I'm looking to bring a group of people to Chicago for a business trip and am looking for a unique property in a great location in Chicago. Any comments for The Talbott Hotel, Whitehall Hotel, The Sutton Place or The Fairmont? Any other recommendations without a Four Seasons price?

Try the Burnham at State & Washington.

Don't know nothing 'bout hotels here but don't miss pizza and White Castle. You won't find it nowhere but here.

The Allegro is also a unique property

Try to stay close towards Michigan Ave. The Drake hotel is nice. There are some nice hotels on Michigan Ave.

I stayed at the fairmont a little while ago. I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting chicago as it has oustanding service with well-equipped and comfortables rooms.

the swissotel is pretty nice and has a great location. Chipotle burrito is right around the corner, Navy pier is close, mag mile.....it has the palm steakhouse in the hotel. it can be much cheaper than the 4 seasons, and not a huge step down in luxury/quality...

The Sutton Place is nice (I really like the location) if you get one of the renovated, very modern rooms. But if you get an unrenovated room, it will seem very bog standard (happened to friends at a recent convention; the one with the new room loved it, the one with the old room didn't like it).
I liked the Doubletree (at one time the Guest Quarters). The new Sofitel looks nifty and I would highly recommend checking it out. I most recently stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn and was not that impressed (see my write up in Rants and Raves). My colleagues stayed at the Swissotel and they like it very much, but I don't think the location is the best (the service is quite good, however). The Allegro and Monaco are fun boutique hotels and attract a lot of European visitors.
Anyway, check out the new Sofitel.

Hi Emily:

Depending on when you go, you can get some pretty good prices. The hotels are usually cheaper in the winter months which might offer a little more flexibility.

The W Hotel on Lake Shore Drive is definetly unique. Relatively new. The Drake is nice also. If you are looking in the loop area, the Palmer House is nice, and the W Hotel there is also unique.

I like your list of Hotels more than the ones reccomended by the others, although SwissHotel is nice too. Let me add Le Meridien. I usually book for my friends at hotrooms.com, I've got some great deals.