The Windy City and The Dairy State via AA 738 Y and VX A320 Y
 

Introduction
Review: American Airlines Economy Class San Francisco to Chicago
Silvercar O'Hare
Review: The Brewhouse Inn and Suites Milwaukee
Lunch at Lake Park Bistro Milwaukee
Review: Amtrak Coach from Milwaukee to Chicago
Eating our way around Chicago
Review: Virgin America Economy Class Chicago to San Francisco

I had made commitments in the Midwest this summer, and my shortage of both AA miles and cash both spelled out one thing: I would for sure be flying in Y. :p I had flown AA's Y from SFO to LAX in early April, and I found the flight perfectly comfortable and service bearable, but the flight was barely an hour, and I was interested to see how their midcon service and seats compared.

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American 737

On the outbound, I found two award seats on American from SFO to ORD. Although the arrival time wasn't optimal at 9:02 pm, and I had to be in Milwaukee that night, it was worth the value at 12,500 miles per person.

Both American and United were booked on the return, at least in the award fare buckets. I did some quick searching, and came across some ~$157 fares on VX, and I figured that would work best, as it had a 6:40 pm departure out of Chicago, which allowed us to stay in the city all day ^.

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Virgin A320

In the end, our itinerary looked like this:

7/7 AA 82 San Francisco to Chicago departing 2:40 pm arriving 9:02 pm
7/11 VX 211 Chicago to San Francisco departing 6:40 pm arriving 9:25 pm

Having flown American shorthaul before, I wanted to see how their midcon service compared, and so I could report back on the horrors of the ancient 738 cabins… :eek: and who doesn’t love Virgin? :D

With Silvercar’s launch in Chicago, we were able to rent an Audi A4 for four days at the low price of ~$134. Being a first-time Silvercar user, I used a 50% off my rental coupon.

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Silvercar

We had one night in Milwaukee, and three nights in Chicago. We booked The Brewhouse Inn and Suites in Milwaukee, a lesser-known hotel that I've stayed at before several times. It's not affiliated with any loyalty program, and not even rocketmiles. The lack of point redemptions adds to the allure of the brewhouse-converted-hotel... I guess? :confused: Their front desk staff are extremely generous with upgrades, so I booked a standard room at ~$214 (with taxes) a night. It was more than I wanted to spend for an overnight, but it was worth it to make the trip special.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Milwaukee

In Chicago, we booked The Hotel Blake, an Ascend Luxury Collection Hotel. We booked two nights for ~$469, with taxes and fees)

I took the Amtrak from Milwaukee to Chicago, for $23.

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Amtrak coach

Even though we were in the Midwest for four days, this was a fairly whirlwind trip. I'll try to post an installment per day, and focus on the hotels, flights, and trains, but drop in a restaurant review or two ;). Enjoy!

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Girl and the Goat

its 4:20am here in the Windy City, finishing up a long overnight shift and loved the TR!

I should give Silvercar a try... signed up but it seems I need to get a credit card (a different story).

What was your favorite part about this place that I call home? :)

For sure all the amazing restaurants. Least favorite part: traffic :td:

Review: American Airlines Economy Class San Francisco to Chicago O'Hare
 

We arrived at SFO via an Uber around 12:30 pm for our 2:40 pm flight. We decided to show up extra early to luxuriate in all the delicious food offerings at Terminal 2. ;). American flies out of SFO terminal two, along with Virgin America.

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Terminal 2 Exterior

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Check-in kiosk

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Check-in desks

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SFO Terminal 2 Landside

We went to check-in using the kiosk, and I was both angered and shocked to find Group 2 on my boarding pass instead of Priority AAcess. :mad: On top of that, I did not have TSA-Pre. Today’s massage was a bit firmer than usual, and I was also offered a private room this time around. I declined, and almost retorted that “I would prefer my rights be violated in public, thank you.” :rolleyes:

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Departures board

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Terminal 2 Airside

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Looking back at “Team SFO”

I have yet to fly out of Terminal 1 or 3 this year, so I’ve become very well acquainted with the layout of the terminal over the past few months. :D

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Terminal 2

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Terminal 2

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Terminal 2 Signage

We decided to stop at Napa Farms, pick up some gifts for our friends in the Windy City, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Tyler Florence Fresh. It’s also worth mentioning the soba/sushi restaurant at T2, which is fantastic, although not pictured.

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Napa Farms Market

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Napa Farms Market

I walked over to the gate while my travel companion perused a bookstore.

One thing I do love about T2 is the tarmac views, which were spectacular today with 747s and 777s heading to Asia, as well as some standard run of the mill domestic traffic.

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Domestic traffic

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United 747 takeoff

Eventually we began boarding, on time, beginning with first class, Executive Platinums, and those on active military duty. Soon thereafter the gate agent called group one and two and we were on board.

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American 737

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American 737

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American 737

American Airlines 82
San Francisco (SFO) – Chicago O’ Hare (ORD)
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Depart: 2:40PM, actual 3:19PM (including taxi)
Arrive: 9:02PM, actual 9:27PM (including taxi)
Duration: 4hr 22min
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 13C (Economy)

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Seat

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Legroom

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View of the cabin

I assigned myself seat 13D, although I traded with my travel companion for 13C. These are listed as non-reclining seats, although there is some limited recline. These seats seemed to be firmer than usual and My lower back began to ache a couple hours into the flight :td:

While American’s 737 are not desirable considering seat comfort and lack of IFE, the power and wifi more than makes up for that. ^

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Power

I had brought some entertainment on my iPad, so I watched that for about half the flight, and then read a book.

I used the wifi for thirty minutes throughout the flight, and it was reasonably fast.

Now, a couple words about the service. While I’ve found American’s FAs to be generally more gracious than United’s, both can be hit or miss. On this flight, the FAs hid in the galley for most of the flight and the single drink service was more than two hours into the flight. About two hours into the journey, I decided to walk around and stretch my legs, so I went into the aft galley to grab some water. The FA was eating leftover F class food (which she promptly covered up when I arrived) and said to me “I’m sorry, but no one can be in the galley for security reasons.” :rolleyes: Still got some water though :D.

In general, however, when they did walk through the cabin, they were surly and curt. One of the passengers across the aisle decided to stretch in the aisle for some time (probably after being issued the same galley warning ;)) and the flight attendant tried to pass him and said “Could you please move? I’m trying to do my job here.” :eek:

We landed on time but had a lengthy taxi to our gate, K18. I chatted with my seatmate, only to discover she had a 20-minute connection… to a flight at the AA “G” gates. :eek:

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Terminal 3 “K” gates

My travel partner and I decided to stop at Tortas Frontera for a Pepito before heading over to Silvercar.

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Tortas Frontera

Bottom line:

It might not be comfy, and the service might not be polished, and the plane might be old. But American Y gets you to your destination. If I had the option, I probably would have chosen United for the IFE and E+, but I generally find the concessions at Terminal 2 in SFO worth it to endure an American Y flight ;). Next up, Silvercar ORD!

Review: Silvercar ORD
 

Being a first-time Silvercar user, I was looking forward to a brand-new car instead of tin cans I usually rent through Hotwire :D.

We arrive late at ORD, and throwing in a torta or two didn’t help. As soon as I landed, I got a text from Silvercar just checking in to make sure everything was going well. I texted back that our arrival time at the curb was going to be later than we had expected and asked if they could hold the car. They texted back that it was “no problem” and they were “happy to hold the car.” ^ for great customer service.

For those who haven’t used Silvercar before, here’s how it works: once at arrivals, use the Silvercar app to text them the arrival vestibule and they will personally arrange a pick up in a Silvercar (or in this case, a company van) and drive to the rental location. For first time renters, one must present a driver’s license and the credit card you purchased the reservation with. From there, scan a QR code on any of the Audis and drive off.

Our driver was very helpful and talkative. We talked about local restaurants in Chicago, and traffic up to Milwaukee, and about Silvercar itself. He also helped us with our bags, something no rental car service I know of does.

Our car was a new Audi A4 “S-line”, and it only had a thousand miles on it. Our driver told us that one had just been detailed today, so we took it :p. The car handled very well, as one would expect from a German car, and the radio/navigation system was relatively easy to operate. The car also features wifi, which is very convenient.

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Silvercar

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Silvercar

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Silvercar

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Silvercar

Upon returning to Silvercar, a driver quickly appeared and drove us back to the terminal. Best airport shuttle ever :D

They emailed me the receipt, and we were charged the local rate for gas and only five dollars, which is the standard fuel plan.

Bottom line:

Silvercar was spectacular, with personalized service, a downright awesome car, a fair fuel plan, no paperwork, no lines, and of course the price for $35 a day! I hope Silvercar continues to run these lucrative promotions. :D

Review: Brewhouse Inn and Suites Milwaukee
 

(Please pardon the picture quality in this post; this hotel isn't well lit inside at night @:-))

We arrived at the hotel around 11:45pm after the quick drive up from O’Hare. We parked our car, although the hotel does offer a valet service. The hotel is a converted Pabst brewery, and it still shows on the outside.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Exterior

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Exterior

The front desk employees were very helpful and thanked us for our loyalty, noting we had stayed there before. (Read: suite upgrade) Unfortunately, they were booked up and out of suites for the evening :D.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Lobby

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Front Desk

Directly above the lobby is the atrium, and the original brewheads from the Pabst, and the ceiling in the lobby has been cut out to display them.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Ceiling

We took the short elevator ride up to the third floor (our room was coded 3XX), only to find there was no access to the side of the building our room was on (opposite the elevator). :confused: We then took the elevator down to the second floor and hoofed it up a short flight of stairs to our corner room.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Atrium

The room was very comfortable and clean, and the bed was especially plush.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites King Room

There was an HD TV which featured a large spread of channels, including premium movie channels, such as HBO or Showtime.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites King Bed

The room also featured a kitchenette, which is always useful, although we were only staying for an overnight.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Kitchenette

The desk, while plain, had outlets conveniently placed… finally! :rolleyes:

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Desk

The bathroom was spotless, and featured toiletries from a local Milwaukee spa. The towels were very soft and fluffy. I suspect they were Turkish cotton :D

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Bathroom

Before I continue saying good things about the room, there are three flaws in the bathroom:

1. Water pressure in the shower is nonexistent :mad:
2. Note in the below picture that the door is at the rear of the shower, so there is no way to avoid the first jet of cold water.
3. While I don’t tend to enjoy sitting in a tepid pool of my own filth, :eek: I’m sure some people would like to have the option of a tub :p.

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Shower

The hotel does feature a gym, although it isn’t 24 hours, so we weren’t able to make use of it during our stay. It was rather basic, with treadmills, weights, and yoga mats, so I’m not sure we were missing out on much. I went running in the morning in Lake Park, and I can affirm that’s much more scenic than four mirrored walls :D

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Brewhouse Inn and Suites Shower Gym

Immediately after photographing our room before settling in, the front desk gave us a call telling us we had gotten a ticket. :mad: They explained to us later at the front desk that in this particular area, Milwaukee no longer has overnight public parking. Not sure if this is a ploy to use the valet, especially because the ticket we received was for being too close to a sidewalk. :confused:

The hotel offers complimentary breakfast, which consists of a basic spread of bagels, fruit, cereal, and hot dishes, although those are a supplement. We didn’t indulge this time around, because we had a reservation at Lake Park Bistro, which we know is great from past experience.

Here a couple pictures from the hotel's website of the different room types (I tend to prefer the two bedroom suite, which is the most spacious. On this stay, we were in the studio.

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Two Bedroom Suite

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Baron Two Bedroom

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Baron Loft

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Baron Terrace

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One Bedroom

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Studio

Bottom line:

The Brewhouse Inn and Suites is a little extravagant for an overnight, but it was the same rate for the aloft (which is subpar IMO) in downtown, and the Pabst was a more convenient location for us. The rooms themselves are very nice, and the front desk is kind and welcoming, but the amenities themselves are lacking a little. I’ve stayed a couple times before, and this was probably the most substandard of previous experiences, although for sure I would return :D.

Unfortunately, there's no options to redeem points at this hotel, so I would only jump on it if the rate fell below $200.

Next up, Lake Park Bistro and Amtrak coach!