Renaissance Chicago Hotel

I cannot say enough about how much we LOVED the Renaissance Chicago. We worked with Kim Spring who made the whole experience unforgettable. She handled our every request.

Strengths of the Renaissance
* Cocktail space is the best in the city. The Patio is breathtaking and our photos were incredible because of that
* The food. Everyone raved about it. It was phenomenal.
* The wait staff. They were so so so wonderful to our guests. They did a great job getting food and drinks to people at cocktails. They helped guests to their table. They served quickly and politely.
* The ballroom. It was breathtaking. We used the pipe and drape that the Renaissance has and I would highly recommend it. It set a lovely backdrop for the head table.
* Kim Spring. She was extremely prompt and helped us work through every detail. When we didnt like any of the steak toppings at our tasting, she set up a second tasting. When we wanted to do brunch - she coordinated. She returned phonecalls and emails near immediately. She was the best!
* Brunch at Great Street. If you are planning to have a brunch, I would highly recommend having at Great Street. Food was great, prices were very very reasonable.

Things to watch for
* The hotel itself. Although we left more than enough hotel bags, not all our guests got one somehow. Our rooms were not in a block with our guests rooms near each other - they were all over the hotel.
* Your placecards designating which entree your guest chose. We thought ours were really clear (it was a stamp in different colors). I would recommend having a totally different shape to designate meal choices though because the wait staff had a really hard time and consequently served people the wrong entree.
* The afterparty if you plan to have one. We didnt really think about it when booking but the options are all very expensive. If we went thru banquets, every drink was going to be $10. We were told that using one of our suites was not an option because of noise, and because the Presidential Suite that the Bride and Groom get is "one big room". That was not the case. We ended up going to Bar Novo which was really expensive. I'd recommend negotiating an afterparty in Cuisines into your package, or risking it and going to one of your guest rooms. If you want to make a sacrifice, the bride/groom suite is huge and would be perfect. How much room do 2 exhausted people really need anyways :)