We stayed one night at the Thompson hotel in Chicago’s Gold Coast. This was a spontaneous night away from home, as I realized I had a free night certificate for a Hyatt hotel, due to expire in December.
Hotel and Check-in
The hotel is nested next to a bunch of restaurants in one of the most liveliest parts of town. Check-in was quick and efficient and probably took less than two minutes. The overall lobby is small, but blends in nicely with the bar, which is straight ahead when you are walking in.
Thanks to my hotel status through the credit card, we were also able to get a 2 pm checkout the next day.
One other nice thing was that they had reached out by text message before check-in and I was able to communicate directly with the hotel. They were super responsive when I requested extra pillows in the room, which were there when we arrived.
Room
We were on the 13th of 21 floors. The room was very spacious with a king bed, a glass desk and a swanky built-in couch on the side. There was also a gigantic mirror as big as a bed on the wall over the couch…not necessarily my favorite.
The room had a nice layout and feeling to it with some decent views.
The star of the room, however was the large bathroom that had a huge rain shower. Pictures sometimes do say a thousand words.
There was a weird light fixture on the side of the room and am still not sure if this is art or just a lazy light.
Lobby and bar
As mentioned earlier, the check in area was to the left of the entrance. Straight ahead were a couple of couches and chairs. There was also a fireplace, which will be nice in a cold Chicago winter. Beyond that was a staircase going up to the second floor with second bar and meeting rooms. Past the staircase, it opened up into the cool bar area. The area had a very tall ceiling and seating left and right from the bar. Behind the bar they had Ivy, which gave this bar an grand feeling. Overall, it was a very cozy set up with plush couches and intimate low lighting. The service was great and the cocktails/beer on point. We had some spicy mixed nuts, which was a great snack before dinner.
Cost
I used a free night certificate I receive for being a Chase Hyatt credit card holder. The annual fee on the card is $75, but has recently increased to $95. I have had this card for years for this specific benefit, as I have been able to use year after year. Like when I used it for a college football weekend.
Still for a hotel that otherwise would be $240 before taxes, I’d consider that a great deal.
Summary
It is pretty awesome that Hyatt added these Design hotels to their loyalty program which allowed us to stay at the Thompson. The hotel is not your normal chain hotel; with some great charm, unique features, and spacious and interesting rooms. We truly enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to anyone visiting Chicago.
I’ll bet that hotel bar makes a great old fashioned! Very pretty images.