Michael Brown

Review of Waldorf Astoria Chicago

I can see how this hotel ranks so highly. I absol...

I can see how this hotel ranks so highly. I absolutely loved my last stay here which was a year ago. I will not be back thanks to the treatment we received this weekend.

Saturday night was my wedding. My wife reserved two suites which due to a conference in town we paid for one of them even though it was empty the first night.

On the day of our wedding my wife requested a late checkout for a second room we had which was for the groom (me) and my groomsmen to get dressed in. She was told by the front desk and then by a manager that they would not accommodate us. Despite her pleases (from a bride, on her wedding day) they continued to refuse.

Then comes the unbelievable part. As I dress in my tux and rush to get out of the room (and find somewhere to kill a few hours in a tux on a warm Chicago day) THEY SEND SOMEBODY TO MY ROOM TO KICK ME OUT OF MY ROOM, ON MY WEDDING DAY. OVER 5 MINUTES. I still can't believe we paid $700 a night for that privilege.

To top it all off, my wife wanted our photographer to get pictures of her leaving the hotel and heading to her wedding. The management stopped our photographer to inform them that we weren't allowed to take pictures because we weren't having our wedding at the hotel.

Our original plan was to stay at the Four Seasons, we should have followed through. The level of service we received from management and front desk staff was completely unacceptable for a hotel at this price range. This absolutely would not have happened at the Four Seasons which is where I would suggest somebody stay if they are looking in this price range. Their staff is trained to find solutions to guest problems, and I promise they would never harass a bride on her wedding day.