I enjoyed my fifth stay at this hotel for 3 nights. Each stay at the Ritz Carlton Chicago has been more memorable that the past–this hotel is a major reason I’ve become fond of visiting Chicago. The hotel’s location is amazing. It’s on the Magnificent Mile, above one of the nicer vertical malls – Water Tower Place, and 3 blocks from the lake and its bike/jogging path. I am also fond of the Museum of Contemporary Art, one block away.

For architecture buffs, the landmark Ludwig Mies van der Rohe apartment buildings at 860-880 Lake Shore Drive are 2 blocks away. The hotel’s strongest attribute is its service. It’s managed by Four Seasons, and FS standards and Midwestern friendliness combine to great effect here. On my last visit, I could only find fault with the very busy street-level staff (doorman, valet), but this time there was improved service there, and the upstairs staff was superb as usual (front desk, housekeeping, spa, dining, and especially the concierges). Being addressed by one’s name is always a good feeling. I think the hotel prides itself in its old world, classic and elegant ambiance, and may even be eschewing modern technology to a certain extent–i.e., TV’s are not flat screen, no DVD players, room safe has a key instead of an electronic lock.

The Dining Room, the hotel’s former fine dining venue, is now open for private functions only and was “fully committed” each evening–obviously a lucrative business for the hotel. The Greenhouse serves a great brunch on weekends. The Ritz’s main competitors would be the sister Four Seasons and the Peninsula. All 3 have upper-level lobbies. The Ritz and Peninsula’s lobbies provide a great amount of natural light, while the Four Seasons is darker. All have fine spas with indoor pools. I have stayed once at the FS and frankly prefer the Ritz. I would like to try the Peninsula one day, but it would be very difficult to not consider the Ritz my first choice when returning to Chicago.

For the first four days we were in a suite that had a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. The last four nights we stayed on the other side of the hotel and we got an awesome view of the Chicago skyline, especially at night. The rooms were large and the beds were very comfortable. When choosing this hotel, I knew it would be on the expensive side, but I have to say it was worth it. Every thing looked so elegant, but was very comfortable. The rooms had large bathrooms with excellent lighting, even the bathrobe was so great.

The best part of the hotel was the many restaurants there. My favorite was the Cape Cod Room. It is the best seafood restaurant that we have ever been to. We had dinner at this place four of the eight nights we were there. Not only was the food very fresh and very delicious, the service was wonderful. The restaurant did get busy on Saturday night and we did have to wait more than 40 minutes for our dinner, but it was so good, when it finally did get to the table. One of their other restaurants was Drake Bros’. We went their for breakfast a couple of times, but their Sunday brunch is the best. They have a very large menu and their place a great view of Lake Michigan. The Sunday we went there was a Jazz group playing and it really added to the atmosphere. Another thing that I loved about this hotel was the proximity to all the places we wanted to go.

It is very close to Oak Street Beach, which is where we spent several days. Although the hotel is quite expensive for the average family, I would recommend it for the couple who is looking for some luxury in their hectic lives. We couldn’t afford to go here all the time, but we sure enjoyed it while we were there.