Ritz Carlton, Chicago 2020
As everyone alive knows, 2020 is the year of doom, with the economy crashing, the lethal virus circling the globe, and general unpleasantness. In the midst of that, hotel rates began to absolutely tank. Well, when one gets the chance for a suite for under $250 at the Ritz Carlton, one such as myself takes advantage of that opportunityArrival
I drove in from Minnesota, a decent 6 hour trip, as I was not sure if airlines or trains would be running on any given day, and had high faith that gas stations would still be open. The traffic was non-existent except one guy from Ohio when I got off the interstate downtown, who had to stop at every street to see if that was the one he needed.The Room
I had been upgraded without even asking for it. (It's a Ritz, and they are trained a bit better than anywhere else in the Marriott brands). The front desk agent informed me I would be staying in - the Watertower Suite, and it had just been re-done. I'm like cool. I don't recall seeing that one on the web page, so I wondered what it was about.I get to the end of the hallway where there is a doorway leading to the room hall. Nice, that's a really good sign. I open the door and thought, "Hmm, ok, it's not bad", then I turn to the right and see the crazy guest bath area, and to the left the bedroom and the master bath. Wow, yes. $1000 suite on the bargain rack.
In Lockdown
Chicago was in lockdown mode due to the virus, so I was basically in the room the entire time. Room service was the order of the day. Since the guest count in the hotel was a whopping 20, and with the other restrictions in place, the menu was a bit limited, but still had some great options. The burger was absolutely delicious and flavorful. The fries were ok, but man, the burger was really surprising.The omelet was good, but I always find them a little dry. This one wasn't terribly overcooked but still not as fluffy as I'd like.
The second night, I ordered in Gino's deep dish, cause... Chicago. It did NOT disappoint. It did take over an hour, but they cook them perfectly.
The next morning I went for the eggs to order breakfast. I'm going to have to find a better way to describe how I want my eggs. No matter where I go, they always seem to cook the yolks too much. That's my issue, if you're not as picky as me, you shouldn't have any trouble.
Room service is not cheap. I won't go into the details but I almost matched my room rate on the food. It was a very elegant experience actually, and I have in my life never had so much room service. Usually I never have room service. I decided in this scenario it was required, so the sticker shock was moderated by that.