Remember more than a year ago when Morgans Hotel Group announced that Chicago would be getting a Mondrian of its own? Well, after checking in on the site in the bustling "Viagra Triangle" neighborhood of Chicago, at the intersection of North State Street and Rush Street, we must add this Mondrian to the list of other delayed properties.
Originally targeted to open in the first half of 2010, the 20-story Mondrian Chicago is slated to have 200 rooms, a restaurant on State Street, possible retail and all the trappings of a boutique hotel. You'd think Morgans would have construction of a Mondrian down pat by now, but the digs they're dealing with in Chicago make it a whole new ballgame.
If you weren't able to get to Chicago for Lollapalooza or the Air and Water Show, then maybe the Jazz Festival which is celebrating its 30th anniversary over Labor Day will entice you to visit the Windy City.
And if it does, then the Westin Chicago River North has a little Labor Day package for you. The hotel is offering a Park & Eat Package that includes complimentary parking at the hotel and breakfast for two at the hotel's Ember Grille restaurant.
Guests can leave car keys in their posh accommodations and explore the city by foot as the premier property is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Chicago. Valid August 28 through September 1, rates start at $220 per night (not including taxes.)
To book go online or call (312) 744-1900. Use code PAREAT to book. The deal is based on availability on Saturday arrivals. Advanced reservations also required.
The hotel also has a few other packages available that weekend like an upgrade to an executive club room, $1 parking or a chance to earn 1,000 starpoints. So whatever's your pleasure!
In honor of Ringo Starr's 68th birthday yesterday, the Windy City -- thanks to the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago -- received healthy doses of the four best things in the world: peace, love, cupcakes...and Ringo himself.
In a recent interview, the former (and forever cute) Beatles drummer said he'd like it if everyone in the world would drop everything and flash a peace sign at noon on his birthday. Upon hearing this, staffers at the Hard Rock Hotel decided to throw a peace-themed party in his honor and invited him to stop by.
Get your hot dogs, sunscreen and beer guts ready: Independence Day is just over two weeks away! If you're headed to a big city for some fireworks fun, we'll be taking a look at hotels with prime fireworks views. Have a favorite hotel for gawking at bombs bursting in air? Send it our way.
If you're sweatin' down in a Southern state (or, as luck may have it this summer, roasting even in a Northeastern state), consider bouncing on over to the Windy City to check out the legendary Navy Pier fireworks and the famed Taste of Chicago festival.
Our Fourth of July weekend hotel pick: the Westin Chicago River North, right in the middle of all the action.
Though the Dana Hotel and Spahas been open for months soft-opened a week ago, the hotel website says the restaurant, Ajasteak will open tomorrow. Good thing we called first! The opening night has now been pushed back to Monday, June 16.
Whenever it opens, expect more than a little bit of bombast. Here's the hotel's own description of the Asian-influenced steak house:
An organic mixture of textures, imagery and sound. Tasteful, harmonic and humble in its confidence ... Only provides the ideal setting for gathering and culinary gratification.
Who knows? When the place does open, maybe even complete sentences will be on the menu!
Much like the Hard Rock Hotel has a Vibe Manager, the Hotel Sax in Chicago has Studio Hosts to man their sixth floor Studio (see video) which is powered by XBox and features hit games from Guitar Hero to Rockband to Madden 08' and Dance, Dance Revolution. All of the above is why the hotel topped our Best Geek Hotels 2.0 list back in February.
So what's it like in the life of a Studio Host here. From the Chicago Tribune:
And the hotel has trained staff attendants, now called studio hosts, to help guests with all the cool toys.
Mostly, people just need help swapping out the games, says studio host Bill Gill, 26.
"I show them how to play the guitar … make sure people don't stay an hour on a machine when people are waiting," Gill says.
Um...hello, we totally need to apply for this job because it's like the easiest job ever. Then again, we're not so sure we'd be good at comforting the older business traveler who attempts the Rockband drum kit and totally blows. The drummer is the beat of the band, man!
[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same city and decide which one most deserves your hard-earned benjamins. Rates quoted here were captured on April 28, 2008 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]
We went looking at boutique hotels in Chicago to answer a question. How bad would the damage be if a husband wanted to take the mother of his children away for the weekend? We pulled up the nights of May 9 and 10 and came out better than expected, with nightly rates under $200 before taxes at Hotel Sax, Raffaello Hotel, Kimpton's Hotel Monaco, and W Chicago City Center.
So why is a standard at the sorta-hip 3.5-star corporate boutique chain Hotel Indigo nearly $600 (with taxes) for the entire weekend? (Not per night.) That's more than the Good Rate at Affinia Chicago, without the junior suite, the Asti Spumanti, and the edible chocolate body frosting.
They are offering an "Indigo Indulge" package pictured here, but to call it underwhelming would be too kind. For an extra $20 a night you get a dessert to split and some Starbucks coffee. Couldn't we just buy that ourselves for, oh I don't know, $20?!
Now we know where
Grammy-award winning R&B singer John Legend likes to stay in Chicago-- The James.
The singer was in town for the Common Threads' World Festival--a foodie sort of extravaganza--over St. Patty's day and dug his digs in the hotel's penthouse loft so much that he came back for a repeat stay on Thursday.
And what successful recording singer with tons of cash wouldn't love the 1,400sq.ft. penthouse loft which features two bedrooms, a living and a dining room, plenty of plasma TVs and killer views? Perhaps the cost of $2,500 would scare us regular folk away but apparently not John Legend.
Now we wonder--will he pass on the hotelrecommendation to his friend Kanye West?
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by JetSetCD
