Hotwire Hotel: 3.5* Chicago (Mag Mile-Streeterville) Embassy Suites Lakefront

[soychai]

Please help identify:

4* hotel in North Michigan Avenue - Water Tower - Gold Coast area

5/3 - 5/6

$89/night

Recommended in 60% of customer reviews

3.5/5 on tripadvisor

boutique hotel, fitness, golf center nearby, restaurants, business center, internet

Thank you~

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

My guess would be the Whitehall.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[soychai]

Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

This is our first trip to Chicago, IL (mid-20s couple) and I would like it to be special.

Any opinions on this hotel (whitehall)? And any suggestions towards things to do during this 3night stay in this area?

THANKS :)

[AaronJB]

The Whitehall is a smaller, independent historic property. It gets mixed reviews, but is in a terrific location right off Michigan Ave.

For a more upscale choice, I'd rather suggest the 4* Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Tennis, Spa in the Mag Mile/Streeterville area of the city, which would likely be the Swissotel, which is right along the river and near the lake.

For a good value choice, I'd search for 2 adults/2 children - if you do so, a 3.5* Mag Mile/Streeterville choice will appear w/Suite, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Complimentary Breakfast, Smoke Free, Hi-Speed Internet, Business for $89. This is likely the Embassy Suites Lakefront, a very nice Embassy Suites property that would offer a great location and free breakfast/evening reception.

For a cheaper choice that's nice, there's a 3.5* in the North Michigan Ave/Water Tower/Gold Coast area w/Restaurant, Fitness, Smoke Free, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Golf, Tennis for $76. This would likely be the Ambassador East, a nice, famous (the hotel has had many celebrity guests over the years, and a wall of signed celeb photos is in the lobby - the hotel's Pump Room restaurant is legendary in terms of old-school Hollywood.) historic property in the Gold Coast area. This is in more of a neighborhood, but is an easy walk to Michigan Ave. shopping and an easy walk to Oak Street Beach. It is also a reasonable walk North to Old Town and Lincoln Park Zoo.

Personally, instead of the Whitehall, I'd choose one of these three options. The Ambassador East would be the cheapest, the Embassy Suites would be a great location and value and, while the most expensive, the Swissotel would be the most upscale choice.

Once you do choose a hotel, I'd be happy to suggest ideas on what to do around the city.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[soychai]

Wow, thank you so much for your input. It is really great and helpful. I really appreciate it.

I inputted your suggestion of:

2 Adults, 2 Children. 3 nights - 05/03 - 05/06

The 3.5*, Magnificient Mile-Streetervile Area with: Suite, Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness, Business, Hi-Speed Internet shows up. But it doesnt show an icon with No Smoking. Would this still be Embassy Suites- Lakefront? It is 3.5*, Recommended in 95% of customer reviews, and 4/5 on Tripadvisor. And rate of $89.00.

I just want to make sure this is the same one you were referencing as it doesnt show Non-Smoking.

If not ES, what other hotels might it be?

Thank you again. I will be booking today :) Sooo excited!

P.S, I'm not sure if it would be better to spend the 122 a night for the Swissotell as opposed to this option above. =/

[AaronJB]

Sorry about that - a no-smoking sign should not be showing. The 3.5* option that you are seeing should be the ES, which is definitely a great deal for this quite nice Embassy Suites property.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[soychai]

Hi Aaron,

Thank you so much again for your help.

I booked it and we did indeed get the Embassy Suites Lakefront @ North Columbus. Any pointers in getting upgraded, etc.? I've noticed that some mention they tend to give upgrades. We are going on 5/3 - 5/6 which is a Monday - Thursday so I am guessing less busy? Any advice on the hotel, and things to do in the area would be great!!

Do you suggest purchasing the Chciago City Pass for 70 dollars per person?

Any other suggestions in terms of restaurants to eat at while in chicago (deep dish pizza, italian food -fine dining @moderate prices)..

Or any other must go places while in Chicago?

We'll probably purchase the 3 day pass for the CTA and use that quite often.

Any advice at all towards our trip would be very much appreciated!

Best,

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received the hotel you were hoping for and that the information on the board was helpful with your purchase.

It would be appreciated if you used the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future travel purchases.

[AaronJB]

Congratulations on your success. :)

This is an excellent deal for this property, which is a very nice Embassy Suites property in a great location. There isn't much in the way of upgrade options at this property, which is an all-suite property, with rooms that are the same. The only upgrade option that I'm aware of is that I believe some rooms may have lake views (which I haven't been in personally, but given where the building is, I don't think these are full-on lake views and are probably more partial lake views.) You could ask regarding views at check-in, although PRICELINE/HOTWIRE reservations are not eligible for upgrades (although the final result is up to the hotel.)

As for the Citypass, I think it's a matter of whether or not you will see enough of the attractions to make it worthwhile. The Adler Planetarium isn't great and the Museum of Science and Industry - while entertaining - is a bit of a journey South of the city to get to. The Field and Shedd would be the primary suggestions, plus a stop at either the Sears Tower or Hancock Observation booths. The Art Institute is also highly recommended, but not part of this program.

Personally, rather than the citypass I would suggest this:

5/3: Check in at the hotel, Hancock Observatory (which is an easy walk from the hotel), Michigan Ave. shopping. Depending on when you get in, you could probably fit in a boat tour, too.

5/4: Field Museum/Shedd Aquarium

5/5: Belmont/Lincoln Park neighborhood*, Lincoln Park Zoo, Old Town neighborhood.

5/6: Art Institute in the morning after checking out.

* The Belmont neighborhood is a hip area in the Lakeview neighborhood, which can be easily accessed by taking the Red Line subway from downtown - it's about a 10-12 minute ride North. To the East of the Belmont station (such as in the vicinity of Belmont/Broadway)

Shopping on Michigan Ave. is definitely fun, but I think Belmont may be worth going to, as there are a lot of neat thrift stores (Ragstock, Brown Elephant and many others) around the vicinity of Belmont and Broadway, and one can really find some gems at times in these places (the Brown Elephant is also a charitable organization, as well.) Ann Sather on Belmont is a great choice for breakfast, but I would highly recommend going there on an empty stomach, as the portions are sizable and the food is rich. Ann Sather is an institution in the North Side area.

There is a great walking route from Belmont/Broadway to the Zoo if the weather is decent. If you are in the mood for a very substantial walk, you could take the subway North to Belmont, walk around Belmont, walk South to the Zoo and then to the Spice House and then back to the subway (a giant circle tour.)

You would walk North from your hotel half a block to Grand, then West on Grand to Grand/State to the subway stop and then take the Red Line North to Belmont (at one point during this trip, the subway goes from underground to the above ground tracks). Walk East on Belmont to Belmont and Broadway, browse around the area and then head South on Broadway. Head South on Broadway to Clark and then continue further South on Clark to Fullerton. Head East on Fullerton to Stockton. Across the street to the North is the Peggy Notabert Nature Center (admission), which is a smaller (although very sleek looking) museum whose key exhibit is a beautiful live butterfly exhibit.

Continue South on Stockton a short distance to the Zoo. Walk South through the Zoo to the Farm in the Zoo (the South end of the Zoo) and then head West a short distance across the park to Clark Street. Continue South on Clark to North Avenue. Walk a few blocks West on North to Wells. The Spice House is just a few blocks South. After the Spice House, walk a couple of blocks due East to Clark, then continue South on Clark to Clark and Division. There is a red line station right there, which you can take South to the State/Grand station. Would definitely require nice weather and is definitely a huge walk, but a great route through the North side.

Otherwise, nearby your hotel restaurant-wise is Volare (which is a fine italian restaurant), Heaven on Seven (cajun), Star of Siam (Thai), Quartino (another very good italian place), Frontera (the famed Rick Bayless restaurant, in the River North area), and many others. The above are within a reasonable walk from your hotel. I really am personally not a fan of waiting in line for Uno's and Due's for Pizza. If you are going to go somewhere for Pizza, I'd rather recommend Giordano's, Lou Malnati's or having pizza at Quartino's. There are a massive amount of restaurants of all kinds in River North, which is maybe a 5-10 minute walk from your hotel. I'm also a fan of Fox and Obel Cafe (fox-obel.com), which is literally a couple of blocks East of the hotel, on Illinois and McClurg. Gourmet Market and Cafe - fun to browse around and the cafe has really great food. I compare it to NYC's Dean and Deluca - it's sort of a Chicago version.

The Field/Shedd would definitely be a fun combo, but I think the Belmont/Lincoln Park combo would allow you to vary the trip up a bit, and I think someone in their 20's would find the area fun and more reasonably priced than the shops downtown. That walking route is through very nice areas, as well. So, with the above plan, you would get some time in the neighborhoods of the city, shopping on Michigan Ave, the Zoo (free) and museums.

Please ask if you have any questions.