Chicago hotels-Hard Rock, Fairmont or Hyatt Regency chicago?
 

Hi! My husband and I are going to Chicago for the first time next weekend. We are booking through travelocity last minute deals and have a choice of the Hard Rock hotel, Fairmont or the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Any preferences? I was concerned that the guide books all say the Fairmont is in a strange location-is that true? It doesn't look like it from the map but...

Thanks!

The Fairmont is a little more out of the way than the others (Wacker ends just to the east there, so you can't get anywhere headed that way, and it's a few minutes walk over to Michigan Ave.). Still, it's just about next door to the Hyatt Regency, and both are fine in location unless you really hate to walk at all. Hard Rock isn't far away either, right no Michigan Ave a little south of the river.

Location-wise, all three are fine, and I wouldn't really use it in the decision process. The only one I've stayed at is the Hyatt Regency, and it was perfectly fine. Rooms were good size and modern. Elevators were plentiful and fast. It's a large business-oriented hotel with a bar in the lobby that apparently gets pretty loud at night, but I don't think you'd ever be able to hear that from the rooms.

Are they the same price? What amenities/features are most important to the two of you in a hotel? Finally, have you checked out the reviews at www.tripadvisor.com or searched for them here? I know they've all been discussed here before. The easiest way to find them is to go to google's advanced search page, put in your search term, and restrict the domain to fodors.com since the search function here doesn't work so well.

I think the Hyatt is connected to the underground area fulled with shops and service venues that leads in several directions, one ending with access to the Swissotel.

This is nice is cold weather or in high traffic times, IMHO. It's huge.

Also if you have a car, take into consideration the parking fees. All three have them, but they may be quite different. Some places, it is up to $40 a day now.

But all 3 are a very easy walk to the Millennium Park garage, which charges around $16/day, plus around $12 for 12 hours or less.

I stayed at the Hard Rock about three weeks ago and quite liked it. We had one of the rooms in the "private tower" (??) so were pretty high up, thus had a great view. Our room was spacious and comfortable. Nice bathroom. We ate at China Grill, good meal if expensive.

If you're planning to spend time at Milennium Park and the Art Institute or shop Michigan Ave it really is a great location.

HTH

Thanks for the replies. WE will not have a car as we are flying from Columbus, OH. I have checked out the tripadvisor reviews as well as searched the forum, so I appreciate the imput. Actually, we can stay at the Monoca now per travelocity. Is this better? I'm leaning towards the Hard Rock hotel right now.

As far as amenities go, we have traveled fairly extensively and just like nice, quiet and clean amenities in a good location. Walking is not a problem. Thanks!

They are all in the same area; Monaco and Hard Rock are a little closer to the restaurants and transportation in the Loop. Hyatt and Fairmont face the river, east of Michigan Avenue. They are larger hotels in taller buildings and would have better views. Hyatt holds a lot of conventions and this can affect a hotel's service.

My vote as a Chicagoan would be Hard Rock or Monaco. You can stay in a Hyatt or Fairmont anywhere. Hard Rock while not unique to Chicago is not as common as the other chains. Also both are a bit closer to Michigan Avenue and the river north restaurant district.

If you are younger (or more hip) you might prefer The Hard Rock. If you are into more elegance, the Fairmont would be my choice with beautiful views of the park and the lake plus Navy Pier. It's a very short walk to Millenium Park. And close enough to Michigan Avenue and State Street for shopping.