It saddens me that I can't write a rave review about the SAX. It started out great, the room was immaculate, bathroom, huge, the flat screen TV had access to HD channels, wireless access was seemless and the bed was extremely comfortable and soft. The location was excellent, just a short walk to the Miracle Mile and Merchant Mart. My husband and I were contemplating extending our stay at the hotel because it was so comfortable and, well, perfect. That is, until we retrieved our car from the valet lot a day after we checked in. Our car had been ransacked, with every compartmented rumaged through and our belongings scattered. Luckily, we removed all valuable items from the car except for some quarters intended for parking (those were stolen) but it felt violating to have our car vandalized like that. When we complained to hotel management, they immediately said that they do not run the valet parking service and they just send guests to the lot since it's right across the way. And, of course, the parking service didn't want to take responsibility either. My perception of valet parking is that the car is kept in a safe place where it wouldn't be ransacked so obviously, this kind of service was unacceptable to me. I was tired of getting the runaround so I asked that we not be chared for parking that first night (I parked on the street after that) and they did remove the charge. We decided not to extend our stay after that experience and their indifference to what had happened ruined our experience with the hotel.

We booked our stay at The Hotel Sax Chicago with Hotels.com, we got a very good deal and last minute too.

On arrival we were very impressed with the lobby area, all be it small, it was bright and airy with crystal and glass in cabinets all around. The doormen were very attentive too.

It was when you entered the lifts that the bright and airy feel dissapeared. The lift was very nice and oppulent but dark, once up to the 14th floor, we were met with a very dark, slightly creepy in a nice way corridor. This hotel must have just been renovated because everything was immaculate.

Our room was a surprise, it was quite big and even though the decor was a little busy, we did like it, the bathroom was large, with good qaulity fixtures. The bath towels and robes were light and fluffy and the tioletries were replaced everyday. The soaps they use a lovely too, and WOW what a great shower.

The room itself had a very large flat screen TV mounted on the wall, we also had a floor to ceiling mirror on one wall and floor to ceiling windows. The bed was super-king size and the bed was very comfortable. As we are super fussy on bed quality we did make sure the beds were pillow-top and it was like a big marshmellow.

All the fixtures and fittings, looked to be brand new. Be warned though as some of the mini bar items, water, ect, snacks are placed on the tray with your glasses and cocktail shakers and they are not free.

We did have room service once and it was good and reasonably priced. We ate at Bin36 for breakfast a few times and found it very nice indeed.

There is a new Bar called The Crimson Lounge, gosh this place looked like a Vampire's Lure, very gothic, red and so dark, you could hardly see the person sat next to you on some tables. It was very busy on the weekend we where there, with lots of young girls aged around 20 - 25, dressed to impress, not our cup of tea really.

We did like Chicago, not so much as NY but we managed to see lots of sights.

Harry Carays is a nice Bar ect. We also at at SMith and Wollensky but to be honest the over bearing waiter really put ut off.

ALl in all the Sax is very well placed in the Marina, right next to the House Of Blues, were you can watch blues and eat good food, we managed to go on Sunday for the Brunch and gospel Choir, was fantastic and en experience.

Our only gripe was our view out of the windows, of the Corn Cob Towers, the car park hosts the first 16 floors, so being on floor 14, we had a view of the spiral car park and also the noise.

However all in all it was a great hotel and well worth the money.

First off let me say the bed, 42" plasma TV, and staff service were all great. The room was always clean and was well stocked with plenty of (typically high priced) snacks and enough alcohol to drop an elephant.

Now that that is out of the way on to the other issues...

No internet... the 2 wired jacks didn't work and the wireless wouldn't hold a connection for more than 30 seconds. I was (according to the hotel technician that came to check my internet) in one of the best rooms for wireless by the elevators. In the end I could do no work from the hotel room.

Although supposedly being freshly renovated, the bottom row of tiles in the tub/shower were soft and sagging from water rot of the wall behind.

No bar of soap or bath mat until day 3.

The (probably once comfortable) arm chair in the room has been recovered in... I kid you not... imitation vinyl TEXTURED snake skin. Not only does it look horrid the chair is now cold, uncomfortable and squeaks when you sit in it. I used it once for about 30 seconds.

No screens on the windows. To the delight of the fly that joined me in my room on day 2.

No vending machines in the entire hotel. None, zippo. The guest book says there are but the hotel operator informed me that there aren't after I went looking. I refused to open the $7 bottle of water in my room and wandered off to a grocery store instead.

And lastly, who puts a pedestal sink in a hotel room? There is no counter space to put down all the toiletries you typically travel with and I ended up using the toilet tank as a shelf.

As much as I loved the bed and TV I personally wouldn't stay there again. If you're just looking for a quiet place to crash though you might consider it.

My company has a business rate with this location, and of all the Chicago area hotels I'm really shocked they chose this one. Most of my younger early 20-something colleagues tend to like this location, but I'm not completely sold on it.

I find they're trying so hard to be trendy that it becomes annoying.

All of my contacts with the staff were very pleasant.

Gettting to the room proved tough as the sixth floor was very dark, and the rooms were poorly labeled.

The room was comfortable and plush, but again tried too hard to be trendy. I found the bathroom to be odd. With a long walk from the shower to the sink counter top on a cold floor. Had I stayed long I'd have requested extra bath towels simply to "carpet" the floor.

I did not use the hotel's internet service, but did use their valet parking which I found to be very expensive ($42 Feb 2008), but probably on par with what other downtown hotels charge.