Looking for convenience in Chicago?
This property, just off Michigan Avenue and south of the congress expressway, is convenient to the Art Institute, Orchestra Hall, the Museum Campus, including the Field Museum and Adler Planetarium -- and to Grant Park, Buckingham fountain and the Bean...at the north end of Milllenium Park. A food service operation, which I did not try, is on the ground floor and is accessible through the hotel lobby; a coffee/donut shop is just around the corner -- I was told it's open 24x7. The hotel itself? Modest. The lobby is basic...two seating areas, both with half a dozen chairs, more or less...no tv, no coffee bar (no continental breakfast is served). The staff was pleasant, friendly and attentive. We were there for Bike the Drive, and the staff made sure our bikes were locked up overnight and we had not trouble getting them at 5:30 am the morning of the ride. (Lake Shore drive is bicycle-only from 5-10 am the Sunday before Memorial day.) The room was consistent with the hotel -- basic. Small, with a small closet, one small chair, and a little room around the twin beds. I wondered why the window air conditioner was unplugged when I entered the room...found out later; the switches were broken and the only way to turn the unit off was to unplug it. Oh well. Best feature: clean, functional bathroom, nice hot shower and heavy terry cloth towels -- a real surprise. I was expecting those thin, lightweight towels found in economy operations. Parking across the street (for overnight stays) was not cheap: $35, a $5 discount if you have you stub validated; otherwise it's $40 with no in/out. This is not an unusual price for parking in downtown Chicago -- be prepared to spend at least $40 a day.