Has anyone stayed at this hotel yet or have any news about it? It was supposed to open June 4th, and I wondered if anyone has any good or bad reviews of the hotel/staff/etc.

I want to stay in this hotel next year for a vacation in Chicago.

Double check where it is located. I stayed at a Soffitel during a convention advertised as being in Chicago. The convention was not actually in Chicago but a suburb near the airport which was about a 30 minute train ride from downtown. The hotel was very nice but the restaurants were expensive. I prefer less luxurious lobbies and more eating options.

The original poster is talking about the new Sofitel which just opened downtown. I have not seen it yet but there was an article in the Chicago Tribune admiring its architecture. That speaks nothing to the service, etc. but apparently it is an attractive building inside and out. One of my friends was married at the Sofitel out near O'Hare and raved about the service so hopefully this new one will keep up the standards. I will post again if I hear anything. Maybe Metromix.com or citysearch.com might have somthing?

Yeah, Ive seen pictures of it and it looks beautiful from the outside, but looks don't matter if the service is crappy. I guess it is still too early to ask. I'll give it another year and see how it fares.

One word of caution, the Hotel Sofitel in Minneapolis allows smoking in all of the common areas and some (if not all?) of the rooms. I used their meeting facilities for a conference, and was surprised at the number of heavy smokers in the lobbies, restaurant, front desk area, etc.

If you are not a smoker you might wish to check on the Chicago Sofitel's policies before you make reservations. If you smoke I guess it would be a plus!