Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is known for architecture, museums, dining, and sports. Chicago is on Lake Michigan, and there are many boat trips available. The walking architecture tour is very good. Don't miss a trip to Wrigley Field, the second-oldest baseball park. Ask your concierge for restaurant tips. There are too many excellent restaurants to name them all.

Quick Tips:

Chicago affords you the ability to come on a budget up through first-class. It is the third-largest city in the U.S. Chicago's spring through fall are beautiful--winter can get very cold and snowy, but still very nice. It doesn't really warm up until May, so dress appropriately. Many Chicagoans spend weekends in Wisconsin and Michigan, so check out these locations for more rural getaways that can be combined with a trip to Chicago.

Best Way To Get Around:

Parking is expensive, so leave the car where it is and use taxis. Taxis are always available, and usually for less than you can get to restaurants, theater, museums, bars, etc.

The downtown area, Michigan Avenue, and river north area are very walkable. Remember, you are in a large city. Like any large city, it is best not to walk off the beaten path. Public transportation is excellent if you need to go a little further. Chicago's "El," the elevated train, will take you most places within the city. If you need to go to the suburbs, the Metra trains are comfortable passenger trains that operate on a regular set schedule.

This is a newer hotel along the Chicago River. It is one of the nicest Sheraton hotels, and the service is excellent. It caters to convention and business travelers. The hotel is close to Michigan Avenue, which has excellent shopping. There are numerous excellent restaurants nearby. Navy Pier, with its 15-story Ferris wheel, shopping, ice rink, dining, and children's museum, is within walking distance. Good weekend rates can be had. There is an indoor swimming pool.

Best Things Nearby:
There is nothing nearby--this is the kind of resort where you enjoy the amenities on hand. Chicago is 70 miles away.

Best Things About the Resort:
They accept pets--our son was excited we could bring our dog. The units were ample. The master bedroom had a large whirlpool tub. There was a large indoor pool with a separate children's pool. The Fox River resort had an activities center with many planned activities each day geared towards kids--my 2-year-old loved the finger painting. The game room had Ping-Pong, air hockey, and arcade games.

Resort Experience:
This is a self-contained resort. As you enter the grounds, you go left for the resort and right for the RV park. There is a small par-3 golf course, miniature golf, and an outdoor pool. The indoor swimming pool, while large, is a drive away, as it is in the RV park--same with the activities center.

We stayed in February 2003 and had a problem getting the heat in the unit to adequately warm up the master bedroom--we had some very chilly nights! Maintenance could not fix the problem. Thus, this is more of a place to stay in the summer.

The surrounding area is economically depressed. One is greeted to the town by signs pleading to re-open the jail. Ottawa is 12 miles away for groceries and a few good restaurants.

If you live in the area and can get this resort as a bargain vacation for a long weekend or week, it is fine for a change of scenery. We experienced it, but I doubt we would go back.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Fair
• Amenities: Fair
• Unit Satisfaction: Poor
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Poor

Chicago is known for deep-dish pizza, and Pizzeria Uno is one of the best. This is the original, not a franchise. It is located close to Michigan Avenue, perfect after shopping or before a sports event or night out. It is small, so if you have to wait long, walk a block to its sister pizza restaurant, Pizzeria Due. Pizzas take 45 minutes to cook, so be prepared to wait--but it is well worth it. You just can't get pizza like this other than in Chicago. Even if you have a local franchise near you, you will be pleasantly surprised by the original.

Berghoff's has excellent German food in the heart of Chicago. In fact, it is one of a handful of restaurants open for dinner in Chicago's Loop (the business district). It can be very crowded for lunch, so expect to wait in line. The wiener schnitzel is excellent. Even if you are not a spinach lover, you must try the creamed spinach. Berghoff's also has a stand-up food bar that has excellent carved sandwiches. They brew their own beer and root beer.

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba is part of the Lettuce Entertain you restaurants, so you can expect quality and fun. This is a Spanish tapas restaurant. The tapas come in appetizer portions that can be shared with the entire table. It is customary to order rounds of tapas as you would order rounds of drinks. This way, you can try many different foods. They also have dinner portions--the paella is excellent! The restaurant is in the North Halsted corridor, which has much nightlife, blues clubs, and theaters.

The annual "Taste of Chicago" festival (around July 4) features approximately 100 restaurants that offer "tastes" from their menus. Festival-goers purchase 50 cent tickets and use them to purchase famous taste-size samples at each of the restaurant booths. The food is great and very diverse. You'll also find plenty of beer and music at night. It can get very crowded, so expect to migrate through throngs of people. The temperature varies during summer in Chicago--it can be very hot. This is a very casual event: shorts an T-shirt are appropriate, but you will see business poeple who are dressed up as well.

Chicago is located on the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Sears Tower is the tallest building in the U.S., second only to the towers in Malaysia. Chicago is known for architecture (Frank Lloyd Wright's home is in suburban Oak Park), dining (while the hot dog, ice-cream cone, deep-dish pizza, and flaming Greek saganaki all come from Chicago, Chicago also boasts some of the best restaurants in the country), sports (Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Bears, Black Hawks), theater, and museums (Art Institute, Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Field Museum of Natural History, and Shedd Acquarium are the majors). There are numerous golf courses and beaches along Lake Michigan. Riverboat casinos are located about 30 to 40 miles from the City in Elgin, Joliet, and Aurora. The blues were invented in Chicago, and there are several excellent blues clubs.

Chicago has excellent hotels downtown--the Ritz, Four Seasons, Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, and Sheraton Towers, to name a few. These are all upper-end hotels. Travelers can get more value-priced hotels in nearby suburbs.