Palmer House is a great four-star hotel. There are about five restaurants/bars in the hotel, ranging from a steakhouse to a Trader''s Vics to a cigar bar. The lobby of this hotel is large and very beautiful.

HHonors Gold and higher get rooms on a very nice Executive Level. If the level is sold out with paying customers, you will get access to the level with a special Gold key. HHonors check-in is separate from the main hotel check-in, and the staff are very knowledgeable. Breakfast and evening appetizers are complimentary on the Executive Level. A staffed bar is also available during the afternoon/evening. An Executive Level concierge is also available throughout the day. (This hotel definitely takes good care of its frequent guests!)

The rooms themselves actually vary quite a bit in terms of size and configuration, but all of the ones I''ve stayed in have been very nice and roomy. Only thing to watch out for: the double beds used in some of the rooms are smaller and shorter than I would expect. (The King beds are typical; just the doubles seem to be undersized.)

I usually book this one online and get good rates. I''ve never finagled with local reservations for a lower rate, but that''s always worth a shot if the ''Net isn''t hooking you up. Palmer House has shown up as an Expedia special rate, and it tends to show up in various airline "Netsavers" emails, so www.hilton.com might not always have the lowest rate.

The hotel has a GREAT location. You can walk to almost any of the sites. You are with-in 5 min. of the Art Museum, Sears Tower, Grant Park, DePaul University, Lake Michigan, Marshal Fields, The Chicago Theater, and so many more attractions.

When you enter the hotel, you come in on the street level. There are many shops an boutiques on this level. To enter the lobby you must take an escalator up one floor. As you approach the lobby level you enter a magnificent room filled with beautiful antiques. The ceiling is the best part of the whole room. It reminds me of what the Sistine Chapel might look like. Entering the lobby is like taking a step back in time. While the hotel has gone through many restorations, they have maintained the atmosphere of an old grand hotel.

No matter what floor you are on, the elevator will open to a mini-lobby. Each lift waiting area is furnished with flowers, antique tables, huge area rugs, and large comfortable chairs. Once you get to your room you will find all the ammenities of a five star hotel in a old world setting. All the rooms in which I have stayed came complete with bathrobes, his and hers bathrooms, VERY comfortable beds, and huge feather pillows. The rooms are very cozy and relaxing.

If you have the chance to upgrade to the Hilton Honors Level, I recommend it. The rooms are even better then the regular rooms and you may luck out and get a suite like we did!

If you like to work out, the hotel has excellent gym facilities. The equipment at this hotel would stand up to anything you would find in a commercial gym. The pool is relaxing. It is a bit small, but not bad. They have full locker rooms, sauna, hot tub, and a full staff who help out with anything you may need.

The first floor has a shopping arcade that links three major downtown streets (Monroe, State, Wabash). Unfortunately, the airline offices that used to be here are now closed, the result of massive budget cuts amongst the major airlines. Take the carpeted stair, elevator or escalator to the main lobby on the second floor. The lobby's beautifully painted ceilings may evoke impressions of Italian palaces. The lobby is a classically grandiose space that is a dying breed. The checkin line can be long when there is a big convention in town. Even if you are not staying here, stop in and have a rest on one of the cushy and clubby seats. There is a concierge desk where you can pick up a few tourism brochures. Public restrooms and pay phones are located past the checkin counter. This hotel has the most pronounced security staff on the premises from my observations of Chicago hotels, so guests should feel safe and secure.

As you can imagine with a hotel from the 19th Century, the decor is very flowery and conservative. The interior hallways from the elevator bank to the guest rooms can be lengthy. The rooms are smaller than today's average size, again due to the era of the building. The rooms are comfortable enough, though you may still see some wear and tear here and there. Each room has a minibar, coffee maker, iron and ironing board, etc. The rooms along the east side can be a bit noisy, as the CTA "L" tracks run on the Wabash Avenue side.

There is an indoor pool and fitness room with steam room and sauna that can be used by guests for a fee. The hotel has several restaurants, including the pseudo-Polynesian Trader Vic's, the French Quarter, and the Big Downtown (now there's an awkward name) that spills out onto Wabash Avenue as an outdoor cafe during the erratic Chicago summer. The "L" rumbling by every few minutes probably adds to the urban ambiance of dining al fresco. There is also a lobby bar next to the main lobby.

The Palmer House Hilton is a good place to stay if you want a "turn back the clock" stay in downtown Chicago. If you are a demanding business traveler who needs something bigger, larger, more modern, try another hotel.

The Palmer House occupies an entire city block and is between Michigan Ave and State Street. The hotel is one block from the Art Institute and is right in the heart of the loop with hundreds of great shops, theaters, and restaurants. We stayed at the Hilton Towers down by the Field Museum but we found we did a lot less walking at the Palmer House.

One other thing I should point out. This hotel will give you worse treatment if you are a Priceline customer and better treatment if you are a Hilton Gold member. We were both but I would rather pay $50 bucks with less brown nosing than pay $200 and get better treatment.

The accommodations are absolutely suburb. Let's start with that ENORMOUS lobby. The ceilings are beautiful and the space is so big, you could fit a football field in there! (Okay, maybe not an entire field, but it's still big.) The staff members at the front desk are very fast and helpful, and we got upgraded to the Executive Floor. The Executive Floor has its own elevator and private cafe and lobby on the 23 floor. Now, I strongly encourage you to pay the extra cash to stay on the Executive floor. It is well worth it.

Now, lets turn to the rooms. On the Executive Floor, they are about 500 square feet and have two bathrooms. They just finished a renovation, and the rooms are bigger, better, and best of all, newer! The bathrooms are great, and each shower comes with two shower heads! It really wakes you up in the morning!

Overall, the stay here was absolutely superb, and I strongly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a more opulent side of Chicago.