Chicago: Big, Bold & Amazing

This is a large hotel in a great and handy location (5-minute walk to Michigan Avenue) just north of the Chicago River, also handy to the amusements on the Navy Pier. We had a good-sized room with a very good king-size bed, a large desk, easy chair, computer connections, several telephones, our own heat and a/c unit, coffeemaker, mini-fridge and microwave, a nice TV, and a bathroom that met our needs. If I were to put one word on this hotel, it would be "efficient." Check-in was fast and easy, as was getting in and out of the hotel.

A major feature for us was the Weber Grill Restaurant, which is located in the hotel. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it also has the only cocktail service in the hotel. The tiny, handy mart by the front desk has the basic stuff you can purchase to keeping your in room. We stocked up on snacks and juices.

This hotel offers the benefits of the Hilton Honors frequent traveler plan with your choice of Hilton points and/or airline miles. In our stay of 8 nights, I collected an impressive total for use on future stays.

There is a health club with indoor pool, and you also have privileges in a health club down the street.

I like this hotel and plan to make a return visit. It met our needs. The staff is friendly and eager to please. The doorman was always able to find us a taxi, even at peak hours.

There is a coffee bar in the lobby that sells Starbucks coffee in the mornings in case you need a stronger coffee than you can brew up in your room. Breakfast is served in the Weber Grill, but is not included in the cost of your room.

I used the Zip-Out, Check-Out system and just walked out of the hotel on our departure morning with no wait at all.

When I visit Chicago, I always have a list of foods I expect to eat. Steaks are always on the top of the list. Weber Grill is great. Absolutely great! We arrived for a late lunch after a long day of meal-free travel by air and a long ride in from O'Hare Airport. Our first thought after checking in to our hotel was food, and we were delighted to find this famous Chicago restaurant just off the lobby of our hotel. Great, good luck! What a way to start our visit.

Weber Grills are famous for at-home backyard cooking, but to see them used in the open kitchen of this restaurant is to see it done right. We ordered steak sandwiches, which were huge. The plate came with a massive serving of potatoes, bread, and beautifully cooked slices of steak, Weber style. We sat at a sidewalk table and were so happy to be in Chicago.

On another day, we returned to this restaurant for dinner. Absolutely make reservations! Our table for dinner was next to the open kitchen. There was great entertainment, but the noise level made conversation difficult. That evening, I had Weber-style barbequed pork, which was fork-tender. Both times, we had cocktails from the Weber Bar. One of the house specialties is red sangria, with enough fruit to call it a salad.

We truly enjoyed this restaurant. The service is great and the quality of the food is very high. When we got our bill, we were given packets of Weber Grill BBQ Rub, and don't leave them behind, as you will enjoy using them in your own cooking.

www.saloonsteakhouse.com

One of the traditional Chicago restaurants that is both very high in quality and reasonable in price. Recommended by a salesman at Leverger's in Marshall Field's, we had a very nice lunch in an atmosphere that is white-tablecloth with a bit of saloon bar style.

My husband ordered an olive burger which made a very full meal for $10.95, and I had a nice chopped salad $6.95. The house Merlot wine was $6 a glass. Strong but very tasty coffee was $2.25--a very reasonable tab for a sit-down meal in a stylish environment.

This restaurant is just a bit north of the famous water tower on the first floor of the Seneca Hotel. We enjoyed our meal and wished we had more time in the city so that we could return for a full dinner. As Chicago is a very busy city, I strongly suggest you make reservations for dinner, especially on a weekend evening.

On our first weekend night in Chicago, we learned the absolute rule of downtown dining. That is, MAKE RESERVATIONS! We didn't have any and couldn't even get into the restaurant in our own hotel. We had ideas of where we wanted to go for dinner, but all alternatives failed us as we walked block after block looking for a restaurant with room for us. After an hour of steady trudging, luck brought us to this wonderful restaurant. Although the evening was a bit chilly, we were completely happy with the offered sidewalk table. After all, there was hope of getting a meal, and a Chicago pizza at that.

The service was caring and the food wonderful. We ordered soup, a Chicago classic pizza, and ultimately, tiramisu. Happy at last! I miss real Chicago pizza when I'm not able to get it. This restaurant met all our expectations, and we felt as if we had a new favorite place to eat in this wonderful city.

This is highly recommended, but be smarter than we were and telephone for reservations.

If I said, "Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger, chips, no fries," would it ring a bell? Made famous by the skits in Saturday Night Live, this active and busy restaurant is in the middle of the amusement area on the Navy Pier. Cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn beef sandwich, and etc., but no fries! We lined up for our food and carried our trays outside for a table a few feet above the very busy walkway on the pier. The Ferris wheel behind us and view of the city in front of us all made a very enjoyable, but quick, meal. They do serve alcoholic drinks, specializing in a great deal of beer.

Sometimes it’s fun you need, and we had fun. It was a very pleasant evening out on the Navy Pier. It’s family appropriate, and certainly children are welcome. Just don't ask for fries.

This is the official tour on the boat called Chicago's First Lady, which departs from the Riverside Gardens two full flights of steep stairs below Michigan Avenue. Telephone for information on accessibility for disabled people. This boat is comfortable, with both inside and outside deck seating. On bright days, be sure use your sunscreen. There is a volunteer docent on board who will give you a fast lecture during the 90-minute tour. There is also a bar that sells cold drinks, coffee, alcoholic drinks, and snacks.

This tour starts by heading away from the lake and visits both branches of the Chicago River. The buildings are so amazing that even with the docent and the provided map in hand, it will seem to go by too quickly. There are more bridges than Paris, or so they say, and more high-priced real estate than you can imagine.

Likely a bit of a bore for children younger than 12, it is a fascinating tour for those who are older than that. The boat goes out on the lake very briefly, but doesn't enter the locks. The commercial tours from the Navy Pier spend a lot of time dealing with the lock, but likely are easier for disabled folks to board from the pier.

Chicago is such a classy city that you might find yourself feeling very "small town" when you go home.