Hotel Review: Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago

If you happen to haven’t heard about Selection Lodges’ current acquisition of Radisson Lodges Americas, here is a key element: It has opened some new factors redemption potentialities.

Radisson has some unimaginable properties inside the Americas, and the acquisition has made it a lot simpler to redeem factors for stays. That is the most important motive I booked the Radisson Blu Aqua Lodge Chicago for my current keep within the Windy Metropolis.

As a five-star property, it’s pretty expensive. Nevertheless, it was such an excellent deal on factors that it made no sense to e book anyplace else. Fortunately, the lodge turned out to be as good because it appeared on-line. Let’s discuss it on this overview.

I’ve made such a giant fuss concerning the reserving that I really feel compelled to guide with this as a result of — and I don’t say this frivolously — this is absolutely the largest steal in Chicago.

Nevertheless, rooms price simply 50,000 Radisson factors per evening. Because of the Selection acquisition of Radisson, Selection factors convert to Radisson at a 1:2 ratio, which implies 1 Selection Privileges level turns into 2 Radisson factors.

I stayed for 2 nights on the Radisson, which got here out to 25,000 Citi factors for the keep. The money price for the lodge would have been $1,008.98, which implies I redeemed these factors for 4.04 cents every. That is far above FinanceGrabber’s valuation of most lodge factors.

Greater than this, nevertheless, I additionally managed to spend simply 25,000 factors for a two-night keep in central Chicago. This beats the charges you’ll discover with different lodge chains, together with Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott.

The Radisson Blu Aqua Lodge Chicago has a superb location for vacationers. After I arrived, there wasn’t a single occasion through which I wanted to make use of a automotive or different type of transit. The lodge is near Navy Pier, Millennium Park, the Riverwalk promenade and tons of different vacationer sizzling spots.

I’ve no elite standing with Radisson, which meant I anticipated nothing in the best way of advantages. Think about my shock, then, once I discovered that my award reserving had been upgraded to the top-tier Government Queen room with a balcony. I do not know why, however I’m not complaining.

The room was spacious, and since I used to be staying with a good friend, we opted for separate beds. The room additionally had a desk with a chair.

We had been on the highest flooring, which offered an fascinating drawback with the balcony. Particularly, it was nice to look at by way of the window, however its wavy design and the whipping wind made it just a little too terrifying to really go outdoors.

There was a big tv on one wall; the TV labored effectively for Netflix however errored out for an hour straight after we tried to make use of different streaming apps.

There was additionally a large closet, which included an ironing board, a hair dryer and a protected.

The room felt freshly renovated, which was particularly good within the rest room.

I additionally appreciated the big selection of toiletries accessible.

Nevertheless, if I’ve to lodge a single grievance, it’s this: The room had no carpeting, which meant each sound echoed.

That isn’t usually a difficulty for me, nevertheless it actually was for my good friend once I arrived at 1 a.m. and tried to tiptoe throughout the huge, cavernous area.

As a result of I acquired no elite advantages, akin to free breakfast, I averted the restaurant choice within the lodge. The one selection accessible, the FireLake Grill Home and Cocktail Bar, seemed to be standard for a sit-down breakfast, lunch or dinner, in addition to drinks. The restaurant is on the bottom flooring and is open the next hours:

• 8 a.m. to eight p.m. Sunday to Monday.

• 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.

The Radisson Blu Aqua Lodge Chicago is a metropolis lodge however nonetheless has facilities like massages, a health middle and swimming pools.

I’m unsure what number of of us are utilizing these facilities as a result of the vast majority of the company appeared to be vacationers or enterprise vacationers, however there are two swimming pools accessible on the lodge. Each are lap swimming pools, although the out of doors one is seasonal.

The lodge additionally has a fitness center with loads of cardio tools, together with treadmills, stair climbers and ellipticals. It even options an indoor basketball court docket.

There isn’t an official spa accessible on the lodge, however the Radisson has partnered with an area therapeutic massage firm to arrange massages in your room.

The pricing is just a little steep, nevertheless it was good to know the choice was there.

Chicago has two airports inside its metropolis limits: O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) and Halfway Worldwide Airport (MDW). It’s easy to fly into these airports as a result of they’re effectively related all through america.

If you happen to’re trying to redeem factors, ORD is a hub for United Airways, so that you’ll have the ability to discover loads of each day flights irrespective of the place you’re positioned. MDW is a hub for Southwest, so for those who’re all in favour of bringing a bag, it may be a greater guess as a result of all passengers get two checked luggage without cost on Southwest.

I flew into ORD late at evening, and somewhat than take care of a practice and even Uber, I opted for a taxi proper out of the bags declare space. It price me $50 however was value it for the comfort.

As a result of it was so late, the 18-mile journey took solely about 25 minutes. If you happen to journey through the day, look forward to finding site visitors, particularly throughout rush hour.

I enormously loved my keep on the Radisson Blu Chicago, primarily as a result of it’s a pleasant lodge with an excellent location.

Nevertheless, even when it had been solely middling at finest, I’d nonetheless come again. There’s merely no different motive to remain elsewhere once I pays 12,500 factors per evening for a five-star lodge within the metropolis middle.

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(Prime picture by Carissa Rawson)