The Gwen, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Michigan Avenue Chicago — Hotel in Chicago

I left feeling very underwhelmed. For example, they have a Moet vending machine in their lobby but no streaming services such as Netflix. Luxury to me is not just the cost of the room or the amenities. What are you offering your guests for the price point other than location? My wife and I was there to celebrate our ten-year anniversary. We ordered a $61 bottle of red wine that ended up being a little over a $100. They had a $4 delivery fee which was understandable but they also included a 20% gratuity plus taxes to the final bill. Like, really?!? When we arrived at the hotel, we were able to check in early so that was a plus. However, our first room was an ADA room that I didn’t even notice until after my nap. When I informed the front desk staff, I was questioned as if me telling them that everything in the room was low with handlebars was not evidence enough. Then they proceeded to say how in the system it does not show as ADA compliant. So, if a guest had arrived and that room was occupied by someone without a disability, they would not been able to accommodate them because of their failure to properly list a room. As an attorney, I know that there are no legal implications on allowing a non-disabled guest to stay in an ADA room. However, it limits access to people with disabilities. I hope this has been rectified to ensure your hotel is following the ADA. After I checked into the first room, I received a notification from my bank of additional charges from “The Gwen” hotel.

Let me start off by saying, the wife and I prepaid our room a month prior to arrival for $2034.29. Not only did they charge my CC $1488 they also charged my wife’s card for the same price. That’s a total of $5,010.29 and all we received was an apology and two $16 drink tickets. I alerted my bank but as of today, 8/28/2024, one charge of $1488 is still pending. As I mentioned before, the location is great, the customer service was very meh to me. The guy that delivered our breakfast on 8/26 before checking out provided amazing customer service but the atmosphere was not welcoming. They are connected to the Nordstrom’s so that was a perk for me. Our second room was much better but the pillows were extremely flat. The room was on a much quieter side which was a little above their outdoor terrace. The bathroom was spacious with a soaking tub and shower. However, I would not recommend or stay here again. For the price point, I will try the Langham next time. Honestly, I received better service across the street at the Marriot Magnificent Mile the two times I stayed for a work conference. The only difference between the Gwen and the Marriott Mag Mile are their rooms but at least you can stream services and the people that work there are much nicer/welcoming. So, that alone is a plus in my book!!! You're literally paying extra for the location...

Customer service was virtually nonexistent. Well before arriving, I wanted to ask about switching my reservation dates from two nights in September to four nights in October, and after being ignored by central reservations for well over a week, tried reaching in-house reservations for two more weeks and got only voicemail, which was never returned. Check-in was fine, and I think the attendant thanked me for being an SPG Preferred member, although this was the last leg of a multi-city trip so I was a bit bleary-eyed by that point.

The day of checkout I called guest services to ask about a late checkout. She said, "you're already checking out at 4pm". (Which I had forgotten was part of my reservation.) I said, "oh that's great! I had forgotten!" And without another word, she hung up on me. Uhhhh???? Other than service issues, (which were enough to cause me to reconsider another stay at The Gwen) I greatly enjoyed the beautiful room and nice touches.

Housekeeping was wonderful. The room was very clean and staff was always smiling and friendly. I happened upon one of the housekeepers just after she finished my room and she seemed to take a lot of pride in her work, which was lovely. I even took my first-ever bath in a hotel as I felt confident enough in the cleanliness to do so!

At the end of my stay, I was a bit early for my flight when I checked out so I asked to check my bags while I went shopping. I wasn't sure where bags were held so I stopped at the concierge and the bellboy took my bags and assured me they would be downstairs at the Rush St. entrance when I was ready for them. When I returned for them, he had left them upstairs and had to run up to get them while I waited downstairs. Not a big deal necessarily, but added a few minutes wait and alongside the other issues was just one more roll-your-eyes moment. He was sweet though, hailed my taxi and asked if I'd like him to put the luggage in the trunk. Well, yes, of course I would. I don't think I've ever actually been asked, most of the time they just automatically do it.

I'm not trying to be a complainer, honestly just a few tweaks (like maybe returning phone calls and being, I dunno... friendly) here and there and a decent enough experience could have been a wonderful experience. i.e. Nearly every interaction or potential interaction with the staff was a letdown (although I was especially impressed with housekeeping. Every one of them I saw was pleasant, and made a point of smiling and saying hello).

Overall, unfortunately, it was enough of a letdown that I didn't feel like I had the luxury experience I was expecting, especially for the nearly $800 cost of a two-night stay. I'm treated better on business trips than I was on this, what was supposed to be a pampering...

LOCATION Great location. Has a lot of good restaurants and sites within walking distance, including the water, as well as the things that I needed for business purposes within a short cab ride or medium walk away.

THEME I like that it's dedicated to a female sculptor, Gwen Lux.

RECEPTION / CHECK IN Check in was strange--the lobby is on the fifth floor, and the receptionist said my reservation number was already used. I noted that it was for a group of three different people, and she said that was fine. When I asked if this meant we'd be sharing a room, she said, no, we can have separate rooms. So why did it matter that one of the reservations had been used? Later, the second group tried to check in, and their concierge also confused them with the reservation being used by me, but said they'd "make an exception." Sorry, what exception would have to be made? Unclear. The last party checked in with no issue, but this made me realize that I was in fact the first person to use the reservation number. So...how is it possible that my concierge said my reservation was already used if I was the first on there? Again... um... whatever. Confusing.

WINDOWS BROKEN The first thing in the room I noticed is that the window latches were broken so we couldn't open the window to the fresh air to get some of the weird smell from the cleaning liquids out.

TV BROKEN There was also a notice saying that the televisions weren't working which is a shame because they are large and quite nice looking.

ROOM SERVICE BROKEN We ordered room service but it never came and when we called back to check in they said that they were closing up and would instead give us a breakfast credit. Um... okay again.

WIFI SEMI-BROKEN Unfortunately, the wifi is also not great for working. A couple of my coworkers verified this. We were using the upgraded version, too.

AESTHETIC The lobby is quite nice and I think that there is an elevated aesthetic to it, no doubt.

All the sculpture and black marble is quite nice.

They also use some sort of ambient fragrance which is pleasant, but may be strong for some sensitive noses.

FOOD & DRINK However, when we got drinks they were still pretty expensive for what they were and the appetizer (edamame) that we got had some bad produce in it that clearly could have been picked out.

OVERALL Overall, I think that it's a beautiful hotel with a lot of potential, but, unfortunately, the service and rooms don't quite live up to the...