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

[pinkrose]

Need quad occupancy and am extremely happy :) :) - just booked through your HOTWIRE link:

3.5* Magnificent Mile Area - Streeterville area Hotel

$89 per night for 6/8/10 through 6/15/10

Amenities: Suite, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Complimentary Breakfast, Hi-Speed Internet, Business

Will be traveling with 3 of my kids (16, 18 & 24) and taking in the museums, aquarium, zoo, Navy Pier, Sears or Hancock Tower, a Chicago Sky game, and possibly a Cubs/Sox game. My daughter would like to see a ballet or other dance show - any suggestions? Best restaurants and other must see places we don't want to miss??

Thanks - LOVE this site!

[pinkrose]

Sorry forgot to include this is the Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront property :)

[yellowdog]

Congratulations on your success!

Thank you for sharing your result with the board and using our HOTWIRE link to book this :)

Enjoy your stay.

Yellowdog.

[AaronJB]

In terms of restaurants, it would depend on what you are looking for in terms of style/atmosphere. The one recommendation that I do often make for those staying in this area is Fox and Obel Market and Cafe (fox-obel.com), which is quite a nice place for a bite or just to browse around.

Navy Pier is right nearby, but I'd seriously recommend limiting the time there or skipping it entirely - it's just not that memorable (heck, if you look up "tourist trap" on Wikipedia, Navy Pier is on the list). I'd FAR rather recommend LP Zoo, which is free and fantastic. The Old Town neighborhood and Chicago Historical Society are also right there, as is the Peggy Notabert Nature Museum (which does have an admission cost, and does have a beautiful live butterfly exhibit.

Additionally, there's a fantastic Farmer's Market in the park next to the zoo:

Outdoor Market

May 12-October 30, 2010

Every Wednesday and Saturday

7:00 am- 1:00 pm

(http://www.chicagogreencitymarket.org/)

There's also another really nice neighborhood Farmer's Market closer by - it's on Saturday mornings on Division between State and Clark.

Finally, there's also a really nice - and quite big - Dominick's Grocery across the street from the hotel if you need cheaper snacks.

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions, and also - quite a fantastic deal for this Embassy Suites property.

[pinkrose]

Thanks for the great tips Aaron, I think we'll take your advice to skip the pier and spend time at the other places you mentioned.

As far as restaurants go, just casual/fun atmosphere - places unique to Chicago, any ethnic favorites and especially great gnocchi recommendations would be appreciated. The markets you mentioned sound great so we'll definitely be stopping by those.

I did a double take on the price and amenities for this time of year, checked this Hotwire hotel list and didn't even hesitate to book this fantastic deal! :)

[AaronJB]

A week is more than enough time to cover a lot of Chicago.

Since your children are older, they may like the area around Belmont/Broadway, which has an absolutely fantastic used record store (Reckless Records) and a great deal of quite good thrift stores nearby.

Are you interested in heading outside the city at all? You could probably even have time to go outside the city, given the week-long stay.

One restaurant that I do like to recommend is Flat Top Grill; there's one on 30 South Wabash in the Loop, but there's also one in Lincoln Park and elsewhere. That is a "Make Your Own Stir Fry" restaurant; not the world's best, but good. It's not unique to Chicago, either (there are also ones elsewhere in IL, IN, WI), but it's a nice, fun and easy way to wind down a day.

Otherwise, nearby your restaurant 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.

A breakfast place that's an institution is Ann Sather, on Belmont (although there are a couple of others; annsather.com) You won't be hungry after eating there - certainly very good, but good-sized portions/heavy.

Food-wise, I'm also a tremendous fan of the Spice House (thespicehouse.com), which is in the Old Town area. This is a husband-and-wife run Spice/Herb store, and they offer "neighborhood-themed" blends. Some of the top chefs in Chicago do their shopping there - the prices are extremely reasonable, especially given the quality. If there are things you do enjoy from Spice House, they also do sell online.

Additionally, up the street from Spice House is the Old Town Aquarium, which is essentially a pet store where everyone appears to have degrees in marine biology. It's a pet store, but they actually supply public aquariums (such as the Shedd in Chicago) and the people who work there know an extraordinary amount about fish. Fun to stop in and look around for a few minutes.

Please do ask if you have any questions at all.

[pinkrose]

Wow, thanks Aaron lots of great suggestions - very much appreciated! We'll definitely be stopping by Reckless Records, the Old Town Aquarium and Spice House, and looks like we won't be going hungry ay all.

Hadn't really thought about going outside the city since I won't be renting a car, but your suggestions are wonderful so I'd love to hear others.

Thanks again!

[AaronJB]

Heading outside the city is difficult without a car, as while there is public transit that heads outside the city, it's not "linked" well - you can get outside the city, but it's hard and/or time consuming to get from the stations to too many places.

One possible suggestion would be the Brookfield Zoo, which is giant (brookfieldzoo.org) and easy to get to from downtown - you can take the Metra train from Union Station out to the Hollywood stop (more information: http://metrarail.com/content/metra/en/home...hollywood.html) The Zoo is just a very short walk away from that station.

The other suggestion would be Ravinia (ravinia.org), a very nice/upscale concert hall in the suburbs. There is a train stop right at the concert hall - you would take the Metra train from Ogilvie Station downtown to the Ravinia Park stop. Really nice outdoor concert hall w/lawn seats, and one can take in outside food. It just depends on if you're interested in anything playing during the time period.

Evanston is a very nice college town (Northwestern) with a very nice assortment of stores and restaurants. That's an easy trip from downtown - one can use the Red Line "L" or take a Metra train from Ogilvie. However, a trip to Evanston would not be high on my list; it's very nice, but it would be something to consider after seeing all the primary sights you are interested in.

[pinkrose]

Ravinia has a couple of dance shows during that week which I'll run by my daughter - thanks again for the great suggestions!

[AaronJB]

Happy to help! In terms of getting to Ravinia, you would go to the Ogilvie Transit Center in downtown and take a Union Pacific/North Line train to the Ravinia Park station. The Metra trains are certainly more comfortable than the "L" trains - they have two levels and nicer seating, although I'd recommend buying the ticket at the station, as they do charge an extra fee if you buy the ticket on the train. The train goes through quite a few different 'burbs between Chicago-Ravinia and provides sort of a visual tour of the North 'burbs.

[AaronJB]

Overall, you could do something along these lines (just to provide an outline.)

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be too many baseball games at this time, aside from a three-game stretch on the 8th-10th w/Sox against the Tigers. The Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox at Wrigley game is going on during that time, but that game sold out in mere seconds when tickets went on sale in Feb.

If your daughter is interested in dance, Columbia College (which is downtown)'s dance program has performances. (see:http://www.colum.edu/dance_center/)

Day 1: check-in. Walk along Michigan Ave. to the Hancock Tower and go up to the Observatory (I'd recommend the Hancock over the Sears Tower.)

Day 2: Belmont Shopping/Lincoln Park Zoo/Old Town (Spice House, and there are a number of other stores/restaurants, as well as Zanies Comedy Club and Piper's Alley theatre, as well as Second City.) Seeing a show at the famed Second City would be fun, and that's right in the Old Town area. The Chicago Green Farmer's Market in the park near the Zoo would be going on on this day (Wednesday), too.

Day 3: Chinatown morning/lunch then Sox Day (1:05p) Game? On the way back, if your daughter wanted to check out Columbia's dance school, you could probably stop in and look around or see a performance if there's something going on.

Day 4: Art Institute/Millennium Park early (next to each other.) Shopping on State St nearby (Macy's/Nordstrom Rack, etc.) Head West from there to Ogilvie Station to take train to Ravinia (if you wanted to fit that in.) You could walk through the Loop to the train station. Additionally, you could group the Chicago Botanic Garden (which is in the 'burbs near Ravinia) with going to Ravinia and then bump the Art Institute/Millennium Park to Day 6.

Day 5: Field/Shedd (which are right next to each other.) Shopping after?

Day 6: ? Maybe see a performance, shopping, etc? There's the Chicago Botanic Garden wine festival in the burbs (http://www.chicagobotanic.org/calendar/winefestival) during this weekend, which will also have food from top local restaurants/caterers, food demos and music.). This is not far from where Ravinia is. It's a little more difficult to get to/from downtown on the weekend (less trains), but certainly not impossible, and the suburban stations are pleasant to wait at.

The Botanic is absolutely GORGEOUS, too (especially this time of year) and it's a large area - there's a lot to see, including some indoor exhibits. They will have a trolley operating to/from the train on these dates for $2, although you could walk it (maybe 15-20 minutes, but a very pretty walk.) Additionally, you could also do the Millennium Park/Art Institute combo on this day if you choose to see the Botanic on Day 4 w/Ravinia.

If you are a walk-in to the Botanic, there is no admission charge. (If you were to drive-in, it's $20 to park.) Access to the wine tasting festival is a charge, but those are 21 are free when accompanied by an adult.

Day 7: Maybe you could pick up some items for breakfast at Fox and Obel nearby and if it's a nice morning, have an outdoor breakfast sitting out at Navy Pier, which is just down the street.

Again, just a basic outline - let me know your thoughts and I'd be happy to provide more detailed directions around the city.

One other note - Illinois is the street that runs E/W next to the hotel (along the South face of the building.) Walk a very short distance West on Illinois and you'll see a large set of stairs leading upwards. Otherwise, Illinois goes under Michigan Ave. Take those stairs up and then walk about half a block further West and you'll be on Michigan Ave. Additionally, around the corner from the hotel on Illinois is a giant multiplex (18 screens) and a modern bowling alley.

[pinkrose]

Thanks once again for ALL of your help Aaron. With this advice we can't have anything except a wonderful experience in Chicago - can't wait! :)