Leumas

I'm used to catching early flights... But are we talking an hour (or more) from downtown to ORD and are the train reliable at around the 5-6am mark...?

KENNECTED

I don't know about 5/6 AM, but the last time I took the train to ORD it took about 40-50 minutes as there we delays. I don't know what the delays were (ie. train traffic, maintenance, etc.). I would check the Chicago Forum for more specifics.

paytonc

I regularly take early (i.e., 6AM) flights and the Blue Line is fine at 4-5AM -- frequencies get better at 5AM, and currently the only construction on the line ends at 4AM. ORD is 45 minutes from the Loop. Certainly for an 8AM, there's no need to head to an airport hotel unless you really don't want to get up early.

Marathon Man

I have SPG pointage. We plan to use points instead of $.

I need two SPG hotel properties in and around Chicago... 2 dif dates at holiday. Here's the story:

My wife and children (3 year old daughter, 1.5year old son) are flying on UA miles On July 2 BOS-ORD.

We have a wedding in Michigan over the holiday weekend and will be driving the 2 hours 58 minutes - 167.66 miles due to its location on the 3rd (we have done this trip before but didnt have kids then; flying non stop with children is best and that's why we chose Chicago, and the wedding is a family member, at whose home we are staying)

We return to Chicago on the 5th and fly ORD-BOS on the early morning of Monday, the 6th.

Our plan/hope is to get two different hotels...

One hotel is to be in Chicago/near airport on July 5-one night:

The one on the 5th could actually be at or near O'Hare but my question is:

WHICH SPG property in this area is kid friendly (if any)? Or rather, which one is not-not kid friendly? (for example, when my wife and I did this same trip years ago without children, we stayed at the nice trendy highrise W Chicago Lakeshore in the city. She wore designer heels and a strapless dress and I was in a suit... A W is nice and certainly could work, but, well, you know--strollers and lot sof baby things...

Anyway, Four Popints Sheraton, Aloft O'Hare, Westin O'Hare, and Sheraton Gateway Suites appear to all be at or near O'Hare. Does anybody here know things about these hotels? Which might work? Others, etc?

I could call them all and ask but that's why I'm in here. To find real time user experience.

The reasoning behind wanting a low-points O'Hare-located hotel on the 5th is so that we can return our rental car and get to the terminals in the Am with kids and stuff in tow with a bit more ease than say, being stuck in the city or something else unforeseen.

The other hotel could be in Chicago or on the way to Michigan for one night on the 2nd:
Now... on the 2nd, are thinking was to arrive (10am) at O'Hare, pick up the car and find a hotel at pretty much anywhere. We could enjoy the city for a day and evening and stay at an SPG property in Chi-town... Or we could drive part way to our destination (It's close to Kalamazoo, Michigan so there's not much going on around there and you need to drive part way thru Indiana to get there and find one on the way.

Any thoughts?
Remember, we do have the 2 little kids. We have yet to determine if we will try to bring our car seats with us or rent some with the vehicle. Either way, you get the picture: 4 people, traveling with children, Hot, July 4th weekend, airports, weddings... Bye bye strapless dress and designer heels and nice suit.

Thanks!

MM

(for example... a kid friendly hotel in our area is this one--it has a water park inside: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin...propertyID=256)

RockoHorse

We went to chicago last month
Stayed at the aloft at the airport
I liked it
Not sure how it would work with kids but you can be the judge:
normal sized elevators
small pool - only a few feet deep, someone was walking around it
room we had was 1 king bed,
1 shower (no tub) and toilet room with a sliding door
sink and "closet" (not a lot of place to hang clothes)
tv on the wall and if you bring a computer and cable you can hook it up to the media box and project your computer screen on the tv on the wall
in the lobby there is a little cafeteria area, you grab what food you want and pay for it at the desk
in the morning they have a good selection of stuff if you need to grab it and go, not super cheap but not super expensive either
not sure about parking but i'm guessing it was free because the hotel is attached to a big parking lot

the only other place we stayed was the chicago hotel and towers
it had escalators and elevators
i don't seem to remember anything that would impede a stroller
it was a big hotel, apparently it also had a pool
its a great central location for strolls around downtown
the room we had was big

we used points for both stays and i think we got good value for money

mahasamatman

We stayed at the Westin Chicago River North last weekend. Great location. Our friend who is an event organizer told us this was the best Starwood property in Chicago - she was really surprised to hear it was also the cheapest (of the downtown options).

Marathon Man

thanks!
Will check that Aloft one out and Chicago River North !

MM

UPDATE:
Have called and booked Aloft. Wife said to.
So that's the outboound one

For coming in to Chi, will keep lookin

Totoro

I don't want to rain on your parade, but parking is $26/night.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/11717701-post94.html

If all else is equal, you might try the other Starwood ORD properties. You have been warned!

Marathon Man

Thank you... no worries though:

Our plan is to return the rental car on the 5th at the airport and then have the hotel shuttle take us early. They said it is complimentary and starts running at 5am. Our flight back to BOS is at 630 so we will do fine I think.

ldsant

Since CheapElite must be away this weekend, I'll let you know that there are LOADS of threads regarding the Chicago properties - found in the Hotel Master Threads.

Also, I would suggest the Sheraton Gateway Suites at the airport. I definitely would never stay at the Chicago North River - one of the worst Starwood experiences I had (stayed 3 times and it was not positive). I prefer the Westin Michigan Avenue. Great location, very family friendly.

vandalby

I'd recommend sticking with the W Lakeshore for your one night stay in the city. Easy walk to Michigan Ave., can hop one of the busses if you want to hit the Zoo, Lincoln Park, etc. Plus the Lakeshore has the pool, which should be fun for the kids.

Presumably, you'll have them tucked in for bed before the lobby gets hopping for Whiskey Sky. They do a very good job of Platinum recognition here.

W City Center - the loop will be very dead around a holiday
Westin River North - would disagree with the comment that this is the best starwood property in town; mid-range Westin at best
Westin Michigan Ave - rooms are really starting to show wear and tear, not great Platinum recognition; staff has been a bit surly lately
Sheraton Towers - rooms are pretty threadbare, not a bad location, but not great

Can't speak for the new Four Points that went in as I haven't checked it out yet.

stimpy

I'm need to drive over to Roselle, and I'm trying to decide between the Sheraton Suites in Elk Grove, and the Westin Northwest in Itasca. Which would be better in terms of room quality for a Plat?

swise

My husband and I are planning to redeem some of our free weekend night awards in Chicago, so money isn't an object (since we're not paying. hee hee.). Given this and his platinum status, can anyone suggest what Starwood option in Chicago would be best for us?

I'm not sure what we'll be doing yet. Probably some museuming, definitely some family visiting and most likely some good eating.

The Westin River North and the W City Center are the two highest category choices. I tend to like a lot of the perks of Ws (e.g. the Bliss junk and the room design), and it looks like there's more of a chance of a better upgrade there than at the River North... but I also like lounge access. How is the lounge at the Westin?

Should we consider any other category options, or are is the Westin River North and the W City Center really the best of the lot these days?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

vandalby

I haven't stayed at the Westin River North, but can tell you that the W City Center is in the loop, which is going to be pretty dead during nights and weekends. Plus, there is a lot of variability in the room size at the City Center, so you could end up with some pretty tight quarters.

I'd probably recommend the W Lakeshore for your requirements. It's a 3 - 4 block walk to get to Michigan Ave and the associated shopping, there are a number of good restaurants in the Streeterville area (and Michigan Ave in general). You can pick up plenty of buses on Michigan to get down to the museums (about 10 minutes or so once on the bus).

Typically, the W Lakeshore has been good with Platinum recognition and Plats can regularly score a suite upgrade assuming capacity isn't too jammed up.

Assuming you end up at the River North, you're still in a good spot. Lots of good restaurants in the River North area and easy accessability to touristy things such as the architectural cruises. You may want to check the Westin River North master thread to confirm if the lounge is still operating.

KENNECTED

I think you'll be more apt for an upgrade, in the following order:

1. Westin Michigan Ave
2. W Lakeshore
3. Sheraton
4. Westin River North
5. W City center

All the above are north of the loop (except the W CC) and walkable to shops, restaurant and public transportation. However, only the Westin RN and Sheraton have lounges.

I would look at each individual master thread for more detailed information.

- my 5k post -