Our trip started out at the Park Hyatt for one night. There are a ton of workers who greet you at your car and escort you to the front desk where they tell the worker who you are. Very smooth and you feel special!

I booked a Park View room with my AAA discount which included breakfast. However, I really wanted to get a suite but the website was unclear how many people can fit in a room, and if rollaways are allowed. I even called the hotel once to ask and that person seemed unsure. So, I decided to ask upon arrival. I was told that there were no suites available BUT they could give me a second room that connects for free! Yeah! It was nice to have two king size beds and two bathrooms! However, we lost our view when we made the switch which they didn't mention when they offered the 2nd room. Oh well.

One kind worker noticed that my dd10 was holding an American Girl doll so she asked if we would like a bed for the doll. Sure! So she had one brought to our room along with American Girl bubble bath! How fun!

The bellhop escorted us up to our room, telling us a bit about NoMi on the way.

The rooms are very nice, very modern. The bathtubs were very big, so my two dds, 10 and 13, decided to put on their swimsuits and enjoy the bubblebath together. They had a blast!

We had dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe which we have eaten at once before. It is an easy walk from the Park Hyatt. We had a 25 minute wait but the food was good, albeit this time we didn't have a great view. They claim that the dessert is made while you eat your main course but my apple pie did not seem that fresh; it was not very warm and seemed dry.

My dd10 and I went across the street from our hotel to the American Girl Place to see their theater show. It was better than I expected. Those girls are quite talented! Then I bought her a doll which she didn't expect and was thrilled!

During this time, my dh and dd13 went shopping at the Water Tower. She was thrilled when dh bought her some clothes at Hollister. Everyone had a great first day! It ended with the bubblebath (me too!) and watching a movie.

I knew that the PH had complimentary DVDs so I went down to the conceirge desk to ask, was given a list of movies, and told I could take the list to my room and call down when I made up my room. To be honest, we had a hard time deciding because they were pretty old movies. Finally we chose two. After placing the call it took longer than I expected from the movies to arrive and then only one was given with no explanation of why the other one was not delivered Hmmm. We ended up paying for another movie (pay for view) and not watching it all because by that time it was too late.

Anyway, one sorda annoying thing was the goodies displayed above the refrigerator. They were nuts, candies, water, etc along with sodas and alcohol in the fridge. There were apples in a bowl. However, there was no list saying the price of any of these items. I found that very frustrating! I thought perhaps it might be complimentary but wasn't sure and didn't want to use it if it was expensive. Anyway, I decided to write a note to the housekeeper asking if any of it was complimentary along with $5. When we returned to our room after turn down was complete, my $ and note was gone with no reply. However, two waters were placed next to the bed. At 9:15, a worker called and said she received my note from the housekeeper and said that the apples and water were complimentary. At that point I felt very foolish for even asking BUT I dont think I should have been put in that position in the first place~Put a note with the prices on each or price stickers on each item!
Am I wrong???

During the night, the sirens from the fire department down the road were annoying.

Next morning we got ready for our breakfast that was part of my package. However, I wasn't sure how the NoMi workers would know that we had this package. I called down to the front desk to inquire if we should have been given vouchers for this or how it worked. She said that they would ask for our room numbers at the restaurant. Well, they didn't do that at all. When we were done eating, we got the bill for the full amount. Again, I felt dumb for asking our waiter about the meals being included. He said that the discount would show up on our final bill. Why don't they tell you this so you don't have to ask??? Anyway, the food was good and we had a nice view of Michigan Avenue. It would have been much nicer without the payment issue.

The final issue came when we checked out. The bill showed that the second room was not complimentary. I had to explain the situation at the front desk, again getting frustrated when I shouldn't have. She asked who had given me the room. I don't know!
After correcting the mistake, the valet helped us with our luggage and we left with free water in our car and a note to drive safely.

Next we drove to the Hotel Monaco where we would be staying at the Karen Neuberger suite for one night. Way less workers (as in one) to help with our luggage and take our car to be parked. The workers were dressed a bit too casual for my taste but nice enough. The lady at the front desk informed us that our room was not ready by would call (she did) when the room was ready. We left our luggage and began our walk to the Art Institute.

I hate to say it, but my dds were under thrilled with the Art Institute. My younger dd is very modest and didn't like the nude paintings/statues. They were basically bored with most of it. Younger dd liked the miniatures but that was it. We only stayed about 90 minutes. They we walked to the Oriental Theater to see Wicked. We had seen this before a few years ago but loved it even more this time. Would see it again in a heartbeat! It is coming to Detroit in December (and is in E. Lansing right now) but not sure if those performances would be as good as Chicago. Any opinions on this? Anyway, we had great seats and enjoyed every moment! It ended too soon.

Next we returned to the Hotel Monaco and went to our room. No bellhop to escort us, just a point toward the elevators. The luggage arrived a few minutes later and this guy was very nice and gave us some dining tips.

The suite was nice. The best part was the view. It is on the corner so it overlooks the river from two sides. The suite has 4 window seats that are huge with lots of cozy pillows and very soft pillows to sit on. The Park hyatt also has a window seat but it's not cozy like these ones! My dds wanted to sleep up there!

The suite has a king size bed (with pillowtop on the mattress) and a queen size sleeper sofa (not so cozy according to dds). The bathtub is huge but the shower is very small. There are 2 tvs, nice size flat screens. We got two goldfish which was nice. There were 4 robes in the closet, two were kid size. All the towels were from the Karen N. line and were very very soft. There was a KN blanket in the closet that my dd13 loved wrapping around herself in the window seat. We all had fun watching the boats and people from the window seats. The room is better suited from a romantic visit. We decided that we would try the Party Like a Rock Star suite at the Hotel Monaco next time.

We ended up having room service for dinner and breakfast. The mashed potatoes were the hit. Yummy! Chicken clubs were very thick chicken breasts, pretty tasty but could have easily shared one with dh. Chicken fingers were liked by younger dd but not so much by older dd. Breakfast was standard fare and was average.

I didn't prepay for the Chicago Architecture Tour. The night before we walked down to where the tour begins so we could easily find it the next day. However, we didn't arrive early enough to get tickets for the first tour (10). So we bought tickets for the next tour (11) and walked back to our room. We lounged around for a bit before packing up. We had the bellhop hold our luggage while we did the tour.

Tour was enjoyable. The docent was VERY knowledgeable, very impressive! It got a bit hot after being out in the sun for that long so we headed downstairs for a while and drank some cokes. The view was not good from down there so we quickly went back up after we finished our drinks.

After the tour we ate at the restaurant at our hotel for lunch. It was convenient but only ok. I should have done more research on restaurants by the river. Anyway, we picked up our luggage and car and headed to our final destination, the Residence Inn Chicago O'Hare because my dd10 was dancing in the Nationals Dance competition at Triton College. That hotel had planes flying very low over it all day long (but not too bad at night). Also, some weird bug that made a very loud noise!?! The room was what I expected for a residence inn...kinda hard to get excited about after staying at two very nice hotels, but...this is where all the dancers were staying so we made the best of it. The competition went well and we came home at 4 AM the following day so dh could get to work.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay in Chicago and will definately return sometime soon. We didn't get a chance to go to Milennium Park like I was hoping although we saw some of it as we walked past it to go to the Art Institue. There is our excuse to go back, that, and to see Wicked again!!!

Sorry to hear about the Art Institute. It's a world-class museum, but maybe not ideal for 10- and 13-year-old kids.

Maybe they would have liked the Thorne miniature rooms?

Thanks for the report Ashley. Glad you enjoyed Chicago. It is one of my favorite cities.

I remember your discussion earlier debating the merits of switching to the Hotel Monaco. Your trip report was interesting and it sounds like it was worth the change.

I had wondered what the Karen Neuberger room was. I've heard of her (as has anyone who watches Oprah), but hadn't put 2 and 2 together.

We've stayed at the Hotel Allegro which is in the same chain as the Hotel Monaco and had been curious about it.

I was glad to read your details. I, too, would have been obsessing over some of the details. Seeing the second room charge and worrying about whether they'd believe you and take it off must have been stressful.

Ok, I'm curious. What does Oprah have to do with Karen Neuburger? I only knew about her because I have a pair of her pjs. I don't watch Oprah that much.

As far as the art museum, I enjoyed it. I think perhaps a tour of the highlights might have been better since I wasnt' really sure where things were located or have the insights that tour guides have to make it more interesting. My dd10 DID enjoy the miniature section. The Egyptian art was interesting too.

Hey Ashley,
Thanks for taking the time to do a Trip Report. I really enjoyed it and it was like a preview for our Sept trip. I would have been a nervous wreck over the bill - both for breakfast and also for the check-out. You handled it all well.

About the CHI Architectural Tour, did you just turn up and go (when they had room)? About how long was it? Did your girls enjoy also? Also, I was curious how many people were on it?

I would suggest getting the tickets at least the day before. We arrived at about 9:30 AM hoping to do the 10 ride but there was already a long line and was sold out. We immediately bought tickets for the 11 ride. We were told to come back 30 minutes before the starting time. When we came back at 10:30 there was already a decent size line. You board about 10 minutes before the starting time.

My girls liked it but most of the info about the architects went right over their heads. But they saw some great buildings and heard some interesting facts. The ride lasts for 90 minutes. If I were to go again, I would like to take a tour that goes through the locks and into Lake Michigan as well as the river. But I have no complaints about the tour we took.
I am not sure about the number of people but the top of the boat was almost completely full. There are round tables inside with a bartender for drinks and snacks such as chips and pretzels.

>What does Oprah have to do with Karen Neuburger?

When she did a favorite thing show, she gave everyone a pair of her pajamas. I later bought a pair myself and can see why it would be a favorite thing.

She's probably mentioned her more than once, but that time comes to mind.

Debbie