We checked out the Royal Sonesta Chicago River North and found a hotel that was in need of some TLC but is in a good location for public transit.

Disclaimer: This hotel stay was necessary as part of volunteering work I do related to the health care industry. While I did not pay for the room charges, the opinions contained in this post remain my own.

Booking the Royal Sonesta Chicago River North

Loyal readers would know that my volunteering work has taken me to a plenty of different destinations like Atlanta, Toronto, Tampa, and Phoenix. This time we ended up in Chicago for an extended weekend. We’ve always liked spending time in that city.

Our negotiated room rate for the weekend was $169/night before taxes without a destination fee to pay. That was an incredible rate, as room rates tend to be around $300/night with the destination fee included. However, the one downside is that I didn’t earn any points for the stay under the Sonesta Travel Pass program. Normally, the earn rate is 10 points/dollar, so I would have earned 1,690 points.

Of course, that wouldn’t have mattered much since the Royal Sonesta Chicago River North costs 30,000 points/night under Sonesta Travel Pass. In other words, I would have to stay here 18 nights at that rate to get one free night at that hotel. Ouch!

Destination fee

The Royal Sonesta Chicago River North charges a rather large $32/night resort fee that covers:

• $10 credit towards CBR
• Coffee and tea in the lobby in the morning
• Wi-Fi
• Two bottles of water
• Access to the fitness center
• Seasonal access to the Fresco Terrace, use of bicycles, and water refresh stations
• Use of indoor pool

I’ll let you decide on whether the benefits make up for the fee charged.

Earning Sonesta Points

Unfortunately, there’s not an easy way to earn plenty of Sonesta points at the moment. There was a credit card but it’s not accepting new applicants at the moment. Sonesta also isn’t a transfer partner of any major bank program. So the main way to get points at the moment is to stay in their hotels. That makes it a bit difficult to stay engaged with the chain.

Arrival and First Impressions of the Royal Sonesta Chicago River North

I arrived rather late into Chicago and took the “L” into town. One nice feature of the Royal Sonesta Chicago River North is its location next to the metro station (Grand). While it’s not the most convenient for coming in from O’Hare, it’s still good to be closer to the station than not.

I arrived at the hotel to find a small waiting area off to the side of the entrance. Frankly, it feels like they could do something better with the space but it just has a variety of seating.

You can ignore that area and just head straight over to the front desk. The check-in process was fairly straightforward. Since I don’t have any elite status with Sonesta, there wasn’t much information that the agent needed to pass along to me.

One thing I should call out is that the Royal Sonesta Chicago River North is strict with not allowing early check-in for free. Someone else from my group arrived before the standard check-in time and asked if he could check in. The agent confirmed a room was available but did not allow him into the room unless he paid $75 to check in.

I think that brings up an interesting discussion. Shouldn’t the early check-in fee be more for guaranteeing a space before you arrive? It sure seems like a cheap shot to have a room but hold it hostage until you pay more money.

Anyways…

The room

My room for this stay was up on the 10th floor in room 1015.

I should point out that this room is immediately next to the elevator. Typically I detest this location for hotel rooms, but it actually wasn’t loud. I didn’t hear the elevator at all from inside the room aside from the occasional conversation of passersby.

The bedroom

The first thing that struck my mind was that the decor was a bit dated. I’d say the main lobby didn’t look all that dated but being in the guest rooms is another story. On top of the decor, the carpet felt a bit grimy and I preferred to keep my shoes on as much as possible.

The bed was fine. It wasn’t too soft or too firm, but I would have preferred some better pillows. I also don’t like to have that decorative pillow on the bed since who knows when it was last cleaned?

There are some outlets by the lights, but it looks like it has taken a bit of a beating. The controls for the lights are also on the table and–go figure–the controls for each light in the room seemed to have a different setup. If you’re entering the room and it’s dark, it can be a challenge figuring out how to turn on the lights.

There is a chair and chaise for lounging in the room, but I never ended up using it.

Across from the bed is a rather dated entertainment unit with a (small) TV and a mini-fridge. This entertainment unit was the single biggest offender to the feng shui. But take that assessment with a grain of salt since I am not a professional when it comes to feng shui.

Also on the entertainment unit is a couple of bottles of water. The Evian water says it costs $7 but the Pure Life waters had no price. My assumption is these are the water bottles included in the destination fee, but I didn’t end up needing to drink them.

To the side of the entertainment unit is a small desk. Look at that reflection of the lamp on the desk. I think that makes it quite obvious that optical mice don’t work on it at all. But at least they have pieces of paper that I can use as a makeshift mouse pad.

The view from the room wasn’t bad. You don’t get any skyline but you do get a chance to people watch. I did hear street noise one of the nights I was here.

Bathroom

The bathroom felt as dated as it did in the bedroom, so at least it’s consistent. One interesting nuance in the bathroom is that the toilet paper dispenser is built into the vanity.

The shower setup is just OK with the shower/tub combo. However, both the water temperature and pressure were excellent and more than made up for the less-than-optimal setup. The shower is perhaps the best thing about the room.

Toiletries are from anatomicals, a brand I never heard of before. It’s fine enough but not one I’d go out of my way to buy.

Dinner at CBR

I wasn’t in the mood to get a fancy dinner on the first night I arrived, so I just went downstairs to CBR. There’s both a bar area and a few tables for the restaurant. Space is a bit of a premium here and so this restaurant is one of the smaller hotel restaurants I’ve been to in some time. I ended up dining at the bar instead.

The menu is focused on small plates and “handhelds”.

And, as you would expect, there is a decent variety of drinks.

I ordered the Quesabirria Tacos, which were good. It wasn’t as much cheese as I feared would be in the dish, but there was still plenty of cheese. The tacos are flavorful and I would be open to getting it again.

Brussel sprouts are one of my favorite vegetables, so of course I had to order the Crispy Brussel Sprouts. The dish met expectations, which is all I could hope for. Between the two dishes, it was a lot for one person to finish. But of course it’s hard to find the right balance when you eat alone–I think one dish might be not enough.

Odds and ends

I’m confused about this note that I found on someone else’s door. Was someone attempting to inform staff not to come in early? Or was it a reminder the staff placed on the room themselves so they know which room to come back to? Either way, it seemed strange to call it out.

Checking out the White Sox

While the Grand metro stop isn’t the best for going to the airport, it’s awesome for going to see the White Sox (no transfer necessary). And now that the Pope is a known White Sox fan, it could mean more interest in the team? Anyways, finding some time to check out a game is always a welcome experience. I grew up a baseball fan, so I enjoy catching a game every now and then.

The food at the stadium isn’t bad at all either. I particularly liked the food at Lucky’s, which was an Asian-fusion style of food. You could choose from Korean hot dogs and Hong Kong bubble waffles.

Any surprise that I chose both? Don’t bother getting the unicorn Korean dog. It’s way too sweet and not substantial–it just tastes like you’re eating marshmallows with some sticky sweet sauce and cereal. I wish I got a regular hot dog instead. But the Gochujang bubble waffle is perfection. The flavor is on point and it’s a filling dish. If you only get one thing on the menu here, get this. You won’t be disappointed.

Recommendation: No, unless the price is super low

I came away from this stay at the Royal Sonesta Chicago River North with the impression that the hotel needs a bit of a refresh. The guest rooms are a bit outdated, to put it nicely, and you can hear street noise from the 10th floor. It might be simple enough to say that money solves everything and that if you find an excellent price to stay here, you might want to consider it. But, yes, a great room rate might make you overlook things in much the same way that you expect more when it costs more.

On the plus side, I liked the location. I’m a big fan of public transportation and this hotel let me live out that particular fantasy.

Have you stayed at the Royal Sonesta Chicago River North before?

Suggested reading:

• Why You Need to Collect American Airlines Miles
• Cheap Upgrades: Why I’m Not Pursuing American Airlines Status
• Why You Need to Collect Iberia Avios