The Room Is How Much?

In December I had some work in downtown Chicago and my client suggested I stay at one of the two W Hotels in the city. I’d never stayed at a W Hotel before and I admit that I was pretty excited. They have a reputation for being a bit edgy, avant-guard, and cool.

I checked into the WChicago – City Center pretty late in the evening. The lobby was as hip-happenin’ as I expected. From the music style, low lights, and pulsing energy, you could tell it was a younger crowd. The design guaranteed if you weren’t cool you wouldn’t be hanging around downstairs for long.

(Actually I’ve never understood the sitting in the hotel lobby unless you’re waiting for someone, but that’s another post.)

Since my Northern Wisconsin travel clothes and gray hair marked me as not one of the beautiful people, I headed up to my room. Opening the door, I registered that the room was SMALL and DARK – not unusual for a downtown, metropolis hotel. Looking for and turning on all the available light switches didn’t take long. My search took me to the critical convenience – the bathroom, which I used. Where, I wondered was the toilet paper. A few minutes of fruitless searching uncovered nothing except the box of Kleenex. Fortunately that worked okay.

Now I was challenged. You can’t tell me that the W Hotel forget to put a toilet paper roll in their bathrooms. When I finally found it, I realized that being a hotel room designer didn’t actually take intelligence or common sense. Since I was certain no one would believe me, I used the camera on my Treo to document the situation. Pictures can speak louder than words! 

So, you might be wondering just how much does a stay in this cool place cost? Checking the latest rate on the WHotel website for a mid week stay, it's a mere $329.00! You just might want to take the toilet paper off the roll before you sit down!