Virgin Hotels Chicago — Hotel in Chicago

UPDATE: I am updating this review to 3 stars because hotel management personally reached out and made some significant gestures to make up for the experience we had. While I can't personally recommend the hotel because of my experience, I appreciate the effort management put in to make things right and I think it's worth slightly upgrading my rating. I'll leave the original review below as a record of my experience.

I'll list the things I liked about this hotel first because there are some of those, but keep in mind this is definitely a (formerly) one-star review.

-The first floor restaurant, Miss Ricky's, is excellent and all the food we got there was delicious. I recommend you DO NOT stay at the hotel but DO eat at Miss Ricky's if you get the chance

-The shower in the Grand Chamber King room is really nice. It's an overhead/rainfall shower with lots of room and a large bench for sitting.

-The room was nicely laid out, spacious, and very quiet for being in the Loop.

Now for something I did not like but others might: the mattress is very soft. Most hotels have firm mattresses and this is what I expect and prefer because I have back pain and need the support. But if you prefer a plush mattress this could be good for you!

And here's all the bad stuff you're expecting me to write about:

-When I looked at my folio after checking out, I saw that I was charged twice for one night of valet parking. When I called the hotel about this they acknowledged the error and refunded the extra charge, but this should just never happen. BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR RECEIPT AFTER YOU STAY HERE!

-When we got our car back from the valet, it was badly scratched on one side. We'll have to take it to a body shop to have it repaired now.

-One of the door handles for an interior sliding door FELL OFF THE DOOR while we were in the room. See my picture.

-The TV in the room was broken in two ways. There was a vertical line of green "dead pixels" on the screen. But we actually couldn't use the TV at all because of either a problem with the remote or that the "Smart TV" system was laggy and unresponsive to the point of being absolutely unusable. We literally could not navigate past the home screen because we couldn't even highlight a button to select. The remote plugged into a charger in the room and I made sure it was charged overnight, so it wasn't just a dead battery there.

-The hotel advertises a hardwood floor, however it is a cheap laminate material that is showing signs of wear. It was significantly degraded at the edge of the shower. Yes, I am getting a little petty at this point.

-When we left the hotel, there were picketers drumming and shouting in support of striking housekeepers at the hotel. I don't know the details of this dispute but at the very least it reflects poorly on the hotel management and poses a nuisance for guests.

To summarize, I strongly recommend you do not stay at the Virgin Hotel Chicago. Only consider it if you really want a plush mattress and are willing to overlook your room falling apart and the risk of being...

My partner was in town for a conference and we stayed at this property for three nights and four days. It pains me to give such a cool, unique hotel such a low rating, but the front desk staff seem to be about as useful as a passing billboard on the side of the freeway. When your housekeeping and bell service team steal the show in terms of customer service, that’s a problem, because the front desk is the face of the hotel. Every single interaction I had with the front desk was an uncomfortable one; no acknowledgment, even haughty glares when I’d come down for an order I had delivered, an unfriendliness when asking simple questions, attitudes that made no sense, and a sort of uninterested demeanor when they would answer the phone. The housekeeping and bell team, however, completely eclipsed the front desk staff with shining personalities and a warmth that made the dimly lit lobby feel inviting. A “good morning” or “hello” every single time I stepped out of that elevator bay, no matter how many times I was in and out that day throughout my three night stay. As a former front desk agent, I just really felt that the team manning the desk had zero enthusiasm or care, and almost made me feel as though my presence during my stay was an inconvenience to them, even though I hardly bothered them and only called once to ask for the checkout time and again to ask about how to split my bills into separate receipts. Also, we woke up today to the property attempting to charge my partner’s room + tax three times! A $5000 credit limit on a company card is now at a balance of $1200, which was nowhere near the cost of the three night stay. Knowing what I now know about this front desk staff, I’m already groaning at the thought of having to call them to rectify this billing issue. Aside from the service I received (or lack thereof), the rooms were extremely hot. I had my thermostat at 65° (the lowest setting) and was still boiling in my room all day long. It’s an old building and I wonder if it all runs on some sort of furnace system- but it’s not winter anymore! It was miserable trying to sleep in so much heat. Also, spare yourself the trip to the Cerise “bar”. The kids working the bar were extremely unplugged from their environment, hung around in groups on one end of the bar while poorly making an over-iced drink, and then returning to their cluster quickly to resume whatever conversations they were having. And there was an event going on, too! Not a good look. Overall, just a very poorly...

Let me start off by saying we travel A LOT and have never flown Virgin or stayed at a Virgin hotel. We're generally pretty set in our loyalty and rewards programs with others, but this experience has given me a whole new perspective!

We booked the hotel about 6wk in advance for a weekend in the city. It has good reviews, great location, and competitive pricing so we decided to go for it. When we arrived to check in, we discovered that we accidentally booked the hotel for the same night we made the reservation instead of the actual dates we needed a room. It was super stressful to arrive to the city, find parking, lug our bags to the hotel only to discover we didn't have a reservation!

The front desk staff was super understanding! They told us we were welcome to stop at the coffee shop, the second floor restaurant, or the rooftop bar while they figured some things out.

We stopped at the rooftop bar first and HOLY COW the views are amazing! Our bartender was super friendly and put on a great show while whipping up some fancy drinks. We didn't eat any food while we we're up there, but it looked and smelled great!

The building itself is something to behold! It was originally built to be a bank and office building just before the Great Depression. It has that incredible art deco architecture and infrastructure with modern decor that creates a super chic vibe.

When we came back to the front desk, Andrew informed us they'd be able to give us the same king suite we had booked 6wk ago, they didn't add ANY extra fees for the incorrect booking on our part, AND they were still willing to honor the $20 food/drink voucher we had a promo code for when we originally booked! What amazing customer service! They never seemed annoyed by the inconvenience we created and were so kind and accommodating throughout the process.

The room was really clean (something I have a detailed eye for). The little fridge in the room was old school unique looking and added a decorative pop. The amenities were plentiful - yoga mat, umbrella, hair dryer, soaps, shower caps, make-up station, satin padded hangers. The bathroom was huge with a Kohler cast iron tub. The full length mirror was helpful while getting ready. The widows were massive and had great views from the 20th floor. And we definitely appreciated the black-out blinds.

Bottom line - we would absolutely stay here again! Super cool accomodations, chic rooftop bar, and walking distance to many sites...