Nice hotel near the Magnificent Mile
I enjoyed my stay at the Rafaello. I had read mixed reviews and wasn't sure what to expect. The hotel is in an older building but everything was up to date and well maintained. My room was really large and the beds were comfortable. Everything was clean, the service and staff were very friendly and efficient. The hotel is coveniently located to the Magnificent Mile and Hancock Tower. It is a little way to the museums, but we found the public transportation to be excellent. A 3 day bus/metro pass is inexpensive and gets you everywhere you want to go, we took the bus all over town, the Lincoln Zoo (which is free and really nice) and Old Town is a little to the north and then straight down the Magnificent Mile to the museums. I suggest getting a bus map, it was invaluable. From this hotel we could walk to the Navy Pier. There is a free pamphlet called "self guided walking tours", it was absolutely the best thing, we found out so much about the city and the architecture that we would never have known or seen without it The only negative was the size and comfort of the lounge area which was located in the lobby, and was usually crowded; so if you like to sit down and relax after a day of touring and have a beverage this was not usually possible. One thing that I noticed on the hotel description is that they have a roof garden but it was under renovation when we went, that sounds like it might be a place to sit in nicer weather. What I really liked about the rooms was the convenience of having a microwave, refrigerator and a Keurig coffe maker. We brought our own fruit and bagels for breakfast so that worked out really well especially as the room service breakfast was pretty expensive I would definitely stay there again.