Peninsula Hotel – Chicago, IL: Located in the heart of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the five-star, Peninsula Hotel Chicago carries with it the reputation of the Peninsula name and as such, very high expectations. With that in mind, I knew that the Peninsula had to be visited and reviewed during my next stay in Chicago. Using the user friendly Peninsula website, I booked us an Executive Suite for our short stay in Chicago.

First Impression/Lobby: As soon as we pulled up at the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, we were promptly greeted by a sharply uniformed bellman that directed us to the lobby and quickly unloaded our car, giving us our luggage ticket and wishing us a good stay at the hotel. This was indeed a true five-star welcome, the kind of which you can only expect at places of Peninsula Hotel’s caliber. Full marks for first impression.

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Reception: We then proceeded to take the elevator to the lobby area and after a couple of crazy wrong turns; we found our way to the surprisingly small reception area. I was definitely disappointed since I was expecting a grander reception zone, but looks like I had made up my mind rather quickly. I hadn’t looked very far when I caught hold of an amazing view of the large and opulent lounge and dining room replete with super lofty ceilings and equally large windows. Simply Amazing! Looking around like a kid in a candy store, I was jolted back to reality by the receptionist, who warmly welcomed us to the hotel. She then speedily completed my reservation formalities and escorted us to our suite, located on the 8th floor.

The Suite: We had booked an Executive Suite, which in my opinion should have been much larger than what we had actually got. Nevertheless, our suite was nice and there weren’t any reasons to complain about it. The elegant living room, decorated in several shades of beige had a warm, upscale and classy feeling. A comfortable couch, one upholstered side chair, a desk and two matching desk chairs along with a large flat screen television tastefully accessorized the room. The room was airy, spacious and brilliantly lit with plenty of natural sunlight making its way through the open blinds.

The bathroom was appropriately located off the hallway that led to the bedroom. The floors and walls, dressed up in expensive marble lent it a luxurious five-star bathroom look that is fitting of a property like The Peninsula. There were two separate sinks, a private toilet, a standalone shower and an attractive deep soaking tub with a pleasant view of the city. The tub wasn’t exactly designed for two but with sufficient imagination and some creativity, you could fit two for a relaxing soak. The bathroom also featured a TV in the wall-so much for fancy five star trimmings.

Located at the end of the suite was a large comfortably sized bedroom, which exuded terrific style. Decorated in similar shades of beige as the living room, the bedroom had one dramatic olive green wall and striking accents that added tremendous zing to the decor. Located in a corner of the room were two large windows that helped to open the room up a bit. The view was not exactly superlative, but the extra natural light was refreshing. The bedroom sported a large armoire with an equally large flat screen television. Adjacent to the bed were the control boxes that seemed to control everything in the suite from the TV and drapes to the temperature. Everything except the bathtub! Luckily, the Peninsula has made the control boxes user-friendly and easy to operate.

My only real grouse about the suite was that the temperature fluctuated greatly from the bedroom to the bathroom to the living room. We could never get a consistent temperature throughout the suite.

Room Service: My romantic saga with The Peninsula ended the moment I ordered room service. This is one area where the hotel failed miserably. There were consistent late and delivered incomplete or wrong orders, and when we called to find out the reasons-we got an appallingly uncaring, nonchalant and apathetic response, something that we hadn’t quite expected at this property, especially since everything else was going so well until now. The room service was completely below five-star standards.

Housekeeping: The proficient housekeeping department was considerably successful in restoring the poise of the hotel after the disastrous room service. They ranked high consistently due to their meticulous service. The room was always immaculately kept and the staff was never obtrusive or bothersome. They never once did the "can we come to your room" call, which always makes me feel rushed.

Concierge: The concierge here ranked up with the best that I had ever experienced, with their great Sushi Wabi dinner recommendation and a forgivable, not so great Rosebud on Rush for lunch suggestion. They did however punctually return calls, when they promised they would and also offered us super suggestions for things to see and do in and around Chicago during our short stint in the city.

Pool/Spa/Activities: The Peninsula features all contemporary indulgences and amenities that are characteristic of swanky five star properties. There is an attractive swimming pool, a well-equipped fitness centre and a lavish spa facility that is a result of a tie-up with the world’s leading spa company-ESPA. Apart from exclusive treatments, the spa offers a nice steam room and lovely relaxation lounges.

Overall Impression Overall the suite was beautiful, the check-in was extremely professional and speedy and the concierge and housekeeping services were good. The stunning surrounding public areas and amazing range of restaurants and bars in the vicinity coupled with a central business location should have given the hotel a fantastic bombastic rating. However the inconsistency of the suite temperature along with the awful room service can only allow me to give it a bombastic rating at best.

What I liked: The tastefully done suite, the reception staff, the central location and an adept housekeeping and concierge department

What I didn’t like: The indifferent room service and the inconsistent temperatures throughout our suite

Rating: Bombastic

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