I will be in Chicago in Mid-September for my niece's graduation at the Naval Base, Great Lakes.

I'm not comfortable with driving in heavy city traffic and was wondering if there were any nice hotel options in the outer lying areas of Chicago. Cost is not a consideration. I would like to find something that is within an hour's driving distance to the base.

Thanks in advance for any help that you can give me with my question.

The Great Lakes Naval Base is located near Waukegan, Illinois, about 40 miles north of Chicago. It's actually easier to fly in to Milwaukee's Mitchell Field than into Chicago's O'Hare airport, especially if you shun heavy traffic.

About 10-15 minutes from the base are two newer hotels, a Marriott Residence Inn and a Courtyard. They are typical of those chains. The area is a nice, clean suburban development complete with a large shopping mall, west of Hwy 41 in the southwest corner of Waukegan.

For something more upscale, look in the Lake Forest area. Expedia.com has a map option that will show you the locations of their listed hotels.

I should also have suggested looking in the Gurnee area, but with a warning: the traffic can be quite congested there if the Great America amusement park or Gurnee Mills shoping mall are busy.

Thank you for suggestions. I'll check these areas out.

In mid-September, Six Flags-Great America is less likely to be crowded than it would be in the summer.

I'm actually leaning towards the Hyatt In Deerfield. It looks like it is located between O'Hare and the Naval Base and appears to be upscale. Any thoughts?

Looks like a nice enough hotel, though I haven't been inside. It's about 10 years old and sits between a business park and an upper middle class reidential area. One negative is that it's right on the highway, but weekends are slow there and you could ask for a room away from the traffic.

It has good expressway access to 294 and would be about 20-30 minutes drive to Great Lakes.