HotelChatter

Airport Hotels / Hotel Openings / Chicago Hotels / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags

Hilton Goes Gaga for Airport Hotels and Opens a Second at O'Hare

Where: 5550 N. River Road [map], Rosemont, IL, United States, 60018

The Hilton loves itself some airport hotels. And the company's not letting a horrible economy prevent it from opening more by-the-airport hotels: It has plans to introduce the Germany's Hilton Frankfurt Airport in February, and it opened China's Hilton Beijing Capital Airport in July.

The latest addition to the airport hotel collection is the Hilton Rosemont/Chicago O'Hare, which was unveiled July 28.

more ›

Video / Hotel Video Tours / Chicago Hotels / Aloft Hotels / HotelChatter Reviews / Airport Hotels / → All Tags

Inside the Aloft Hotel at Chicago's O'Hare Airport

Where: 9700 Balmoral Avenue [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60018

Aloft Hotel at Chicago O'Hare Airport

They've got free wifi, hip interior design, a relaxed attitude for airport hotels, and even a smart check-in. Who are we talking about? Well, it's got to be Aloft Hotels, of course.

Aloft is like the light version of a W Hotel, which is proper considering that their owned by Starwood, W's parent company too. Alofts aren't in hot, downtown city centers but further out, nearby airports where amenity-rich, style-conscious and affordable hotels are direly needed.

Since Chicago has more O'Hare Airport business-y hotels than it can handle, Aloft's opening here just over a year and a half ago was welcome, and last week we finally went out of our way to check the place out fully. We only spent $99 on the room, and that could have been $69 if we hadn't hesitated several days before we actually booked it.

So was the $99 worth it? Find out, after the jump!

more ›

Snapshot / Airport Hotels / Aloft Hotels / Chicago Hotels / → All Tags

Aloft O'Hare Has the Free Hotel WiFi Thing Down Pat

Where: 9700 Balmoral Avenue [map], Rosemont, IL, United States, 60018

If you require further proof that our Annual Hotel WiFi Report is based upon our own testing and internet surfing at hotels around the world, then look no further. We love our free WiFi, and on a recent trip to Chicago, we went out of our way to try out the 1.5-year-old Aloft at Chicago O'Hare Airport.

Of course, the fact that it has a sweet pool, garden lounge area and chill lobby helped out our decision too; it's not just free hotel WiFi we look for in a property. We'll be back with the full review, room tour video and photo gallery of the Aloft O'Hare tomorrow, but for now let's all just have hump day coffee, okay?

[Photo: HotelChatter]

Airport Hotels / Hotel Renovations / Hyatt Hotels / Chicago Hotels / → All Tags

Hyatt Regency O'Hare Is Not Your Typical Airport Hotel

Where: 9300 Bryn Mawr Ave [map], Rosemont, IL, United States, 60018

More often than we'd like to admit, we've had to crash at an airport hotel and brave the sheets and the scuzzy bathroom for a few hours pre-flight, and each of those times we wish it had been as nice as the Hyatt Regency O'Hare Airport outside of Chicago.

First off, there's the free airport shuttle, but more importantly the hotel just completed a $64-million-dollar renovation which updated all 1,100 of their rooms and suites. Back in 2007 when the work began, the hotel was able to show off two new contemporary restaurants and a humongous conference center, but now the rooms also boast of fresh touches like 37” flat-screen LCD televisions, ergonomically correct workspaces, energy saving lighting, and plush Hyatt Grand Beds.

more ›

Hotel Openings / TripAdvisor / Hotel Reviews / Hotel News / Chicago Hotels / Airport Hotels / InterContinental Hotels / → All Tags

InterContinental O'Hare :: "More Kinks Than A Chiropractic Convention" or Smooth Sailing?

Where: 5300 N River Rd [map], Rosemont, IL, United States, 60018

Look, we're not ones to take the word of TripAdvisor reviewers as gospel -- especially since we understand that sometimes folks won't really take the time to write about a hotel on the Internet unless their experiences at said hotel are exceptionally miserable or fantastic.

Nonetheless, we like to consult TA when hotels are in their first days of operation because we like to get a 'lil peek at what folks are saying about it (especially if we haven't had a chance to check the place out ourselves). So we did our usual TA-spying on the brand new InterContinental Chicago O'Hare and it looks like the hotel got off to a bit of a rocky start during the soft opening at the beginning of the month, but everything seems to be going a bit more smoothly now.

more ›

Hotel Openings / Hotel News / InterContinental Hotels / Airport Hotels / Art Hotels / Hotel Opening Rates / → All Tags

Swanky InterContinental Chicago O'Hare Now Open

Where: 5300 N River Rd [map], Rosemont, IL, United States, 60018

Swanky airport hotels tend to win our hearts. Like, we love a great hotel and all, but when the airport hotel manages to be a "great hotel" without prompting that little "...for an airport hotel" clause to be tacked onto the end, we feel as though we've struck the hotel-geek version of gold -- for reference, see the lovefest we bestowed upon the Grand Hyatt DFW Airport.

That said, we have super-high hopes for the brand new InterContinental Chicago O'Hare, a 556-room hotel and conference center that opened up around Chicago's O'Hare airport today.

more ›

Aloft Hotels / Chicago Hotels / Hotel Openings / → All Tags

Hey, Chicago: You're Aloft-Free No More!

Where: 9700 Balmoral Avenue [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60018

Lo! What light through yonder window breaks? It is Chicago, and Aloft is the sun...

Even the esteemed Bard Shakespeare would find something novel to say about the grand opening of the Aloft Rosemont at O'Hare Airport, that hasn't been said a thousand times before.

Surely he would concoct some delicious snark about Aloft Hotels dotting the globe in a slow yet deliberate campaign for world hotel domination.

No doubt he would kill us softly with some carefully crafted sonnet about those uber-hip W-ish terms for 24-hour food bars (example: re:fuel), the ticket kiosks in the lobby, the funky amenities in those sleek open-style bathrooms, free water bottles in the room, nightclub-styled public seating areas.  Yet, all we can muster is "yadda yadda."

more ›

Airport Hotels / Chicago Hotels / Intercontinental Hotels / Hotel Hype / Hotel News / → All Tags

Chicago O'Hare Airport Gets A Swanky Hotel

Where: 5300 N. River Rd. [map], Rosemont, IL, United States, 60018

While the trend for airport hotels these days is small and cheap with a hint of chic and geek tech like Yotel or Aloft, Chicago O'Hare is getting a much grander hotel--an Intercontinental.

Travelers can begin to crash in one of the hotel's 556 rooms in September 2008.

The hotel is accessible from the airport by a complimentary 24-hour shuttle. It will have three restaurants on site (supposedly "renowned" Chicago joints"), a live entertainment venue, rooms decked with original artwork, a fitness center and tons of meeting space.

And judging from this press release, the hotel will make good use of that meeting space as the release notes:

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, a professional organization of 30,000 members based in Bethesda, Md., is the first group to take advantage of The InterContinental Chicago O'Hare's prime location, expansive meeting space and on-site entertainment.

Oh and guess what? The Rosemont Convention Center is across the street. Still it's nice to know that if you get stranded at Chicago O'Hare (and the odds are good at this airport), you can relax in some luxury digs for a night. Just remember to ask for a distressed traveler rate.