Originally Posted by djohannw

After going through this and many other threads on hotels in Chicago I am now even more confused than before where to stay. I'm taking the wife to Chicago early December for the third time and am now absolutely determined to make it to the city itself as our prior stays only had us stick to the areas around O'hare for various reasons.

Without much hesitation I booked the JW Marriott because of good experience with other JWs around the world, but after reading through this thread and also the separate one on that hotel it looks like this particular JW is the black sheep of the brand - I really do not want to discuss elite benefits with the hotel, and a lounge closed on weekends also make me unhappy as well. Only positive was the rate I got through the best rate guarantee at $140 per night Friday to Monday.

So here I'm back to square one with my search - I have absolutely no clue which hotel to choose. Ritz and St. Regis are out of my range, and I'd love to keep the price around $150 per night, so the Gwen and several other hotels are also out - currently look at:

- Hotel Chicago Downtown
- Westin Michigan Avenue
- Springhill Suites Downton/River North
- The Blackstone
- Embassy Suites Magnificient Mile (while it's not a Marriott-property, my company rate is very good there)

What we are looking for is a decently-sized and comfortable room with good bedding, Club lounge (open weekends) if possible, sparkling clean rooms (my wife is head housekeeper at a boutique property and always compares "their work" to how her team does things) and access to public transportation to get around. We will keep our car parked while staying there and will either walk or take public transport to see typical touristy sights in Chicago.

So with all this said, any suggestion what hotel I should choose? Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Greetings - Dirk

Originally Posted by arlflyer

To be honest, it is very unlikely that any of these properties will meet the bar that you are setting, and very few U.S. properties will hit the standard set by even an average European upmarket property. For example, even if you find a club lounge that is open, it is very likely to be a disappointment, laughable compared to the standard in Europe. If you forced me to pick from one of the list you provided I would go with the Blackstone due to a combination of hard product and location, but I would not prepare for a world-beating experience. I could also be convinced of the Hotel Chicago simply because one cannot beat River North for location. But either way, I would plan on spending little time in the hotel and maximizing your enjoyment of all that Chicago has to offer (which is a tremendous amount).