complaint. The rooms are stylish and make you feel as if you are in a calm and soothing bedroom instead of a hotel room. The colors produce a feeling of contentment and the bed, which has a pillow top mattress covered by a featherbed with feather pillows and a feather comforter will give you the best nights sleep you have ever had. The level of comfort and style in this hotel is unbeleivable. The bathrooms were marble with a very modern and clean feel. The furniture was colorful and comfortable. Discrepancies that I had with my bill were corrected immediately with NO questions asked. When I ordered room service which was impeccable, I received a call from guest services afterwards asking if the food was to my liking. I got the 'celebrate' package when I stayed which included champagne and strawberries, a full breakfast, free valet parking, and taxes included for 269, then I received the second night for 99! Well worth every penny.

Being out of towners on a business trip, we accidentally chose a hotel "on the wrong side of the tracks." So, we went in search of another and found the W-with its very cool lobby. Well, the lobby was the only good part about this hotel. After arriving in our room, we couldn't believe how small it was. You could almost stand in the bathtub and still reach the sink to brush your teeth! It looked like a very old, run down building that had a lot of knick-knacks and trendy furniture added to it, to try to justify the high price. This was literally the smallest hotel room we have ever stayed in and we have traveled considerably in the states and abroad. Besides the $8 bottle of water in the fridge, you could find an "intimacy kit" complete with condoms and lubricating jelly and some waxed lips in your room. Gross! Yes, the "L" is outside your window, and is pretty loud but it is the least of your worries. Don't leave your window shades up, as there are perverts in the office buildings next door that like the watch the guests. This hotel isn't really next to anything, except the "L" and the Sears Tower. Do yourself a favor and stay down by Lake Michigan. There were many nicer hotels in that area of town. There was constant, thumping loud music coming from the d.j. spinning records in the lobby and the hallways were so dark you could barely see your way around. They were also having some model shoot in the lobby as well, which was weird. Their "King Sized Bed" room was not a king. It was a double. They had a fleece throw on top of the bedspread that had little hairs all over it. I will never stay there again. I am glad I can say I experienced the W hotels though, so I know never to make the same mistake. Stay in a Westin. They are much nicer and not as expensive or "trendy." The only reason one would stay here is to rent a room by the hour! The W Chicago says Trashy, not Classy!

My boyfriend and I stayed at the W City Center for four days in May 2004. We had a fantastic stay! The staff was friendly and helpful. The concierge gave us dinner suggestions and directions to an excellent moderately priced restaurant that we never would have found on our own. The bed truly is amazing. This hotel is very sultry and chic. It feels like one very large lounge. Can't wait to experience another W hotel!