Chicago- hotel help
 

There will be three of us traveling to Chicago in February and need help picking a hotel.

We would like to be in the center of the city, I don't know if that means by the Miricle Mile or not, and spend around $200 a night. We'll be going out at night, so a safe area to come back to is essential, but I assume hotels in the center of the city will be pretty safe.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

In Chicago it's the Magnificent Mile rather than the Miracle Mile, and it's a fine place to stay. But you could also stay in the Loop area (quieter at night, but still safe, and it's easy to take cab or public transport to "going out" areas).

What else will you be doing besides going out? And what amenities are important to you in a hotel (pool, fitness center, big bathroom, hip style, large rooms, etc.)

You'll have lots of options, so providing a little more info about your interests/activities will help narrow it down.

But, to get started, you might consider looking at the suite hotels since there will be 3 of you: Embassy Suites, Omni, Residence Inn, etc.

If you go to www.betterbidding.com (a site helping you bid on priceline and get hotels on hotwire) you can click through to a Chicago hotel map that is pretty good. Zoom in on the area that is central and closest to the lake to see the Magnificent Mile and Loop areas and get a feel for all the hotels you have to choose from.

Finally, have a look at www.travelzoo.com to see if any hotels are offering specials for your dates. They often have amazing deals for really nice hotels. Click on hotels, then other cities to find the Chicago offerings.

I would recommend the Intercontinental. Beautiful old but updated hotel right on Michigan Avenue right in the heart of shopping. Magnificent pool. You must see it! Dining room and bar area right on Michigan Avenue for people watching. This is my favorite. Number two is the Whitehall Hotel. It's one block off of Michigan Avenue near the Water Tower. Both of these hotels are in excellent locations and if you like historic buildings, these are two of the best. Another hotel is the Fitzpatrick which is I believe one block off of Michigan Avenue. Great little hotel and it even has an outdoor pool on the roof. You can float on your back and see the John Hancock building. Everything you would need is within walking distance of these 3 hotels. I have never felt unsafe in any of these areas. There's always people around. Oh, one more place is the Allerton. Again, right on Michigan Avenue. Lovely, updated old hotel. Hope this helps you.

I recommend that you check out the Hotel Burnham. It is the restored Reliance Building..a small European type hotel within walking distance of the Art Institute and Millinium Park. We walked back and forth to the Magnificent Mile, to Symphony Hall and felt perfectly safe all the time..Lovely hotel..wonderful service and a great restaurant.

Do a search here for Chicago and Hotel as the terms. There have been large threads on this recently.

You do not state where/what you plan to do. Is shopping more important than museums? Look at a map of the downtownLOOP/river/Mich.Ave. areas. All are fine for a tourist to Chicago. I prefer the central location of being near the River between the other two.
If you are going to Museums and Art Institute and theatre- the River is as good as in the LOOP. North Michigan Ave is good too and most high end visitors like it better. I don't because I love vintage Chicago and the heavily cultural/historical places the most.

Hotel Burnham and Hotel Allegro are in the theatre district and I love that. They are in your price range and are nice. Rooms are small for 3. If you would have made plans sooner you would have gotten a better price. There still may be deals at google Chicago Winter Delights.

There are 50 to 100 great hotels in this area. Many have wine bar free in the late afternoon/evening etc. pools, great restaurants, clubs, theatre etc. You need to know and say what amenitities you prefer.

There may be Wicked tickets if you go to Ticketmaster.com now.

I love The Palmer House Hilton on the Loop. One of the nicest things after a busy day is taking advantage of the indoor pool, sauna, and my personal favorite, the steam room. Ahhh.

cjacob, look under Hyatt Regency thread here just posted. That's right near the River. It's huge and a good location.

need to book by 25th midnight.

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