My wife and I recently used the free weekend night perk from my Hilton Aspire Card for a stay-cation at the beautiful Waldorf Astoria Chicago. This hotel offers the top-of-the-line luxury you expect of a Waldorf Astoria, but with an intimate, boutique feel. Originally developed as The Elysian, Hilton purchased the property in 2011 and converted it into a Waldorf Astoria.

The first thing you notice as you pull up to the hotel is that the property is set back from the street. The cobblestone courtyard is a quaint Parisian-style roundabout with a beautiful flower-surrounded fountain in the middle. This gorgeous entrance makes you feel like you’ve been transported to a Parisian mansion instead of a big city hotel.

Location

The Waldorf Astoria Chicago is located on East Walton Street, just a few steps from the nightlife on Rush Street and surrounded by many popular bars and restaurants. It’s also only a block from boutique shopping on Oak Street and a couple blocks from high-end shopping on Michigan Avenue. Also within walking distance are the Museum of Contemporary Art and Hancock Observatory.

Lobby

In additional to serving hotel guests, the building contains 51 private residences, so the amenities are shared between guests and condo owners. This gives much of the hotel a residential feel, including the lobby.

The bright lobby has tall ceilings and is filled with artwork, glass and elegant white marble. After entering the lobby, you’ll find reception to the right and the French patisserie, Petit Margeaux to the left.

Upon entering the hotel, the doormen greeted us warmly. While I made my way over to reception, the concierge started chatting with Annie. She shared some information and history about the hotel and let Annie know that she was available to help with anything we might need during our stay.

Meanwhile at reception, the front desk associate was extremely friendly and professional. He acknowledged my Diamond status, but unfortunately an upgrade wasn’t in the cards since the hotel was completely sold out.

The Room

Before we even got to our room, we took notice of how elegant the hallways were. Instead of looking like typical “hotel hallways”, this hotel’s halls look like what you’d expect to find in a new, ritzy downtown condo building.

Our room was located at one end of the hallway. So we snaked our way through the gorgeous halls and around a few corners until we got to our room.

A hotel staff member told us we were in one of the more recently renovated rooms. It featured an entry area with closet and mini-fridge, finished in beautiful dark wood cabinetry.

The room contained a very comfortable king-sized bed, dresser, flat-screen TV and desk.

One of the reasons we chose this hotel was that it’s dog-friendly. On the website, it says that dogs under 30 pounds are welcome with a $75 fee per stay. I had called ahead and they said we could bring our dog even though he’s twice the size of the weight limit. Annie and I were excited to share our stay-cation with our dog, Murray!

Service

About a week before our stay, the concierge emailed me to introduce herself. She asked if she could assist me in securing dining reservations, spa appointments, in-room amenities, or anything else. That really set the tone for the stay as the service throughout the hotel is impeccable.

During our stay, we called down to the front desk on two occasions. The first time, we asked for food and water bowls for Murray. When the hotel staff member showed up at our room, he also brought a dog toy and dog bed for Murray. The service for pets is just as good as for people!

The second time we called, we asked for glasses so that we could enjoy a bottle of sparkling wine we had brought from home. The hotel staff member who showed up this time loved dogs and especially liked Murray. She even joked that we could call her back up to the room when he needed to go out for a walk. She couldn’t have been nicer and asked us a few times if there was anything else we needed.

Every staff member we encountered gave really exceptional service. They make you feel like serving you makes them happy and so you don’t feel guilty or that you’re annoying the staff with your request.

Another thing you don’t have to worry about is tipping. The Waldorf Astoria Chicago’s no-tipping policy means gratuity for everything from your bellman’s assistance to the hotel’s personal concierge program are refused with a smile.

The Bathroom

The marble-splashed bathroom is large and features a vanity with double sinks. And the cabinetry is the same beautiful dark wood as in the main room.

There’s also a massive walk-in shower and soaking tub. The toilet is partitioned off from the rest of the bathroom, which is a nice feature.

Dining

The hotel has two restaurants onsite. Margeaux Brasserie is an upscale restaurant while Petit Margeaux is a smaller cafe and bakery.

Margeaux Brasserie

This is James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Mina’s first foray into the Chicago restaurant scene. Located on the hotel’s third floor, it serves traditional brasserie fare with an elevated menu highlighting bold flavors and locally-sourced ingredients. Signature dishes include starters such as duck wings and escargots, as well as entrees like steak frites, dover sole and braised beef short rib.

Petit Margeaux

Located next to the lobby, Petit Margeaux is a cafe and patisserie serving savory sandwiches and decadent pastries. On the savory side of the menu, highlights include tartines, sandwiches, salads and a quiche of the day. While on the bakery side, you’ll find sweet treats like French macarons, croissants, scones, muffins and cookies. To quench your thirst, the cafe serves espressos, hot and iced coffees and teas, as well as wine and beer.

While complimentary breakfast is a Hilton Diamond status benefit, the Waldorf Astoria Chicago does not offer a free breakfast buffet. Instead, the hotel gives a $15 food credit per person per day.

On Sunday morning, we took Murray for an hour long walk on a raw, windy, 40 degree “spring” day. When we got back to the hotel, we both wanted to warm up quickly. So Annie ordered a hot tea and I ordered a hot chocolate. Both drinks were comped on the final bill as the total was under $15 per person.

Miscellaneous

The hotel has a gym, a full-service spa and blowout salon. While we didn’t use any of those amenities, we did walk through the space to check them out.

The gym is really big with lots of modern equipment. There was also a small lap pool, which is a nice touch for those looking for a low impact workout. The health club also offers Pilates, gyrotonics classes, kick boxing, aqua aerobics and more. There’s also a hot tub and sauna.

Another neat amenity the hotel offers is a Mercedes-Benz house car that will drive guests anywhere within a two-mile radius of the hotel.

Bottom Line

All in all, the hotel really lives up to the standards you’d expect of a Waldorf Astoria. It’s a gorgeous hotel with outstanding service. The only negative for me is the lack of complimentary breakfast. I would much rather have a delicious breakfast buffet instead of the $15 food credit.

One final note about our particular stay was the surprise on the final bill. When I reviewed the bill a few days after our stay, I noticed that we had not been charged the $75 dog fee. This was the Waldorf’s final gift of great service and it brought the total amount spent on our one night stay-cation to zero!

Trip Report Index

1. Using My Hilton Annual Free Night in Chicago
2. Waldorf Astoria Chicago