Bear Down Wildcats

Yup...Lets kick this forum off! I know there are tons of second city citizens here so give up the goods. This is what I had in mind when creating this forum. Kudos to SD97 and Salty for getting the ball rolling on some other great American cities.

Wife and I are beginning to plan our travel back west once my time in Durham is done. We are going to take the Northern route and the wife wants to see Mt Rushmore. I have some good friends in Chicago that I want to see, plus that will fall on our 3 year anniversary weekend so I want to have some surprises in store. Looking to spend a solid three days before heading out into the western wilderness.

For starters, does anyone have recommendations for a sweet hotel near the Loop or north of the river? Thinking in the 250-400 price range, with high floors and floor to ceiling windows. On one end I am considering the Drake for the price and the architecture, on the opposite end, the Trump tower. I know there are a lot in-between like the Intercontinental, the Hyatt Regency, Omni, Westin, Palomar Kimpton, Swissotel, etc etc. Any specific recommendations are a great place to stay with a good spa, good restaurants, and a wow factor? (I'll have to save the Four Seasons and the Pennisula for another trip.)

Restaurant suggestions would be most welcome and would have to accommodate a vegetarian palate.

Thanks again in advance and looking forward to see the discussions that unfold in these forums!

Cheers,
CST

Check out The Wit: http://thewithotel.com/

They have a Spa Room that falls in your price range, a very cool rooftop lounge, and one of my favorite go to restaurants on the ground floor, State & Lake.

Chicat wrote:Check out The Wit: http://thewithotel.com/

They have a Spa Room that falls in your price range, a very cool rooftop lounge, and one of my favorite go to restaurants on the ground floor, State & Lake.

Nice, thanks Chi.

Aviary for cocktails.

Eat quickly before the flapping angel wings make your food cold. And don't let one of those angies pick off any of your grub---they can be sneaky.

For our resident Chicagoans; this place was recommended to me. Any thoughts?

http://www.velvetloungechicago.com/

Never been there.

Go to Sportsman's Club for a cool slummy, dive bar, secret cocktail spot.

UAdevil wrote:For our resident Chicagoans; this place was recommended to me. Any thoughts?

http://www.velvetloungechicago.com/

Yeah, it's fun. It's jazz. It's clean, which for me takes points off. I err toward any number of blues bars on the south side that let you bring your take-out Harold's fried chicken that you order through bullet-proof glass. But now that I'm married, it's Velvet Lounge all the way.

God damn it's bad ass.

My favorite American city. I'm don't know the names of where I've been tonight, been hanging around grant park area and its best a blast. And I don't think it's ending anytime sooo .

CalStateTempe wrote:God damn it's bad ass.

My favorite American city. I'm don't know the names of where I've been tonight, been hanging around grant park area and its best a blast. And I don't think it's ending anytime sooo .

Sorry the weather sucks so bad. Supposed to be 70s and sunny next weekend of course...

I don't mind the cold weather it's quite comforting for my raging headache.

Wow last night was fun.

By far my favorite "big city" to visit

Anyone up for a beer tonight. Any recommendations? I'm by myself for the next three days by the lake.

the real dill wrote:Anyone up for a beer tonight. Any recommendations? I'm by myself for the next three days by the lake.

Shit, I won't be downtown the next few days. Oh well... Enjoy!

I love Chicago, but the pizza is wildly overrated.

Please tell me you didn't get deep dish.

deep dish pizza really isn't pizza, it's kind of a bread/lasagna/casserole thing

It's cheese pie with tomato sauce.

Another future visitor to Chicago. Will be there for 2 or 3 nights in late June. With the fam, so looking for a comfy apartment/hotel downtown near the lakefront. Best pizza (not deep dish!)? Nice but not crazy priced hotel with kitchen/suite?

Son is 8 years old, so we'll probably hit the Museum of Science and Industry and Navy Pier. Any recommendations for other stuff? Also will try the Amtrak service on the way out of town, Lincoln service down towards St Louis - anybody ridden this train?

waysouthcat wrote:Another future visitor to Chicago. Will be there for 2 or 3 nights in late June. With the fam, so looking for a comfy apartment/hotel downtown near the lakefront. Best pizza (not deep dish!)? Nice but not crazy priced hotel with kitchen/suite?

Son is 8 years old, so we'll probably hit the Museum of Science and Industry and Navy Pier. Any recommendations for other stuff? Also will try the Amtrak service on the way out of town, Lincoln service down towards St Louis - anybody ridden this train?

There is the Shedd Aquarium, and the Field Museum (has actual dinosaur fossils). Adler Planetarium is there too. But as a kid I didn't like that as well. You might also try Brookfield Zoo.

Your son is going to love the Science and Industry Building. You probably will too. I remember picking up every phone in the place. I would love to go back there again and see what has changed.

There is an Embassy Suites and a few other "suite" hotels downtown but they're pretty expensive. Like most big cities, the bigger the room, the more it costs. Not sure of any with a kitchen. You may want to look into doing an Airbnb instead.

Lots of good thin crust pizza. Once you know where you are staying you should look at Yelp. But honestly, pizza is everywhere. Bacci's has a few locations. NY style and big slices.

Your 8 year old will love Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park. The latter is a huge kids Park right downtown on the other side of Lakeshore Drive from the lake.

Take an architectural tour boat cruise. Best one is through the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Since your kid is on the young side, just do the river and don't bother with the longer river and lake cruise. The river is the best part and a really unique way to see the city. Then head up to Tilt/360 at the John Hancock building to see the city from 1000 feet in the air.

Navy Pier is cool because there's a kids museum and they've redone their dining options so it's fun for adults too. Shedd Aquarium is awesome as is the Field as CITH mentioned. Also the Chicago History museum is pretty sweet for people of all ages. Lots of stuff about the Great Fire and gangsters and such.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Bump, good suggestions here, maybe merge some of the more salient posts with the new thread?

Man...I can't find any decent hotel near downtown Chicago for my extended stay after my conference next month for less than $225/night.

scumdevils86 wrote:Man...I can't find any decent hotel near downtown Chicago for my extended stay after my conference next month for less than $225/night.

AirBnB dude.

scumdevils86 wrote:Man...I can't find any decent hotel near downtown Chicago for my extended stay after my conference next month for less than $225/night.

Welcome to the big city.

I’d use HotelTonight when you get here.

Olsondogg wrote:

scumdevils86 wrote:Man...I can't find any decent hotel near downtown Chicago for my extended stay after my conference next month for less than $225/night.

AirBnB dude.

I honestly haven't stayed in a hotel except for work trips in about 5 years. So this is a first for me haha

Chicat wrote:

scumdevils86 wrote:Man...I can't find any decent hotel near downtown Chicago for my extended stay after my conference next month for less than $225/night.

Welcome to the big city.

I’d use HotelTonight when you get here.

Hmm interesting. I checked it out and for tonight there was only 2 or 3 places less than 225

scumdevils86 wrote:

Chicat wrote:

scumdevils86 wrote:Man...I can't find any decent hotel near downtown Chicago for my extended stay after my conference next month for less than $225/night.

Welcome to the big city.

I’d use HotelTonight when you get here.

Hmm interesting. I checked it out and for tonight there was only 2 or 3 places less than 225

I’ll be honest, a decent hotel is going to set you back $200-$250 per night. Heck, the Marriott at Midway Airport right next to where the gang war is playing out nightly was $150.

Same deal in a lot of cities. In DC I had to do some serious negotiating to get a hotel in a central location for just under $300. Although there was a pretty good deal at Trump’s place. But fuck that shit...


PS - Make sure you clear your cache and cookies when you search again. Your device and other IDs have been tagged and all the hotels know what you’ve already seen as far as prices, so there’s no incentive to deliver any kind of deals or coupons. You may get served some better pricing if their algorithm thinks it’s your first time searching.

Chicat wrote:

scumdevils86 wrote:

Chicat wrote:

scumdevils86 wrote:Man...I can't find any decent hotel near downtown Chicago for my extended stay after my conference next month for less than $225/night.

Welcome to the big city.

I’d use HotelTonight when you get here.

Hmm interesting. I checked it out and for tonight there was only 2 or 3 places less than 225

I’ll be honest, a decent hotel is going to set you back $200-$250 per night. Heck, the Marriott at Midway Airport right next to where the gang war is playing out nightly was $150.

Same deal in a lot of cities. In DC I had to do some serious negotiating to get a hotel in a central location for just under $300. Although there was a pretty good deal at Trump’s place. But fuck that shit...


PS - Make sure you clear your cache and cookies when you search again. Your device and other IDs have been tagged and all the hotels know what you’ve already seen as far as prices, so there’s no incentive to deliver any kind of deals or coupons. You may get served some better pricing if their algorithm thinks it’s your first time searching.

Thanks for the tip! Appreciate it. I don't really mind paying that much for a hotel in Chicago of all places, I'm just a cheap bastard. Tucson has spoiled me a bit in that regard.

We stayed in an airBnB up in the Lincoln Park area last year for around 175 a night if I remember correctly. It was really nice, about a block from the train station and close to coffee shops, cafe's, restaurants. But it was only 1 bedroom in a 2 bedroom apartment alongside the long term tenant. But if you have kids you'll need at least a second bedroom. There are lots of 'whole' apartments or even houses available.

Just got a groupon for the Architecture Boat Tour, sweet.

Restaurants on the list of potential stops:

The Purple Pig
The Publican
Momotaro
Forastero
Cafecito
Pierogi Heaven
an undetermined Italian deli

basically I'm going to just eat when I'm there.

scumdevils86 wrote:Just got a groupon for the Architecture Boat Tour, sweet.

Restaurants on the list of potential stops:

The Purple Pig
The Publican
Momotaro
Forastero
Cafecito
Pierogi Heaven
an undetermined Italian deli

basically I'm going to just eat when I'm there.

Architecture boat tour is good. So is Frank Lloyd House tour in Oak Park.

Add restaurant to consider: Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder (be prepared to stand in a queue)

scumdevils86 wrote:Just got a groupon for the Architecture Boat Tour, sweet.

Restaurants on the list of potential stops:

The Purple Pig
The Publican
Momotaro
Forastero
Cafecito
Pierogi Heaven
an undetermined Italian deli

basically I'm going to just eat when I'm there.

The architecture tour is just terrific. You'll see all the history on the river and have access to an academic for history questions.

And if you're into art, the Chicago Art Institute in the park is simply unparalleled and thrilling.

Also in the park this time of year, free outdoor classical concerts.

We like the Purp Pig a lot. Excellent food, adventurous menu, a shared-seating area to make new friends----seemed mostly corp people who work in the Loop, etc.