Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
book online, follow up with a call to
the hotel to discuss the type of room
you want—if you book online, you
might get a lousy room.
Most hotels have check-in times
somewhere between 3 and 6pm; if you
are going to be delayed, call ahead and
reconfirm your reservation to prevent
cancellation.
CORPORATE DISCOUNTS
Most
hotels offer discounts of roughly 10%
to individuals who are visiting Chicago
on business. To qualify for this rate,
your company usually must have an
account on file at the hotel; in some
cases, however, you may be required
only to present some perfunctory proof
of your commercial status, such as a
business card or an official letterhead,
to receive the discount. It never hurts
to ask.
RESERVATION SERVICES
For
discounted rooms at more than 30
downtown hotels, try
Hot Rooms
(
&
800/468-3500
or 773/468-7666;
www.hotrooms.com). My parents
have used this service, and they were
quite happy with the results—a night
at a downtown hotel for about half the
regular price. The 24-hour service is
free, but if you cancel a reservation,
you're assessed a $25 fee. For a free
copy of the annual
Illinois Hotel-Motel
Directory,
which also provides infor-
mation about weekend packages, call
the
Illinois Bureau of Tourism
at
&
800/2CONNECT.
BED & BREAKFAST RESERVA-
TIONS
service called
At Home Inn Chicago,
P.O. Box 14088, Chicago, IL 60614
(
&
800/375-7084
or 773/394-2000;
fax 773/394-2002; www.chicago-bed-
breakfast.com), lists more than 70
accommodations in Chicago. Options
range from high-rise and loft apart-
ments to guest rooms carved from a
former private club on the 40th floor
of a Loop office building. Most lie
within 3 miles of downtown (many are
located in the Gold Coast, Old Town,
and Lincoln Park neighborhoods) and
will run you $150 to $300 for apart-
ments, and as low as $105 for guest
rooms in private homes. Most require
a minimum stay of 2 or 3 nights.
A group of local B&B owners
also has formed the
Chicago Bed
and Breakfast Association,
with a
website that links to various properties
throughout the city:
www.chicago-
bed-breakfast.com
.
ACCESSIBILITY
Most hotels are
prepared to accommodate travelers
with physical disabilities, but you
should always inquire when you make
reservations to make sure that the
hotel can meet your particular needs.
Older properties, in particular, may
not meet current requirements or may
only have limited numbers of specially
equipped rooms.
A WORD ABOUT SMOKING
Most hotels offer rooms or entire
floors for nonsmokers. If it's important
to you, be sure to specify whether you
want a smoking or nonsmoking room
when you make your reservation.
A centralized reservations
1 The Loop
Strictly speaking, “downtown” in Chicago means the Loop—the central busi-
ness district, a 6-by-8-block rectangle enveloped by elevated tracks on all four
sides. Within these confines are the city's financial institutions, trading markets,
and municipal government buildings, making for a lot of hustle and bustle
Monday through Friday. The Art Institute of Chicago sits on the Loop's edge
and the Museum Campus, home to the Field Museum of Natural History and
John G. Shedd Aquarium, is an easy walk to the south on a nice day. For visi-
tors who want a real “city” experience, the Loop offers dramatic urban vistas of
skyscrapers and the feeling that you're at the heart of the action—on weekdays.
