Chicago, Illinois / Westin River North

December 2018, weekend, 1-night, king executive suite #2015

River view from living room window in Westin suite #2015

Gold perks and check-in

We took the Amtrak to Union Station in Chicago from Grand Rapids, Michigan early in the morning. I was amazed when I received a notification en route telling me our room was ready at 7:30 AM! Our scheduled arrival time was 9:08 AM, and we had a tour booked for 11AM. We had anticipated having to leave our luggage with a bellman, if we could not access the guestroom before the tour.

We walked directly to the hotel after we arrived, which is about a 20-minute walk (just over a mile). The agent recognized my status and thanked me for being a loyal member. He provided club lounge hours, and he said we had been approved for 4PM late checkout.

Living room in suite 2015

King executive suite #2015

This guestroom is located on the top floor just down the hall from the executive club lounge. Looking at the guestroom diagram, 2023 looks like the only suite with a better view on this floor. Suite 2020 looks like a larger room across the hall with a similar view.

Westin River North suite 2015

This suite is spacious and comfortable. I could not find specific photos for this suite on the hotel website. When I made the reservation, the room description said: Deluxe King Suite. Details listed the room as 900 sq. ft. with club lounge access. 

Entrance foyer with closet and wet bar

I have included a few photos of the guestroom in this blog post, and here is a link to more photos by Oyster.com. The only difference between their photos and our guestroom, is that there was no minibar or steamer when we were there. The small fridge in their living room photo was in the wetbar cupboard (photo above) where the minibar had been previously located.

Guestroom diagram

A large flatscreen TV was set on a large armoire across from the sofa in the living room. The entrance closet contained hangers. A safe and extras, like the iron and luggage rack, were located in the bedroom closet.

Bedroom view from bathroom in suite 2015

The river was visible from the seat at the desk, and from the chaise lounge in the bedroom.

View from bedroom toward bath

The bed and pillows were super comfy with good quality linens. We did not hear any noise from outside the guestroom except when a loud siren was going by outside.

Bathroom in suite 2015

The bathroom was superb. Spacious, beautiful, fantastic shower and tub! More towels and bathrobes were provided in the area across from the shower. Just about any personal hygiene and beauty item you can think of was supplied. There was even a newly wrapped loofah pad in the shower.

Bathroom in suite 2015

Bathroom in suite 2015

Executive club lounge

The executive lounge has large windows with an excellent view of the river. Key access to the lounge was available 24 hours. It was open with hot breakfast and hot evening foods on the weekends. Alcoholic beverages were available for purchase from the attendant in the evening. Wine by the glass was the same cost as Happy Hour in the lobby bar.

Evening cold foods in executive club lounge

Breakfast foods included fresh fruits, yogurt, cereals, breads, and hot items. Evening foods included fresh salad, fruits, cheeses, and more. Unfortunately, I do not recall the details of the hot evening food offerings. I remember that everything was good quality and fresh.

320 River Bar patio

320 River Bar

We visited the lobby bar during Happy Hour. Happy Hour included discounts on select wines, beers, basic cocktails, and food items. The house merlot was Canyon Road. Patrons near us had fish tacos, which looked delicious. We had tuna sushi and beverages.

Sushi at 320 River Bar during Happy Hour

The service and quality was excellent. Seating was comfortable at the bar, and at the tables.

Misc. and overall

We were very happy with the guestroom and service at this hotel, and we would choose to stay here again. We had booked a fabulous AAA rate, and I noticed that the room rates vary quite a bit for different dates depending [apparently] on how full the hotel is.  The Westin is in an excellent location to access north and south downtown areas. We walked quite a bit during our stay, and I will have another post soon with more Chicago information. We visited John Hancock Center, Underground Pedway Tour, dining/Happy Hours, Art on the Mart, and more.

View of River Roast from Chicago Riverwalk

Let me know if you have any questions! As always, feel free to share this post.