RobertOwen

I was hoping the members here might help me with suggestions for a romantic hotel in Chicago. We will be there next month for a long weekend. Money is a factor: can't afford more than $150/night.

Thanks in advance. Rob

dln

I never thought I would recommend this particular hotel, because normally I associate "romantic" with a small, cozy kind of place. However, the Hotel Intercontinental on the Magnificent Mile has got to be one of our all-time favorites. My husband and I had a fabulous time there. Part of the hotel dates from the 1920s, and it's been completely and expertly restored. Talk about magnificent! The pool is original and it simply transports you back to the Great Gadsby era. You'll feel like Fitzgerald to your Daisy.

The modern part of the hotel is very sleek and sophisticated. Our room was beautifully appointed, and we had a great view of the Mag Mile. It was glorious in the evening with all the lights twinkling.

We were able to find a deal on the internet for $149/night. It took a bit of sleuthing, but we felt it was worth every penny.

RobertOwen

Thanks dln for your suggestion. I've heard great things about the Intercontinental and so far it is probably our leading choice. It's only drawback, really, is the price. I've found deals for other places like the Palmer Hilton for much less (though I understand the rooms at the Palmer are very small).

As a side question, do hotels in Chicago generally offer parking. We'll be driving there. Is parking included. My hunch in probably not. Anyone with experience care to chime in?

Thanks in advance!

Colette

I was at the Palmer Hilton 2 yrs. ago. Stayed there with my Mom. (Obviously was not looking for a romantic getaway). Anyway, we had a standard room----cost approx. $120 a nite. 2 double beds, definitely not a romantic room. Most hotels offer parking but it's quite expensive......we've paid from $35-$40 a nite---yikes!! On our last trip, we parked our car in a suburb and took the train in. I'd definitely do that again. I'll watch your posting to see if you want any tips on that, 'cus I got many tips from this forum on taking the train into downtown and I'm now the expert.

Colette

P.S. One of my friends got a priceline room at the Tremont. Very convenient to the Mag Mile and she said the rooms were great. Might want to check into that.

dln

I should have mentioned the Palmer House to you. It's one of those grande old dame hotels. The lobby is an ornate wonder. The lesser-priced rooms, such as we stayed at last year, were very tiny. Think the width of a bed and an extra foot and a half on either side (no joke). My brother and sister-in-law were with us on that particular trip, and they had better rooms which were quite nice. However, we paid $89 from an internet deal and they paid considerably more!

One VERY nice thing about our closet-sized room, which more than made up for the squish factor, was the bathtub. Yes, the bathtub. A big old deep bathtub for soaking. I was in it so long my husband nearly gave me up for lost! It was heavenly.

Parking in Chicago, as noted, is pricey, pricey, pricey. It's nothing to spend $30/day on it. Ouch!

Rob, you might want to set some time aside to surf the net for deals, because they can be found. I still prefer the Inter-Continental, but the beautiful Palmer House is nothing to sneeze about. Good luck!

nmguy88001

RobertOwen,

I must agree with Colette about the Tremont on Chestnut. The location is absolutely perfect, midway between north Michigan Avenue (just across from the John Hancock building) and Rush Street. You are off Michigan, and the noise, but close to everything.

My wife and I found the place small and quaint. It is older, but had an elegant feel too! On top of it, we got a deal online for a suite (via Turbotrip). When I checked with the hotel to insure the online deal was in place (I always recommend checking with the hotel directly!), IT WASN'T! Turns out, Turbotrip had screwed up.

The manager contacted me directly and we ended up with the Penthouse for the price of the online special, $149)! Let me tell you, it was wonderful (two marble baths, living room and bar with baby grand, views of Lake Michigan and the John Hancock building). I realize this doesn't happen every day but my point is, the Tremont strives to satisfy their customers!

Couldn't hurt to contact them and see what kind of "special" you might get. And, Le Colonial just around the corner on Rush is a very nice, romantic place for dinner!

Vaya con Dios!

patg

Take a look at www.hotrooms.com and plug in your dates. They list many available, discounted hotels, and their parking charges. As others have mentioned, parking at a downtown Chicago hotel is $30 or more a day. Face it. (The only place I know of with free parking is the River North hotel on LaSalle. Convenient, yes, romantic, no)

I spotted the Swisshotel for your price. It's a four star hotel near Grant Park, and here's a bonus: it's close to the cheapest parking downtown, the Monroe Street Garage, about $12 a day, accessed from Columbus Drive (the street that goes north-south behind the Art Institute.) This combination makes for a good deal. Have a great visit.

Janeyre

In response to The Tremont as a romantic getaway--my sweetheart and I spent five nights in mid-June at The Tremont. We paid $130 a night for a king/nonsmoking room. Positives: excellent location for Mag. Mile. Bus stops 1/2 block away. Able to take the El from Midway and walk 2 1/2 blocks to hotel. Tempo restaurant down the street-good breakfasts. Negatives: room needed updating such as new carpenting, new furniture (lots of nicks/scratches-once nice but now looked hand-me-down-ish),polyester bedspread (sorry, I'm a cotton fanatic) no ice machine-had to go through room service every single afternoon (we like our diet pops after a long day), skimpy on the towels, bothered a bit by a low toilet-imagine difficult for elderly folk (I always think of how my older parents would fare in a particular hotel), one, yes, one, public elevator-sometimes we had to wait for it to deliver people and come back down for us. A feature of an old hotel, I guess. Our corner room jutted out a bit so it didn't feel we had neighbors-another big positive--no noise. Reviews I had read described the placement of the room desk in the entrance way as obtrusive--true, it was there, but there was room to negotiate. I left a window open one day and by evening the ceiling near the window was dotted with baby flies. All in all, would I recommend it for a romantic getaway? No. It was however an excellent location and a quiet room for us on a nice side street of Michigan Avenue.