Review: Park Hyatt Chicago, Illinois

I recently had to be in Chicago for a couple of nights, and decided to stay at the 182-room Park Hyatt Chicago. I had stayed here many years ago, but not since the hotel reopened in 2022, following a $60 million renovation. In some ways, this is a “flagship” Hyatt property, given that Hyatt is based in Chicago, and this is the brand’s most premium property there.

So, how is the Park Hyatt Chicago? All-in-all, I was happy with my stay. The renovation is well done, the hotel has an excellent restaurant, bar, and lounge, and the gym and pool are quite nice. On top of that, the hotel has an ideal location.

It has everything you’d hope for from a luxury city hotel, though perhaps doesn’t have any “wow” factor. Then again, not many city hotels do. It’s perhaps not to the level of the Langham or the Peninsula, but at least you can earn and redeem points, and it’s often priced a bit more reasonably as well.

Booking the Park Hyatt Chicago

Long story short, initially I had booked my stay at the Park Hyatt Chicago with points. However, I then needed to slightly tweak the dates of my stay and there was no free night availability (because standard rooms weren’t available), so I ended up paying cash.

When it comes to redeeming World of Hyatt points, the Park Hyatt Chicago is a Category 6 World of Hyatt property, meaning that a free night costs either 21,000, 25,000, or 29,000 points, depending on whether you’re staying during off-peak, standard, or peak dates. I was staying over peak dates, so the stay would’ve cost 29,000 points per night. For what it’s worth, I value World of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each.

Even if you’re not a Hyatt loyalist, earning World of Hyatt points can be pretty easy. In addition to being able to earn World of Hyatt points with the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) and World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (review), you can also transfer over points from Chase Ultimate Rewards.

However, I ended up paying cash for my stay, due to the last minute change. The rate was around $500 per night, and I booked through the Hyatt Privé program. Hyatt Privé rates cost the same as standard flexible rates (not member rates, advance purchase rates, AAA rates, etc.), and include additional perks, like daily breakfast, a $100 property credit, a room upgrade, a welcome gift, and more.

Park Hyatt Chicago location

The Park Hyatt Chicago is located at 800 Michigan Avenue, in a 67-story high rise. The hotel takes up the first 18 floors of the building, with the rest of the tower being residential units (without Hyatt branding, so they’re fully separate entities).

The entrance to the Park Hyatt is located off Chicago Avenue, with a shiny gold and black entryway.

I’m by no means a Chicago expert, but in my opinion the location of this hotel can’t be beat, whether you’re traveling for business or leisure. It’s not just a central location, but it’s also across the street from a small park, so you’re facing greenery.

In fairness, many of the city’s top hotels are all within a few blocks, including the Four Seasons, Peninsula, Ritz-Carlton, etc.

Park Hyatt Chicago lobby & check-in

The Park Hyatt Chicago lobby area is pretty, and definitely feels more boutique than grand. As you enter the lobby, there are high ceilings and four huge pillars, and then a seating area straight ahead, with some cool art. Then the reception desk and concierge desk are located to the left.

Off the lobby there’s also a cozy seating area, which is very much decorated with a residential feel. So many hotels don’t have much non-commoditized lobby seating nowadays, so I appreciate spaces like this.

As I arrived at the hotel I was welcomed by one of the friendly bellmen, and walked inside and pointed to reception. There I was greeted by a front office associate, who checked me in at record speeds. Within less than a minute I knew all the basics about the property, and had keys in hand. Below is the welcome letter I received, on account of booking through the Hyatt Privé program.

I headed to the set of two elevators located on the opposite side of the lobby of reception.

Park Hyatt Chicago king bed city view deluxe room

I was assigned room 1410, located on the 14th floor, so it was toward the top of the hotel. Each floor only has around a dozen rooms, so it’s easy enough to find your room, and not much walking is required.

I had booked a king bed city view room, and as a World of Hyatt lifetime Globalist and Hyatt Privé guest, received a one category upgrade to a king bed city view deluxe room.

Based on the reports I’ve seen, the hotel is good about trying to upgrade guests, though in fairness, I had booked my stay just a few hours before arrival, and there were no better rooms or standard suites available (there were only specialty suites, which aren’t part of the upgrade pool).

The king bed city view deluxe rooms are marketed as being 380 square feet, so they’re about average when it comes to room size for a city hotel.

The room had a long entryway with the bathroom to the left, and the rest of the room straight ahead. I liked how the room had hardwood floors, though there was also a large carpet area in the center of the room, to give the space a warmer feel.

I thought the room had pretty luxurious finishes, and it had a substantial amount of furniture and decorations. I say that because often Park Hyatts have really minimalist design, while I found this to be a bit different than what I’m used to, but in a good way.

The room had an exceptionally comfortable king size bed, with a soft mattress and plush sheets.

While the room didn’t have a traditional desk, it did have a dining table that doubled as a workstation, and I think that’s a great solution that should please everyone. While it was sort of strange there was only one chair, there wasn’t really room for another one.

There was also some cute seating along the window, and I suppose someone could sit there while using the table.

The other side of the room had a wooden wall treatment setup, with a large TV. Next to this was a comfortable chair for lounging, plus a coffee table.

The minibar was along the interior wall of the room, and was quite large. There was a Nespresso coffee machine, tea, and a large selection of drinks and snacks for purchase.

The wall along the interior of the room had some panels that could be retracted, in the event that you want to open up the space between the bedroom and the bathroom.

The bathroom was pretty luxurious for a non-suite, with double sinks, a bathtub, a walk-in shower with two shower heads, and a toilet behind a frosted glass door.

Toiletries were in reusable containers, and were Le Labo’s Bergamote 22 collection, which I love.

As far as the room’s view go, I’d say the description was quite accurate, as it had a decent city view. The view from the hotel is much better in the other direction, as you’ll see in the below pictures from the restaurant.

About an hour after checking in, I had a welcome amenity delivered, which is a perk offered through Hyatt Privé (though often offered to all guests at luxury properties). I was super impressed at how imaginative and customized this was, as it was a setup so I could make my own dirty martini (my favorite alcoholic drink). Hah.

While I wasn’t planning on drinking that evening, I figured I had to put this to good use, so I made myself a drink. Huge kudos to the Park Hyatt for this creative welcome amenity!

Wi-Fi in the room was fast, and the tech setup was also otherwise generally good, from convenient charging points next to the bed, to electronic curtains and blinds.

I was pretty impressed by the room setup, though the one thing I’ll say is that the design didn’t necessarily feel that different from what you might get at one of the better newly built JW Marriott or Westin properties. Perhaps that’s just because this didn’t necessarily have the traditional Park Hyatt design, and maybe felt a bit more generic.

Park Hyatt Chicago gym, pool, and spa

All of the Park Hyatt Chicago’s wellness amenities are located on the seventh floor, which is also the floor on which you’ll find the hotel’s restaurant and bar.

For one, the hotel has a 24/7 gym. It’s a pretty good size, and has high-end, modern equipment, with plenty of cardio and strength training equipment. There are also Peloton bikes and a stair master.

The hotel also has a 25-meter indoor lap pool, which is a feature that I know many people like (I’m not a pool person, but to each their own). There’s also a hot tub, plus some seating around the pool.

The Park Hyatt also has NoMi Spa, offering a variety of treatments, and you can find the menu here. I didn’t get the sense that this was a destination spa, but rather it felt more like an afterthought, so that the hotel can say it has a spa. For example, the spa reception doesn’t really feel like a dedicated space, but instead is in the hallway leading to the gym and pool.

Park Hyatt Chicago NoMi Kitchen, Lounge, and Garden

Also on the seventh floor of the Park Hyatt is the hotel’s food and beverage outlets, which include NoMi Kitchen, NoMi Lounge, and NoMi Garden. The Park Hyatt deserves credit for this setup, because NoMi is a restaurant and bar that’s frequented by non-hotel guests, so it has quite a buzzing atmosphere. It’s always great when a hotel can pull that off, since it makes the space a bit more lively, and an actual asset to staying in the hotel.

NoMi Kitchen is a decent sized restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Water Tower, and Lake Michigan in the distance. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and you can find all the menus on this page. The restaurant is described as serving modern twists on midwestern classics, though as you’d expect, has a more traditional menu for breakfast.

Below is the view from NoMi Kitchen, which is a similar view to what you’ll get from many guest rooms. Pretty, eh?

I had breakfast here both mornings, and you can find the breakfast menu below.

It’s interesting to note the hotel’s policy for those who have breakfast included with their rate:

• World of Hyatt Globalist members receive one main course, one hot drink, and one cold drinks, with gratuity included
• Hyatt Privé guests receive up to a $60 credit based on double occupancy, with gratuity excluded
• In both cases, you can have breakfast either in the room or via in-room dining, though the delivery fee isn’t covered if you choose to not dine in the restaurant
• I’ve heard many reports that the hotel is often more generous than the published policy when it comes to removing breakfast charges, but of course that’s a case of “your mileage may vary”

I found the drip coffee at breakfast to be excellent, and one morning I also had the berry smoothie, which was delicious.

To eat, I had shakshuka the first morning, while I had the park omelette the second morning. Both dishes were delicious, and the servers in the restaurant were also really friendly. You typically only have so many service interactions at city hotels, but everyone I interacted with was friendly.

Beyond the restaurant, there’s also NoMi Lounge and NoMi Garden, which is essentially the hotel’s bar area. The bar has some creative cocktails, and you can find the drink list on this page.

The outdoor terrace is quite the unique amenity that you don’t find in many city hotels with climates like Chicago’s. So if you’re visiting during the right time of year, that’s a real treat. I ended up having drinks out here with some friends to use up my credit. Sorry, but I forgot to take pictures of the drinks… oops!

So yeah, I’d say the Park Hyatt Chicago has a well-rounded and cohesive food and beverage setup, and NoMi’s popularity with locals is a testament to how good it is.

Bottom line

I had a great stay at the Park Hyatt Chicago, and I was much more impressed than I was pre-renovation, as the hotel feels more modern and luxurious. There’s a lot to like about the property, from the central location, to the great restaurant and bar (including outdoor terrace), to the good gym and pool.

Now, is this some unbelievable hotel that you absolutely must stay at? No, it’s not. But then again, very few city hotels fall into that category, in my opinion. Still, I’d recommend this hotel if you’re a Hyatt loyalist, and/or if you’re looking for a luxury property in the city, and the value is right.

What’s your take on the Park Hyatt Chicago?