The Westin is located right in the heart of Chicago. Facing Magnificient Mile, it's down the street from Oak Street Beach, a few blocks from Rush & Division (great restaurants & nightlife), and across the street from Hancock Tower & Water Tower Place. Anywhere else in the city you may want to go is only a few dollars cab ride away!

As for the room, the Heavenly Beds & Baths program lives up to its name. The beds were covered in luxurious white pillows & duvets, and the complimentary shampoo, etc. did indeed smell heavenly. The room was average-sized, but the amenities were all first class - Sony Playstation, mini-bar, daily newspaper delivery, High Speed Internet ($13/day), and turn down service (with Frango mints!) every night.

We got our room for $125/night through their website. If you find a rate lower than their website, they will match it - 10%, so shop around!

A tip: Before you go, become a member of the Starwood Preferred Guest program. You get priority service at the front desk, and possibly a room upgrade.

The Westin (now part of the Starwood hotel consortium) has 751 rooms, with 24 suites. It consists of two tower blocks, with one rising 27 floors and the other topping out at 16 floors. It was opened in 1968 and renovated in 2002. It is a hotel that is not too old and yet not too new, a potentially perilous point from a business aspect. However, the Westin still is a fine hotel thanks to company-wide promotional tools like the implementation of "Heavenly Beds" in all rooms. Every new bed is now topped with fluffy sheets and duvets and has a zillion poofy pillows piled on top of it. This gimmick has now been extended to Heavenly Baths and even Heavenly Cribs for traveling infants.

The hotel has its own underground parking garage with its entry along Delaware Place, which is actually where the main entrance is located. The stylish lobby features a spiral staircase and the checkin counter, which can get busy. The guest rooms have the usual amenities like minibar, coffee maker, iron and ironing board, and the star of the show, the Heavenly Bed. Some of the rooms face east towards Lake Michigan. Guests will appreciate the nice bathrooms with marble surfacing.

The hotel has a fitness room on the third floor, and its meeting rooms have been garnered with awards. The Grill on The Alley, which creates its spin on American dishes, has received its share of compliments. Of course, you have a wealth of dining choices around the hotel, not to mention some of the most famous shopping institutions in Chicago (Water Tower Place, Bloomingdale's, etc.). The Westin is a fine property, but it is the superb location that sells it. When it is nice out, the plaza of the John Hancock Center serves as a surrogate front porch to the hotel.