We're planning a trip to Chicago this weekend and would appreciate recs on hotels/dining. Since it's so last minute room rates are bit steep but we're considering the Renaissance, Allegro, Allerton, Silversmith. I'd really like something quieter with nice appointments and not under construction. We'll have a car since we're traveling out to suburbs Saturday night.

As for dining I'm not looking for "trendy" but rather a cozy atmosphere with better food. No sports bars - something with good seafood/italian. Someone suggested Hugo's frog Bar? Any suggestions are appreciated.

We were quite satisfied with the Allegro. The room was nice, there was a welcome wine party, and breakfast delivered to our room was included.

Hugo's is good, though I'm not sure it's "cozy." It's very busy, loud, etc. IMO a little overpriced but overall a good experience. Huge amounts of food, so skip lunch.

I would sure check out Priceline and Hotwire for hotels. The 4 star hotels in the Loop and North Michigan Ave. are all nice.

If you feel like getting out of downtown and up to the Roscoe Village / Lakeview neighborhood, I can recommend Terragusto on Addison and Wolcott.

Excellent rustic northern Italian. Organic local ingredients, pasta is hand-rolled there every morning, etc.

A little "cozier" than Hugo's.

Of your options, I'd go for either the Renaissance on the river, or the Allerton for N. Michigan Ave. After that the Silversmith.

The location of the Allegro is the least desireable, IMO. It's in an area of the Loop where not much--not even Starbucks, if I remember correctly--is open on the weekend.

If you stay at the Renaissance, Catch 35 is right next door for seafood, and there's also Flatwater on the river--I haven't been there, but colleagues took clients and enjoyed it.

RL, the restaurant at Ralph Lauren is very clubby and cozy. Quieter than Hugo's or Carmines.

Really, there are so many restaurants I would do a search for this very discussion.

HTH,
Racy

The Allegro is a hit or miss affair. When I've stayed there, I've had nice rooms. But my colleagues were stuck in postage stamp rooms. The problem is that when they took over the old truly terrible Bismarck (or, as it was known, The Abysmarck), they renovated it but kept the smallest rooms instead of using them for something else (as they should have).

Also, the service we had in their breakfast room was just plain awful. The hotel was fully booked and they simply couldn't keep up with it. Servers kept coming by to offer us coffee--fine, except there were no coffee cups! they were all waiting to be washed--the buffet was practically empty and the staff took ages to resupply it. We ended up leaving and getting breakfast elsewhere.

I was very pleased with the Silversmith, it is nicely appointed in a Pottery Barn style. I don't know the parking situation. But I thought there was a lot of construction at the moment around the Silversmith.

My first choice of hotels is the Sofitel Water Tower. Loved everything about it.

Also, re Hugo's--we HATED it. We arrived on time for our reservation, we still had to wait 45 minutes in the bar for a table. They seated people who came in after us and they were quite arrogant about it. The food was no better or worse than at the other "name" steak places. Also, it was very loud. And expensive. One of the most over-rated places in Chicago, IMO. Will never go there again, no matter who's paying.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't care for Hugo's. And I hate places that take reservations that don't really honor them, I think a lot of hotels send their guests there and us regular folks get bumped...

My favorite seafood place is Joe's Seafood but I wouldn't describe it as cozy, it can be loud on busy weekend nights. I thought McCormick's and Schmick's was a little less loud but once again, cozy is not the adjective that springs to mind.

Yeah, we had an OK time at Hugo's, but it wouldn't be the first place I recommend people to go to. We were seated promptly, but I don't know if it's because it was just the two of us. Hugo's is good for people-watching, and if you haven't eaten in three days. If you do go, get the frog's legs. On the bad side, my fish was a bit overcooked, which is something you don't want in a piece of fish.

That was the big negative, unless you count that the waiter was a little too keenly interested in my girlfriend. I took it as a compliment and tipped 20 percent.

We booked a Jr. King suite at the Allerton - the rates just dropped yesterday from 249 to 183 - so at least I think we're getting a good price. everything else we were considering was around 250-270 night.

As for dining - who knows. It sounds like friends want to meet up with us a central location (Grace O'Malleys) and we'll head out from there. I know I'm not expecting to actually eat there, maybe just a drink.

How about Trattoria #10. It's a small restaurant, so it has a more cozy appeal. Good food, too.