With just the briefest of visits to the US on the cards, I willingly accepted the suggested property closest to my office for this trip without too much additional thought – the Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago, booking in for my two night stay to a King Bed room.

On arrival, I was greeted at reception and check-in formalities were handled quickly – notwithstanding my credit card’s decision to not preauthorise any amount, and the very unfortunate fallback onto my own personal debit card. I’m less clear why this was a necessity on a prepaid rate, but thankfully all was sorted quickly and I was dispatched to my room a few floors up.

First impressions generally of the property were best summed up with the words soulless and corporate. All common areas seem to be presented in the same monotone shades of beige, something which would carry on right into the bedroom as well.

The guest room meanwhile would be best described as adequate, but by no means anything spectacular to write home about.

A decent size, with the bed almost directly in front of the guest room door when opened, followed by two narrow windows to the far end, which stared mercilessly over the street and directly at another building.

I’m not sure why, because I’m quite certain the property was non-smoking, but the room seemed to suffer from frequent bouts of a waft of cigarette smoke, including at night. I’ve yet to figure it out, because I know it wasn’t me, but suffice to say it was quite strong.

The bathroom meanwhile was a decent size though I struggled (as did other colleagues’ it would turn out) with understanding why anyone would want a bathroom without any door whatsoever – it turns out, as I discovered on my last morning, that there was a sliding glass door available, positioned so neatly between the cupboard and the bathroom entrance as to be almost invisible to the naked eye. However, it does exist!

Notwithstanding my proclivity to use the facilities in full view of whoever was in the office block across the road, the bathroom was perfectly adequate with good water pressure and consistent temperatures.

Breakfast, unfortunately, was not included in the rate – although I was assured it was quite good; however one major perk of this property surely has to be the rooftop bar. A fine place to visit, enjoy some wonderful views across downtown Chicago over a glass or two. The only tragic drawback being the early closing time of 10pm, at least during my visit in August 2025.

On my last morning, having done not much other than eat while in Chicago, I made for the gym for what must surely count as one of the briefest visits. Overall, while the gym is contained with a pretty compact windowless space, it had everything needed for a quick workaround during a trip and left me more than ready for a team breakfast a little later on.

After just a very brief two night stay, it was already time to check out – with mixed opinions on Hyatt Centric The Loop.

On the one side, staff were consistently helpful and friendly, and the room was sufficient, even if the smell of smoke was a little odd. On the other side, the hotel itself is quite drab and uninspiring, while the location, perfect for proximity to offices, is also quite bland and not particularly scenic.

Truthfully, I’d probably choose somewhere closer to the river next time even if it meant a little extra walking.