My husband, daughter, and I recently took a road trip from Houston to Chicago. There are so many hotels from every brand imaginable in Chicago, so when we decided to stay downtown for four nights, I had quite a difficult decision to make. Ultimately, I decided on the Thompson Chicago. Here’s what we thought in my Thompson Chicago Review.

 

The Redemption

The Thompson Chicago is a Category 4 Hyatt hotel. That means you can either redeem 15,000 Hyatt points/night for standard award nights or a category 1-4 Hyatt free night certificate.

My husband and I each had two category 1-4 free night certificates in our Hyatt accounts, so I knew I wanted to stay at a category 4 or below. It’s rare to find Thompson hotels that are category 4, so we’d get amazing value from our certificates at the Thompson Chicago. I was right!

We called Hyatt to book our stay so that my husband could gift his free night certificates to me. The representative booked all four nights under my account as part of a single reservation. We redeemed our four category 1-4 free night certificates and paid $0 out of pocket for our stay!

 

The Location

The Thompson Chicago is located in the Gold Coast area of Chicago. I loved the location. There were lots of cute restaurants surrounding it. It was close enough to walk to some of the sites like the Magnificent Mile but far enough away not to be in the super crowded touristy areas.

I prefer to be removed from the tourist areas when I travel, and I thought the Thompson’s location was perfect. Chicago is also well connected by public transportation, making it easy to get around to all the different attractions.

 

The Rooms

We booked a standard two double beds room (yes, doubles—not my fave). The night we checked in, the hotel was completely sold out because the Beyonce concert was that evening. We actually really liked the two double rooms, but the next afternoon, I asked about possibly moving to a standard suite (thanks to my Globalist status).

They had a junior suite available for the rest of our stay and were more than happy to accommodate our request. We walked in and…wow! The junior suite was stunning. I got to enjoy a king bed, and they set up a rollaway bed for our daughter. The walls of windows and views were amazing!

Both rooms had amazing rainfall showers. I honestly don’t understand how the Thompson Chicago is only a category 4, but I won’t question it too much because it’s an absolute steal!

 

 

 

 

The Food

We had breakfast at the Thompson each morning, and it was fabulous! Globalists have the option of having breakfast at the Thompson’s restaurant, Nico, or via room service. Room service is my love language, so we opted for that most mornings (though we did eat at the restaurant one morning).

My picky 10-year-old struggled to find options she liked, though. They don’t have a kid’s menu, and no cereal or chocolate chip pancakes, which are her go-to. She ended up having a couple of scrambled eggs or fruit each morning. It was fine, but some more kid-friendly options would have made it even better.

I, on the other hand, did not struggle to find options that sounded (and tasted) good.

 

 

Bottom Line

My Thompson Chicago Review is that I would not hesitate to stay at the Thompson Chicago again. The location, service, rooms, and food were all fabulous. For a category 4 Hyatt, it’s a heck of a deal. The rooms could be a challenge for larger families. Our two double beds room would have been tight for a family of four, and families of five+ would need two rooms. If you have a large family and aren’t interested in getting two rooms, the Hyatt Place Chicago/Downtown-The Loop would be a good option.

Have you visited Chicago? What’s your favorite part of the city to stay in?