Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile — Hotel in Chicago

Review: Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile ⭐☆☆☆☆

My recent stay at the Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile was deeply concerning and wholly disappointing, as it exposed critical safety violations and highlighted a lack of basic hospitality standards.

Critical Safety Violations:

Smoke Detector Malfunction: On the first night, the smoke detector in my room detached from the ceiling and remained hanging precariously by exposed wires. This startling sight not only disrupted my rest but also raised serious questions about the hotel's adherence to safety regulations.

Regulatory Noncompliance: Both the Illinois Smoke Detector Act and the Chicago Building Code strictly mandate the proper installation and maintenance of smoke detectors. These devices are not optional but legally required safety measures designed to protect lives in the event of a fire.

Exposed Wires and Safety Risks: The exposed wires presented an additional hazard, increasing the potential for electrical issues or accidents. Such negligence represents a severe breach of safety protocols and endangers guests.

Legal and Ethical Implications: Failing to maintain critical safety equipment like smoke detectors is not only irresponsible but also illegal. These violations warrant immediate investigation and strict penalties.

Urgent Call to Authorities: I strongly urge the City of Chicago, the Illinois Department of Fire Services, and other regulatory agencies to take immediate action. This includes inspecting the property, issuing substantial fines, and potentially suspending operations until safety standards are met. Allowing such blatant disregard for fire safety laws to go unaddressed sets a dangerous precedent.

Additional Failures:

Substandard Accommodations: The mattress in my room was excessively worn, with a deep sag that made it uncomfortable. Attempts to conceal this with added padding were ineffective and unbefitting of a luxury establishment.

Dismissive Customer Service: When I reported these issues to the front desk, I was met with condescension and indifference. The staff showed no effort to address my concerns or offer any form of compensation, reflecting a lack of respect for their guests.

Neglected Housekeeping: Upon returning to my room later in the day, I found that housekeeping had failed to service the room. The bed remained unmade, and damp towels were untouched—a glaring lapse in basic hospitality.

Conclusion: The Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile has failed to meet even the most fundamental expectations of safety, comfort, and service. The malfunctioning smoke detector hanging by exposed wires is a serious safety violation that puts lives at risk and underscores the hotel's negligence.

I strongly implore local authorities and regulatory bodies to investigate and impose appropriate penalties. This property should face strict enforcement of safety regulations and consider legal consequences for its failures. Until these critical issues are rectified, I cannot recommend this hotel to any traveler. A luxury hotel has an obligation to provide both comfort and safety, and this establishment has failed on...

Recently stayed at Sofitel Chicago for a whole week. I would say the general balance of my stay was positive but I would stil like to share my positive and negative experiences. Positive: Very attentive service, they tried to make my stay the best possible, within their own limits. Comfortable, clean and spacious (luxury) room. Tasty breakfast, and cozy bar. Flawless check in and check out. Great location, central yet calm and relaxed, close to nice cafés, restaurants, public transportation, green areas and the lake. Negative: I had breakfast included, but they failed to mention that it's limited to $35. I had a lot of problems with the wifi, and had to call the provider myself in order to solve it. I wanted to reuse towels, as I care for sustainability, these would be nevertheless replaced daily...why bother then? Room missed a few things but they brought them quickly. Only paper cups for coffee in the room, but no ceramic cups. There was a Nespresso machine but nor teabags nor a water kettle. (There were real glasses on the other hand, but just for water) My thoughts on it... If you're branding yourself as a "French/European experience hotel" there a re a few things you need to consider to do like in France/Europe: Breakfast included, for that price, should be a buffet/all you can eat, a waiter approaching me and saying that if I order extra it would have extra charge is ridiculous and unacceptable, also they way it was communicated, very rude. I honestly am a very big fan of non-open buffets, I think a lot of food go to waste if the buffet is open and guests can just take as much as they want. I applaud the fact that guests do have to order so they're more conscious about the amount of food consumed and preventing to waste any, but that shouldn't prevent people with more appetite being able to order directly an extra croissant or coffee. Also, I guess it is a cultural thing in the US to have paper cups for coffee to go...it is kind of handy to have those in the room too, if you decide to take your coffee, but what if you just want to enjoy the coffee (or absent tea) in the tranquility of your room? I don't think you can miss that in a 5* hotel, you do need to provide ceramic cups, at least a couple, clean, every day. I did call the reception and they brought them, but I did have to call every day about it.... The fact that they don't notice that it's a big flaw in a "luxury" hotel. If a guest asks for something, repeatedly, you have to act on it, and take notice of what your guest's desires are, specially if it's something that simple as providing proper coffee cups. Would I stay again in this hotel? Probably, yeah, a bit expensive, but if I got a good deal... I do doubt I would get the breakfast included again if they don't change the system...and I would have to hope they learn coffee must be enjoyed in...

The ocean is beautiful and the water is clear. On this supposedly private beach there is hagglers and they don’t take “no gracias” for an answer. I felt unsafe leaving my stuff at the beach chairs as the hagglers decided to sit right in front of us. In the evening, we went on a bioluminescence plankton tour where I proposed to my girlfriend. This was amazing experience and highly recommend — if you’re not afraid to swim in dark water like I was at first ;). We paid extra for the private tour and the hotel was happy to service us ($500 for 1.5hrs for just the two of us and two workers). If you think everything is great, keep reading because this is where the facade begins.

The workers were either very nice (25% of the people) or very rude. There was rarely an in between. This could be because I didn’t speak Spanish but my girlfriend does and she spoke to them instead. Immediately you can tell the sexism in which they spoke/treated her. I don’t drink, any time she ordered a beer, they would incorrectly give it to me. We had made it clear who the drinks were for when we ordered.

Either no worker knows the exact times of everything closing or they change constantly because every time they gave us was wrong. For example, They said checkout at 1pm, turns out 12pm. They said pool bar closes at 10pm, turns out 7pm. They said room service is after 10pm, but it’s 24 hrs.

We were here a total of 2 days and on the day we left, the rooftop bar which is supposedly an amazing sunset view will be reserved for a party and guests cannot use it.

Everything is absurdly expensive for no clear reason. A small quesadilla is 75.000 ($18 US dollars)

I rarely give reviews, I typically only do so for positive, great service. It took a lot of bad things to occur over the course of 2 days to force me to spend the time to right this. I highly do not recommend unless all you care about is clear water. There’s no waves and it’s a very small area.

Last thing, this happened while I was writing this review while leaving. We have a flight at 230pm. We chose to pay for the speed boat at 12pm so we don’t have to rush. By 12:15pm we still haven’t left yet. I asked why, they said we’re waiting on another person. I asked how long are we going to wait, we have a flight to catch? No straight answer. The guy finally arrives at 1230pm, we leave by 1235pm. Nothing from the hotel, no apology, no refund.

Best of luck if you...