I will have several hours (about 9) to while away between a domestic flight arrival at O'Hare and my overnight flight to Europe (not connecting flights; I'm taking a side trip after a conference in Chicago and I'd rather arrive early than run a risk of missing my overnight flight due to unexpected delays). Are there any nice malls not too far from O'Hare? I might go into downtown Chicago, but I'm spending several days there the week before, so I'm not averse to doing some Christmas shopping in a really nice mall that has some pleasant places to eat as well, or even a movie theatre--might take in a matinee. Looking for something a little upscale, along the lines of King of Prussia mall in PA (it doesn't have to be that big).
Thanks!

Woodfield Mall would be the closest and is huge. You'd have to do some driving to get there - I90 West to Rte 53 south to the mall (about 10-15 minutes max). A taxi could take you over I'm sure.

Oak Brook Mall is more upscale and not far from the airport: Neiman's, Fields, Nordstroms. Your best bet might be to rent a car for a day as a limo service could be more both ways.

I personally however would take the el into the city and return to Michigan Avenue, Oak Street, even Field's on State Street which has very upscale boutiques within the large store.

woodfield is closest and very nice but I agree with DMG-store your luggage and hop the El (30 minutes to the city)and hit either State Street or Michigan Ave or both.

30 minutes????

I agree. State Street or Michigan Avenue may be the best option, BUT PLEASE. it will take little longer. At best about an hour for State Street(including actually waiting for the train), (let's not forget the poster has to catch a plane), and about 1.5 hours for Michigan Avenue.

AA-Just took the El to O'Hare Friday from State/Randolph-30 mins. Granted no wait for the train. Definately more of an experience than Woodfield where you would have no idea what city/mall you were in.

I will not debate with you, but even the official CTA website

http://www.transitchicago.com/

says 45 minutes. Everytime I have done this both ways, I would say between 45-60 minutes.

Ok - so you do want an indoor place which would be Woodfield, an outdoor place which would be State Street or Oak Brook or a little of both which would be Michigan Ave with shops plus Water Tower Place? Where will you leave your luggage or will it be checked through? Stores open at 10am - you'll need to be back I'm guessing 2 hours ahead of your flight which will cut into the time allowed. Since you'll be in the city later, I'd probably wait until you have time and location to do the Michigan Ave/State Street thing. I don't know King of Prussia'a mall but Oak Brook will be a little more upscale than Woodfield - very nice restaurants and the holiday decorations will be out (they were putting them up yesterday). I think American Taxi does fixed price runs between O'hare and Oak Brook for about $20 each way. Either place would be fun. I'm partial to Oak Brook if you have the means to get there.

Oak Brook gets my vote also. It is an outdoor shopping center with many nice upscale shops. If the weather is nice, it's very pleasant! (but, if the weather is cold and windy, you will need to be bundled up)

Thanks, everyone. I get into O'Hare at 9 am; my BA flight to London isn't until 8:15 pm. I'm hoping BA opens its check in desk fairly early so I can "unload" my main suitcase.
Is there a place at O'Hare to store luggage? Even if I can check my one suitcase, I'd rather have my carry-on stored somewhere.
As for the malls, I'll let the weather be my guide. If it's a decent day, then I'll probably take the el; otherwise, I'll head to the mall. Oak Brook sounds ok, I've never been there (I take it there's no mass transit from O'Hare to the Oak Brook mall area--I don't have any problems riding "regular" buses and then walking a bit).

Really surprised that no one mentioned my favorite mall, Old Orchard, which according to Rand McNally is actually the closest. It is an outdoor mall and is always beautifully decorated for Christmas. Has Bloomies, Saks, Nordstroms and Marshall Field's, plus lots of good small stores, restaurants and a movie theater.

Just in case you missed it, Oakbrook is an outdoor mall, none of the stores are connected.

You can try the www.rtachicago.com website to see how to do either Woodfield or Oakbrook by public transportation, I did it really quickly and it looked like Woodfield would take about an hour and Oakbrook closer to 2 hours.

My 2 cents-there really isn't anything at Oakbrook that you can't find downtown, both shops and restaurants, and it's an easier straight shot to get to Chicago. If you want to check out what's there go to
http://www.oakbrookcenter.com/

Woodfield has Ikea (not located in the mall however) but other than that the mall itself doesn't really have anything that you can't find in the city either.

Woodfield or Oak Brook would be easier to get to than Old Orchard, despite the equivalent distance - BTilke is not a bird! It is a beautiful mall and does have all the things she requested, including about 10 movie screens. With no traffic, it should take 30- 40 minutes to get there from the airport.

One warning - an 8:15 overseas departure means a 6:15 arrival at the airport, which means driving to the airport between the horrendous hours of 5 and 6 p.m. On a weekday, double the commute time from the late morning trip.

Just to be clear, I was measuring the driving distance, not the actual distance. I realize that BTilke can't fly.

And my point is that 2/3 of the trip from O'Hare to Old Orchard is on local roads at 35 mph, while Woodfield and Oak Brook are right off the expressway, though slightly farther.

I would not attempt Oak Brook on public transportation - it would be a mess with multiple transfers, etc. Take a cab if that's where you want to go; American Taxi does fixed price rides regardless of traffic and they are very reasonable - you can even call ahead and reserve a cab.

I wouldn't attempt Oakbrook on public transportation either, it does involve a transfer and 2 hours to get to a mall is a little much.

Just my opinion but I also wouldn't spend $20 each way to get there by cab when I could go downtown for $1.50 each way, have a much larger variety of restaurants, the same stores and then some, several movie theaters. Most of the restaurants at Oakbrook are Lettuce Entertain You-Mon Ami Gabi, Wildfire and Papagus- and all can be found downtown (although the downtown ones may not be open for lunch).

All good points. I've taken the el downtown before, so if I can park my luggage at the airport Hilton or other, then I'll do that. I was kind of hoping to do a bit of a suburban scene since I've been on the MM many times. Unfortunately, with cab fares, etc., Oak Brook looks like it won't be cost-effective. FYI, I plan to get back to Heathrow before 5 pm. I like checking in early and having time to have a drink or a wander around before a long flight.

WOW, how long is the train ride from downtown Chicago to Heathrow?

LOL, I *wish* I could take a train back to Heathrow!! Wouldn't it be nice if they'd extend the Eurostar... Guess I've got Heathrow on the brain today...