I will be travelling to Chicago during the Labor Day weekend and would like your opinions about Hotel 71 or the Allegro? How are these locations?

My husband and I were there in May and had a great time. I'm not sure where the hotels that you are talking about are..but anywhere near Michagin Ave is great. The public transportation was fantastic and a perfect city to pull out those walking shoes, we walked EVERYWHERE. The river/lake tour was well worth it and make sure you get your tickets well in advance.

We just returned from a long weekend. Stayed one night at the Monaco and one at the Swissotel. Passed Hotel 71 coming and going from Monaco over to Michigan Ave several times. I think that location is great. Just a block or two to bridge/mich ave. Close enough to Millenium Park. It looked like a "young" and "hip" spot. Modern.
Don't know the location of the Allegro, but do know that it's part of the Kimpton Group (like Monaco and Burnham). We've stayed at both Monaco and Burnham and love them both -- their style, service, location, and price!!

The Allegro is on the west side of the loop, not really convenient to anything besides Greektown, Randolph St. dining corridor and the large theaters (Palace and Oriental). It's a short walk (4-5 blocks) to the Marshall Field's on State. The loop gets a bit deserted at night and there are fewer dining choices in the immediate area.

Hotel 71 has a better location, sort of 1/2 way between the Michigan Avenue shopping district and State St. shopping/Art Institute area. Hotel 71 has been recently renovated, I think it used to be the Executive House.

If you are looking for a boutique type hotel you might also check out the Hotel Monaco and the Hard Rock Hotel.

You will get larger rooms at Hotel 71. We stayed at the Allegro for a week in December '03 and several of my colleagues were placed in postage stamp sized rooms. Really small. Also, the service in the hotel restaurant was so so at best; the breakfast service was terrible. I would not recommend the Allegro. It's better than its previous incarnation as the Bismarck (aka The Abysmarck), but that's faint praise. The hotel is nifty looking and the decor and amenities are good, but they should have knocked out walls in the smaller rooms and combined them to make larger rooms.