InterContinental Chicago review: is the Executive Tower worth it?

The short answer: a dependable 7 out of 10

We stayed three nights, from July 21 through July 24, in an Executive Tower King booked through American Express The Hotel Collection. The total was $1,349.80, and our rate included a third-night-free offer plus a $100 property credit. Those benefits made the overall package feel more useful than the room price alone suggests.

This was not a flawless luxury stay, but it was an easy one. The bed was excellent, the room felt comfortable, housekeeping was attentive, and the location removed friction from almost every day in Chicago. My main complaint was the room's high-set window. We faced toward the DuSable Bridge and Trump Tower, yet the view was hard to appreciate without standing close and looking up.

The Executive Tower King put comfort before the view

The room itself was very nice, and the bed was the kind of comfortable that matters after an entire day on foot. We could hear normal city traffic during the day, but it never became a nighttime problem. Once we were ready to sleep, the room felt calm enough that noise was not part of the review.

The window was the weak point. It sat high enough that the city never felt fully present from inside the room. That was especially disappointing because our side of the hotel looked toward the river corridor, the DuSable Bridge, and Trump Tower. The view existed; the window design made it harder to enjoy than it should have been.

We ran out of time to photograph the room, so I am not substituting a marketing image and pretending it is ours. The official IHG room gallery is linked below for current photography; the comfort, noise, bathroom, and window observations here are all from our stay.

• Very comfortable king bed
• Daytime traffic was audible but nights were quiet
• High-set window limited an otherwise interesting city view
• Room description is firsthand; official photography is clearly linked

The bathroom was the room's standout feature

The bathroom was what made the Executive Tower room feel meaningfully above an ordinary city hotel. A standalone bathtub and a separate standalone shower gave the space a more residential layout, and neither feature felt squeezed into a token corner just to improve the amenity list.

That separation was the detail I remembered after checkout. A view can sell a room in one photograph, but a bathroom this practical changes how the stay actually feels—especially when two people are getting ready for a full sightseeing day.

Housekeeping worked around our sightseeing days

Housekeeping was attentive throughout the stay. Our room controls included a button we could press when we were heading out to request service, which made the timing unusually convenient. We could leave for the day, signal that the room was available, and return to a clean space without trying to predict a housekeeping schedule.

It is a small system, but it supported the way we used the hotel: sleep well, leave early, spend most of the day exploring, and come back to a reset room. That kind of invisible convenience matters more than a long list of amenities we never touch.

Breakfast: skip the continental option and order à la carte

A continental breakfast was available during our stay, but the à-la-carte menu looked considerably better, so that is what we chose. It was the right decision. Breakfast was top notch and felt like an actual meal rather than something we selected only because a benefit was attached to the reservation.

IHG currently lists Center Court as the hotel's breakfast restaurant. Menus, hours, and rate inclusions can change, so check the terms on your own booking. Our recommendation is about the choice we saw: if the continental spread does not excite you, look at the cooked options before settling.

The $100 hotel credit made Michael Jordan's Steak House an easy choice

We used our $100 property credit at Michael Jordan's Steak House inside the hotel. The menu and pricing felt like a typical upscale steakhouse, and our final bill went above the credit. Still, it would be possible to order more strategically and remain near $100, depending on drinks, sides, and what each person chooses.

The useful way to think about the credit is as a meaningful head start on dinner, not an automatic free steakhouse meal. American Express currently lists a $100 property credit on eligible Hotel Collection stays of at least two nights, with the eligible charges determined by the property. The third-night-free rate was part of our booking offer rather than a benefit every stay should expect.

The historic pool was the hotel's most distinctive amenity

The pool was the first hotel pool I had experienced with this kind of design. The tiled room and old-world indoor atmosphere reminded me of the grand pool you might expect to see in a Home Alone movie. Better still, it was never crowded. On the few occasions I went, there was usually only one other person there.

The setting has real history behind it. IHG says the 14th-floor, junior Olympic-size pool dates to 1929, when the building operated as the Medinah Athletic Club, and that Olympic swimmer and actor Johnny Weissmuller once trained there. The Spanish Majolica tiles and spectator-style architecture explain why it feels nothing like a standard modern hotel pool.

Walkability was one of the stay's real luxuries

The Michigan Avenue location was excellent. For the places we built into this trip, it felt as if we were roughly five minutes from most everything we needed. The DuSable Bridge and river corridor were close, and the hotel worked as a practical base for our architecture cruise, downtown meals, and Magnificent Mile sightseeing.

That convenience reduced how often we had to debate another ride. 'Five minutes from everything' is not a literal promise for every Chicago attraction, but it accurately describes how central the hotel felt for our itinerary. In a city where a full sightseeing day already adds plenty of steps, that matters.

Was $1,349.80 worth it?

For three nights in this location, the package worked. The third-night-free offer reduced the sting of the total, the $100 credit went toward a dinner we genuinely wanted, and the hotel gave us a comfortable base instead of becoming another logistical problem to solve.

The high-set window kept the room from feeling as special as the price might suggest, and that is the biggest reason I would not rate it higher. The value came from the full stay—the bathroom, sleep quality, breakfast, pool, service, and location—rather than from a dramatic room view.

Final verdict: stay again, but explore first

I would probably choose a different Chicago hotel next time because I enjoy trying new places. That is curiosity, not avoidance. If the InterContinental were the best option for my dates, points, or price, I would have zero issues booking it again.

A 7 out of 10 can sound lukewarm, but this is the useful version of that score: the hotel was comfortable, convenient, and consistently good, with a few genuinely memorable strengths. It simply did not erase my interest in seeing what another Chicago stay could offer.