Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
6
Where to Stay
D
owntown Chicago is packed with
hotels, thanks to the city's booming
convention trade. The competition
among luxury hotels is especially
intense, with the Ritz-Carlton and
Four Seasons winning international
awards even as newer properties (such
as the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower and
the Hard Rock Hotel) get in on the
action. In recent years, that has meant
steadily rising prices, with budget lodg-
ings becoming harder to find.
Most Chicago hotels offer a quin-
tessential urban experience: Rooms
come with views of surrounding sky-
scrapers, and the bustle of city life hits
you as soon as you step outside the
lobby doors. Although every property
listed here caters to business travelers,
Chicago attracts lots of tourists as
well, and you won't have a problem
finding plenty of midrange, family-
friendly hotels in the most convenient
neighborhoods; this is not a city where
luxury hotels have dibs on all the
prime real estate.
Although Chicago has its share of
places that tout themselves as “bou-
tique” hotels (Hotel Burnham, Hotel
Monaco, W Chicago Lakeshore),
these aren't quite the same as their
New York, Miami, or Los Angeles
counterparts—the so-called beautiful
people who frequent these spots on
the coasts don't tend to stop off in
Chicago. No matter where you stay,
you'll likely find that your fellow
guests are business travelers or vaca-
tioning families.
The rates given in this chapter are
per night and do not include taxes,
which are quite steep at 14.9%, nor
do they take into account corporate or
other discounts. Prices are always sub-
ject to availability and vary according
to the time of week and season.
Note:
For information on getting
good room rates and the best rooms in
hotels, see “Tips on Accommodations,”
in chapter 3, beginning on p. 47.
Because Chicago's hospitality indus-
try caters first and foremost to the
business traveler, rates tend to be
higher during the week. The city's slow
season is from January to March, when
outsiders tend to shy away from the
cold and the threat of being snowed in
at O'Hare. (If you'd like to watch your
pennies but don't want to sightsee in a
heavy down coat, another option is to
stay in an outlying neighborhood dur-
ing the week and then move into
downtown for the weekend.)
You never know when some huge
convention will gobble up all the
desirable rooms in the city (even on
the weekends), so you're wise to book
a room well in advance at any time of
year. To find out if an upcoming con-
vention coincides with your visit,
contact the
Chicago Convention &
Tourism Bureau
(
&
312/567-8500;
www.choosechicago.com—click on
“Meeting Professionals,” and then
click on “Convention Calendar”).
RESERVATIONS
While our list-
ings give the national toll-free num-
bers for most of the hotels in this
book, you may obtain better rates by
calling hotels directly. You may also
want to check hotel websites, which
often advertise special deals. If you
