You know how you pick up right where you left off with a girlfriend you haven’t seen in months or years?

Well, that’s how Chicago feels to me. I’ve been going to Chicago at least three to four times a year for the past 15 years. That translates into about 50 times I’ve been a tourist in this great city. Unlike when you live in a city and, sometimes like an old friend, can take for granted the wonderful attributes. Being a visitor gives you the opportunity to notice what’s changed and to recognize the progress made. And, in the past 15 years, Chicago has continued to be an amazing ‘friend’ to visit.

So, for this girlfriend review, I’d like to introduce you to my ‘friend’ Chicago. Being a big, centrally-located city makes it a perfect vacation spot for girlfriends and your friends and family. Let’s start with transportation.

TRANSPORTATION:

Of course, depending on where you live, you may want to fly into Chicago (Midway or O’Hare). If you’re in Columbus OH, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Milwaukee or Minneapolis/St. Paul (***** Cleveland???), I’d recommend exploring the Megabus. It’s a great way to get to Chicago and is very affordable. (The earlier you book your trip, the cheaper it is – as low as $1.50!) I’ve done this several times and it’s safe, easy and relaxing just to sit back and let them do the driving. (And, for several routes/times, there’s a double decker bus – which made me feel like being a kid on a fun field trip!) This is a great option for a girlfriend trip. Bring along a pillow and some snacks, and you’re all set to get to and from Chicago. (We’ve also taken Amtrak which is an okay option. Expect poor customer service and a slower commute. If you’re with your girlfriends and aren’t in a rush to travel, just bring along a cooler of drinks and snacks and you’ll have fun.)

If you’re driving to Chicago, budget a significant amount for parking. Hotel parking can be $40/day and other lots range from $20 – up. The parking meters now go from 8am to 9pm and are $2/hour and require that you return to your car every two hours to plug the meter.

HOTELS:

Expedia, Orbitz and other online options offer some great rates for hotels. I’m going back in two weeks for SOBCon09 and got a great rate off Priceline ($76/night at the Palmer House – but taxes/fees up that to about $100/night). My girlfriend Anne just got back from Chicago last week and paid $120/night for the W Hotel – which is a great price.

My husband booked this trip over six months ago (aka: before the economy took a huge dip and travel prices dropped!). So he’s already paid for this trip and couldn’t negotiate a lower rate which was too bad! (Note our prices below!)

EMBASSY SUITES: North Columbus Avenue. We paid $199/night plus taxes/fees. I’m sure the room would have been much cheaper had we booked in the past month but we had already paid. (This was somewhat of an anniversary for us, so he booked it far in advance and that rate was the lowest he could find when he booked it last Fall.)

The suite was very nice and spacey. We had a living room, bathroom and bedroom. There was a microwave and mini refrigerator, two TVs, a sink in the bed room and the wet bar, as well as a great shower! Towels were plush too but we would have loved to have robes too. The staff were attentive and helpful. (Aside from the guy at the desk who told us we couldn’t get wifi from the lobby – which we found out later we could.) It rained during our visit and we asked about borrowing umbrellas but they don’t offer those. (We skipped the Gift Shop expensive ones and found $2.99 ones at Wal-greens down the street.)

Note: this hotel suite would accommodate several girlfriends for a getway weekend. I believe the couch in the living room is a sofa bed and I’ve stayed in similar suites with three other girlfriends and had adequate space – as long as the bathroom and shower schedule is manageable. (It worked out well for my girlfriends Lisa, Vicki, Phyllis and me – two showered at night and the other two showered in the morning. Had there not been a few snorers in the group we would have had the perfect arrangement!)

Our confirmation said they had ‘high-speed internet access.’ What it didn’t say was that they had high-speed internet access for $14.95/24 hours. After paying a premium for the room, I expected this to be included.

As Embassy Suites often have, there was a free cocktail reception for two hours each night and a breakfast buffet for three hours in the morning. Aside from all the walking I had to do to walk off those calories from the cooked-to-order omelet and oatmeal, it was a nice spread. My husband said their biscuits and gravy (a carb overdose) were very flavorful. I thought the fruit and yogurt was good but we both agreed that the coffee was terrible. Thankfully there is a Starbucks on about every corner in Chicago so we met our daily caffeine requirement.

This Embassy Suites hotel is one block over from the Sheraton where the BlogHer conference will take place in July. If you’re going to BlogHer and the Sheraton fills up (I have no idea if that is even a possibility), or if you want to stay nearby but not at the conference hotel, the Embassy Suites on North Columbus is a good option.

Other Chicago hotels I’d recommend: Hotel Allegro – a cool, funky hotel in the theatre district; the Palmer House – a classic, yet updated, hotel also in the theatre district; Hotel Seneca which is a block behind the Hancock Tower – nice and affordable suites; the (Cass) Holiday Inn Express is a former youth hostel so the rooms are very small but it’s re-modeled to be very nice and affordable, breakfast is provided; and a bit more expensive but really nice are the Fairmont, Hotel 71, Intercontinental and Swissotel.

Check back for more reviews of Chicago restaurants and shopping!

Do you have a favorite destination for girlfriend getaways? Share your travel reviews too!

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Tags: BlogHer, Chicago, Embassy Suites Hotel, Holiday Inn Express, Priceline, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Travel and Tourism, United States

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Girlfriend Travel, Product Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.