Review: Riverfront Relaxation at the Westin Chicago River North

Background:

For my family’s New York/Toronto/Chicago Summer Adventure, I stumbled upon the Westin Chicago River North, and would always remember this hotel because many movies pan over the Chicago River and the Westin can be easily seen. I do also remember this hotel being destroyed in one of the Transformer movies too. A little movie fact haha.

Short Review With Scores (out of 5, 5 being best)

My Overall Score: 4

5: Excellent, Highly Recommend
4: Very Good, Solid Choice to Consider
3: OK, Check other options before booking
2: Below Par, Try to Avoid
1: Terrible, Run far away

Rooms: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Location: 5/5
Amenities: 4/5
Cleanliness: 4/5
Sleep Quality: 4.5/5

Check In:

We arrived at the hotel really early (10am) and they were kind enough to let us check-in! Major plus 🙂 The lobby was a bit short on the Westin White Tea signature aroma. I almost forgot I was arriving at the Westin as normally the white tea scent (which I LOVE) hits me immediately.

The lobby is nice but a bit dark. And, I realized the only restaurant was actually in the lobby and that it looked more like a bar than a full restaurant (320 Restaurant and Bar). There is also a Sushi Bar right next to the “restaurant bar” called Kamehachi.

One very bad part of the hotel is the elevators. Dark, dingy and smells like sweat. I remember entering the elevator and a couple behind us was like “WOAH, this is the darkest elevator I’ve ever been in!”

The Room:

The room was quite nice and from just entering the room you could tell it was newly renovated with nice wallpaper. The desk and sofa looked new as well as the television. The low part of the room was probably the bathroom as it showed signs of age. The sink fixture was a bit loose, toilet was old and the seat cover was a bit broken not staying on quite well.

 

The bed was a Westin Heavenly Bed which was quite comfortable. PLUS, Westin rollaway beds are legit Heavenly Beds as well! Also the shower pressure was great in the restroom but there was one problem.

I’ll say it in the less disturbing way as possible so simply I’ll just say the toilet was too small making it not comfortable… Please update the bathroom Westin.

The room was generally quiet with the exception of some hallway noise which is expected but it wasn’t a major bother. There’s a tea/coffee maker in the room and I love how Westin provides Tazo Tea and Starbucks coffee (yum!)

Service/Amenities:

The service was very good, with housekeeping always saying hi, and the front desk being kind. The concierge and bell desk were nice too. There is a pretty large conference area in the hotel (which I was surprised) and there was many meetings going on during my stay. Other than the bar/restaurant there’s a little sundries store next to the front desk in case you need last minute supplies/snacks. Plus, the hotel has a full FedEx store. Additionally there is a fitness center of course (Westin Workout) and the hotel teamed up with New Balance to provide shoes for $5 during your stay.

I do wonder how they clean the shoes after a guest has used them…

Location:

The location is the absolute favorite part of this hotel for me. Right on the river proves very convenient, as it is midway from the heart of the shopping of Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park. It’s only about a half a mile from both!

Plus around the River North area there is a LOT of places to eat. And I really like how it’s quite peaceful around the hotel both on weekdays and weekends. Michigan Avenue is PACKED and the Westin’s area a couple streets over is much more calm. For Chicago, this is the location where I would love to stay when I come back to visit.

The Verdict:

I really enjoyed staying at the Westin for its amazing location and nice refreshed rooms. For around $200 and below for normal dates this hotel would be worth it. I would definitely stay here again if my travels bring me back to Chicago.