The Fairmont is already booked for an upcoming seminar that my husband is attending. We need to find a hotel within walking distance to the Fairmont in the $200 a night price range. Any suggestions? Thanks.

The Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Swissotel are probably the closest. The Sheraton Chicago is just on the other side of the river. The Marriott and the Inter-Continental are on Michigan Avenue just on the other side of the river.

Thanks, Marilyn. Any advice on which one you think is nicest? I've never been to Chicago... what area are these hotels in? I've been looking at hotel guides and see hotels grouped as loop, financial district, magnificient mile, etc. I have no idea.

I guess Magnificent Mile, though strictly speaking that is only north of the river, on Michigan Avenue. Michigan Avenue is our swank shopping district, with landmarks including the water tower, vertical shopping malls like Water Tower Place and 900 North Michigan, and free-standing stores like Nike, Sony, Crate & Barrel, Tiffany, Pottery Barn, etc. If the conference weren't at the Fairmont, you might want to stay at one of the hotels in the North Michigan Avenue area. But the Fairmont is south of the Chicago River and a few blocks east of Michigan. The hotels are all pretty typical for their chains. I guess I'd take the Hyatt for preference. The Inter-Continental is right on Michigan Avenue, is older and rooms vary a lot. The Sheraton has nice public rooms, with some nice views, but I stayed there for a convention once and the sleeping rooms were your standard Sheraton.

Boy, Meg, I hope you get the same nice surprise my husband and I got when we went to Chicago last month. The day we left to come home to Arkansas it was 65, but when we got home it was 104. Yikes! Today it's a record-breaking 111, and I know those New Orleans summers can be unbearable, too. We were lucky and got to stay at the Fairmont, but half of the folks who were there for the same meetings stayed at the Hyatt, so my guess is that it's the closest. I think it's fairly new, too.

Thanks to both of you for your help.

I wasn't planning on going on this trip with my husband, but the thought of experiencing weather less than 95 degrees is just too tempting for me right now.

Don't overlook the Renaissance. It is also close to the Fairmont and is a very nice hotel.
Haven't stayed there but have stayed at the others you're considering and I'd rate the Renaissance below the Fairmont but above the others at that end of the Mile. Check the rates.

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