Review Four Seasons Chicago
This is post two of a ten part series of Chicago hotels reviews. Links to other hotel reviews are below. During lockdown from November 2020-March 2021 I took some staycations. At the time hotels were offering insanely low rates plus I had some accumulated free nights.
Pretty much everything in all hotels were closed at that time so I won’t be reviewing too many amenities. You can check the link to the hotel for more details. I also don’t discuss decor because I don’t care about that. When I travel I care about location, price and cleanliness. That is I want a clean room close to transit and all the things I want to do at a reasonable price.
Review Four Seasons Chicago
Where: Four Seasons Chicago, 120 East Delaware Place (312) 280-8800 . It’s located on the 30th to 46th floors of the 900 N. Michigan building. You can enter on Delaware or through the 900 N. Michigan Mall via a separate elevator to the Four Seasons. Hotel tax in Chicago is 17.4%. I stayed for three nights in late-November 2020.
Summary
This is a great location to be based at when visiting Chicago. The hotel is located a half block west of Michigan Ave with easy access to transit, restaurants at all price points, shopping, museums, the lakefront and Navy Pier.
Elevator lobby at Delaware entrance
This is the lobby in June 2021
Lobby area newly renovated
The Four Seasons started renovating the common areas of the hotel in September 2019 and were closed the entire month of January 2020. The new lobby is gorgeous but lacks any outdoor space. The rooms were renovated a couple years ago. I booked a City-view room. Looking out at the Lake at night is just looking into a black hole. I booked through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts and was upgraded to a junior suite. They must have ballistic windows or something because I didn’t hear anything outside. The hotel originally opened in 1989.
I requested the microwave. Rooms also have an excellent fancy K-cup machine.
Hotel amenities
Everything in the hotel was closed except the fitness center, locker room, the pool and the spa. The Kids Club was closed but babysitting services were available. When I was checking in there was a family checking in in front of me. They have an app you can use to communicate with hotel. The hotel is pet friendly.
Dining and Room Service
Adorn, the hotel restaurant and bar, was closed when I was there. I checked it out in June 2021. They make an excellent cocktail that was $16 plus tax and tip. During my stay I received dining credit by booking through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts. As expected it wasn’t cheap but it was excellent. In addition to food costs and 11.75% tax there is an 18% service fee (This is the tip) and a $5 delivery charge. The credits covered all my food for three days.
Other amenities
Some Four Seasons assign you a butler and offer a car service with a mile or so range. Neither of these were available in November 2020. The Four Seasons is part of 900 N Michigan Avenue mall. There is an entrance to the mall on the 7th floor. You can dine at Aster Hall which as of October 2021 is partially open. Another option Hendrickx Belgian Bakery, has excellent muffins, croissants, coffee etc. located across the street on Walton.
Room amenities
They offer complementary mini-bar fridges and microwaves (first come, first served) which you have to request at check-in. I requested mine in advance through the app and they were installed when I arrived.
Centrally located
The 900 N. Michigan mall is in the building and Water Tower Place is one block southeast. The buses going down Michigan Avenue go to all the main attractions. Head south (CTA buses 147, 151) to Shops at North Bridge, Grant and Millennium Parks and the Art Institute. Take the (CTA 146 bus) south to the Museum Campus and Soldier Field (CTA bus 146). Take the (CTA bus 151) north to Lincoln Park Zoo, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the Lincoln Park Conservatory.
To get to Navy Pier walk south to Chicago Avenue and take the CTA bus 66. To get to Wrigley Field or Guaranteed Rate Field walk three blocks west on Chicago to State Street to the Red Line Station. Warning: This CTA station (Chicago and State) has a ton of crime in and around the station so I do not recommend going anywhere near it at night.
To get to the Lakefront Trail and Oak Street Beach walk one block north to Oak and Lake Shore Drive to the underpass under Lake Shore Drive. Do not go along the Lakefront, Beach or Lakefront Trail at night. Ohio Street Beach is one block west of Navy Pier.
Booking hotels
The Four Seasons does not have a points earning hotel loyalty program. But if you set up an account they will send you emails with deals. At the time I booked they were offering the 3rd night free which was also available through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts.
Always click on the Offers, Deals, Specials, etc. tab on every hotel website to find current deals. Log in to your account when you’re searching. Read all the terms and conditions before booking including the terms for changing and cancelling. Some hotels offer prepaid rates. I never book those. Regardless of how attractive the “no cancellations” rate is don’t do it! There are too many uncertainties, especially now, and you don’t want to lose your money.
Check your rates after booking
Whenever I plan a trip I continually check my room rates up until I can no longer cancel. You’d be surprised how many times the rates go down. In normal times you can just call the 800 number and get them to change the rate. If your reservation allows changes call. 99% of the time I make a new reservation online and then cancel the old one online.
Four Seasons website and app
The Four Seasons (FS) website does not have a “flexible stay” search option like Marriott and Hilton. For example online flexible stay options allow you to search for a two night stay on any days in a particular month so you can find the cheapest rate. With Four Seasons you have to search day-by-day. Generally weekends are more expensive than weekdays. To my surprise they emailed the day before my stay and told me to use their app to check-in. I did not know they had an app. I used the app to communicate with the hotel during my stay.
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