The Peninsula Chicago

The Peninsula Chicago is an outstanding hotel with impeccable service. Everyone from the doorman, to the front desk and housekeeping go above and beyond to be sure all of your needs are accommodated. The rooms are spotless, elegant and comfortable. We will definitely stay again.

Sometimes, it’s in the most unexpected, chaotic moments that a hotel shows its true spirit, and The Peninsula Chicago absolutely delivered when I needed it the most. I found myself stranded in Chicago due to severe thunderstorms, which grounded all flights and left O’Hare in disarray. I had just wrapped up a vacation and was on a connecting flight home when everything came to a halt. With things spiraling—canceled flights, lost luggage, and a long night ahead—I remembered I had seen the image of The Peninsula Chicago before on the TV of The Peninsula Beverly Hills and now decided to try it. I booked it around 7:30 PM from my vacation spot, desperate for some stability. Fast forward to 3:00 AM, exhausted and without my suitcase, I arrived at The Peninsula, and immediately, the weight of the night began to lift. Matthew at the reception greeted me with genuine warmth and calm. Despite the hour and the circumstances, he welcomed us with the grace and professionalism that only the Peninsula brand could deliver. He personally helped escort us to the room, making what felt like a disaster melt into a moment of comfort. The room, as always with the Peninsula, was spotless, refined yet supremely comfortable. Every detail, from lighting to linens, speaks of thoughtful luxury. The next day, I had the pleasure of dining at Shanghai Terrace. The food was exquisite, a celebration of Chinese regional cuisines, elevated with precision and elegance. Our server, Max (possibly a manager), was exceptional. He mentioned he’s been with the Peninsula for over 20 years, and it shows in his gracious, intuitive service. He was not only professional but kind, which made the meal even more memorable. Due to the luggage delays from the airport (our bags took 5 hours longer than the promised delivery), the front desk kindly extended our check-out time. This small gesture made a huge difference during a frustrating wait. Unfortunately, we eventually had to leave to catch another flight, still bag-less. But the story didn’t end there. In a twist of fate, our Uber driver, Ali, turned out to be a former Peninsula employee of 15 years. His Peninsula-trained patience and poise were evident as he helped us track down the elusive delivery guy, secure our bags, and get us to the airport with just 60 minutes to spare. A true angel in disguise. My family has been loyal to the Peninsula, from Shanghai to Los Angeles and now Chicago. When there’s a Peninsula in the city, it’s not a question, it’s the only choice. This experience, though born from chaos, reminded me why: The Peninsula is not just a hotel. It’s a sanctuary. A constant. A place where people truly care. I’m writing this review on TripAdvisor because it is the one that represents reviews on Apple Maps when searching for The Peninsula Hotel Chicago. Thank you, Peninsula Chicago, for turning a travel nightmare into something I will always remember with gratitude.

We had the pleasure of staying at the Peninsula over the weekend. We were kindly greeted by a lovely associate shout out to Eliza. Our smart room was well appointed ,very large with an extremely comfortable bed. Something else I appreciate is good lighting throughout the room ,and this did not disappoint. We attended two separate affairs in the hotel. The service throughout was exceptional . We also spent time in the peaceful, lovely spa. I can’t say enough about this hotel and the staff . We will return.

Beautiful hotel. Didn’t stay overnight. I’m sure the rooms are gorgeous though. My date and I went to the bar, Z Bar. We weren’t greeted by anyone as we walked into and through the hotel. We thought that was odd. To be fair, my bias is towards a Four Seasons Hotel experience. Maybe the Peninsula is a nice hotel but maybe they don’t place such a high stress on the initial welcoming of guests into their building. I don’t know. We weren’t treated poorly, by any means, though. Definitely a cool and beautiful bar. The aesthetics and zibes are cool. Definitely worth it for a unique bar experience. Let’s get right to it… Overall, it didn’t hit like I had hoped The service was fine. Not bad, just not great. It’s expensive. Not a bad thing. It’s the Peninsula, mind you. Great spot for a celebration or a date night. My martini was fine. I felt like my martini was made by a bartender at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was made sloppily and lacked the sophisticated nuances that a martini from The Peninsula should come with. To be fair, they do have a cool cocktail menu. They have a bar eats and a whole dining room too. It’s absolutely a vibe up at the Z Bar. Would I go back, absolutely. I just expected a higher level of service and hospitality given it’s The Peninsula, and because you’re paying more. But here, you just pay more. Shout out to Julia, at the host stand. She was very nice and helpful.

A beautiful five star hotel with a one star experience. (If you don’t want to read the full review, feel free to skip and just book your stay at the Langham instead) This was our third stay at the Peninsula in under two months. Each stay during this period had been a steady decline, but this was unfortunately the deal breaker. Last stay, upon arrival, we found out that the pool was closed due to maintenance. It was odd that we had not been informed prior, but no big deal as we were working and without kids. They said it would be complete at the end of January. The next time we were in Chicago, we stayed elsewhere because of this, but for break, we were back to the Peninsula for a fun mid-winter elementary school break with our boys. I had my husband call just to make sure everything was all set. That’s when we found out the pool was still under maintenance. They confirmed it was supposed to be done at the end of January, but the new date was pushed to the end of February. They said it would be open from 4-6. We debated even coming. It was going to feel like -14 outside, so we had planned to use the hotel amenities. We called to confirm we could get a PlayStation in the room because last time that was promised, but it ended up not being there (there were zero welcome amenities). We decided to splurge this time and buy the Camp Peninsula package. We were quoted a price on voicemail and when we called back, they quoted us with a higher price. We sucked up the frivolous bill and were so excited to surprise the boys. We had them wait in the lobby and told them there would be a big surprise. I had my husband confirm at check in, because, well, the Peninsula has trouble keeping promises. They said it was ready. Our kids ran up and were greeted with a tent, 3 small treats leftover from Valentine’s Day, 1 soda and a small bowl of popcorn. It was cute. What we were really excited for was the breakfast. When we asked what was included in an “American breakfast,” as stated on their site as a park of the Camp Peninsula package, they said, we would not get that. We were paying $500 to simply have a used old tent in our room. FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. The MANAGER, Paul, lacked any poise and stated that was a good deal and we should actually pay DOUBLE. We asked them to remove the $500 tent and we replaced it with a much nicer cot. Huge hospitality fail. Not just in the situation, but how unprofessionally and nastily it was handled. Anything can be kindly explained, (even though this one still isn’t making sense). This was certainly not the experience. Zero kindness, zero understanding, only arrogance. It was shocking. He must have known, so maybe to apologize, they came to our room at 10:16pm when we were all in bed, all lights off and with the privacy light definitely on. They rang anyways. My kids all woke up startled. My husband put on clothes to answer the door. It was one glass of milk, two cookies and sprinkles. It was cute, except now my whole family was wide awake. We all had trouble going back to sleep and obviously didn’t eat treats that late at night, so that was most definitely not worth it. They also said it was just a customary welcome to the hotel gesture, so not an apology? We stay in Chicago an average of 30-50 days a year. Chicago is our home away from home. I’m disappointed that I referred so many people to the Peninsula. 3 families already came here as a result of our prior recommendation. I’m definitely regretting that. The Langham is where you really want to be. They have a movie theater, kids room, a rewards program, a welcome amenity, their own pink car, a beautiful pool and spa and all kinds of treats for children. They address guests by name, and make you feel welcomed and relaxed. I don’t know if they have a tent, but I do know that you can order one to your room to keep forever for $20 or less, literally, I just checked, it just won’t be used and won’t have a bear on it. P.S. They never apologized and left the $500 2ish hour “tent rental charge” on our room when we went to check out Also of note, the valet employees are so nice and so is the housekeeping