Yesterday, we were stunned to hear of the lovely Ivanka Trump's quick trip to regular-people-land (which involved staying at the Quality Inn and munching on Little Caesar's), but today we've learned that girlfriend is back to doing what she does best: hawking her father's crap.
Ivanka Trump, who visited the Windy City recently to show her fall jewelry collection at J.Mendel's Michigan Avenue boutique, didn't miss the opportunity to promote (albeit graciously) the new Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago. The statuesque blonde, who wore her own diamond tassel earrings, mentioned that while in Chicago she stayed at the hotel, received several spa treatments that day and dined for both lunch and dinner at the hotel's restaurant Sixteen, where she enjoys the admittedly rich porcini ravioli.
How sweet of her to plug her dad's businesses! And she was rewarded nicely for it, too: Ivanka's getting a bit of retail space in the hotel to open up a boutique for her jewelry line.
Looks like Michael Madsen isn't the only celebrity on bad behavior in hotels this week.
The Mexican soccer goalie, Oswaldo Sanchez, was arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest early Monday morning, after refusing to turn down the volume on the stereo in his hotel room at the Westin Michigan Avenue.
Police say Sanchez was asked to leave the Westin Michigan Avenue early Monday following Mexico's 4-0 victory over Peru in a friendly in Chicago -- and refused. The hotel called police, who arrested Sanchez when he again refused to leave.
The cops let loose on Sanchez with pepper spray in order to subdue him.
Maybe he should have been put in the city's other Westin hotel where the soothing jet lag room could have calmed him down.
At the tender age of 16, we attended our first Lollapalooza Concert. Sonic Youth, Pavement, Hole and Cypress Hill were playing, and boy, did we get our ass kicked in the crowd. The only respite we had was coming home to a shocked mother, who tended to our cuts and bruises while berating herself for thinking Lollapalooza was some sort of lollipop renaissance fair.
Mom's older and wiser now, and so are we, which is why we're considering the concert packages available at The James Chicago when we attend this summer's Lollapalooza, featuring Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and that other `90s favorite, Nine Inch Nails.
[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 29, 2008 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]
We've said it many times in many ways: a package with a word like "romance," "honeymoon," or "lovers" in it is almost always going to be a bad deal. Like, oh, 99 times out of 100 in our experience. This week we're happy to report that we found the elusive number 100, in the "Passion Package" at the new Affinia Hotel Chicago.
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 (with preferably a late check-out on Mother's Day) and didn't expect much.
But we quickly found a score at Affinia. As featured in the shot here, the Passion Package includes that late check-out, as well as plenty of goodies to spice up a weekend away from the kids. Best of all, this rate was better than the plain old room rate we found on seven of the eight third-party booking sites we checked, at $228 a night for a standard room before taxes.
We recommend upgrading to the Junior Suite though for $60 more a night. You might need some extra space for, umm, recreation.
[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven and High Tea enthusiast JetSetCD gives us her recommendation for Chi-town's finest tea hour. Enjoy.
Indeed the master of the Chicago institution of Hotel High Tea is, surprisingly, not The Drake. Only a few blocks away and tucked just off Michigan Ave sits the Ritz Carlton (which is actually a Four Seasons property), and at its 12th Floor Greenhouse you can expect the best High Tea in the Windy City.
Set at $27 per person for a complete service of seasonal pastries and choice of tea, they also offer a selection of rare and iced teas for a little extra $.
The Ritz Carlton service absolutely requires reservations, as the seating is true English style in arrangements of plush floral-print chairs and couches around a quiet fountain, and the staff is strict on the number in your party so as to seat you best. Settle in and you'll note the Frette linens, Wedgwood China, and silver service stamped with the Ritz Carlton insignia.
On the one hand, we love this. Two former concierges at the Four Seasons Chicago have written a book, Great Reservations (pun on Dickens title duly noted) about the celebrities who used to stay at the hotel with their outrageous (but normal for celebrity types) demands.
Abigail Hart and Nancy Joyce Callahan spent years as concierges at this swank luxury hotel and have tons of tidbits on who requested what when they visited. For instance:
For a mere 12-hour stay, assistants for Nicole Kidman shipped a set of pink, 800-thread-count Italian sheets to the hotel ahead of her visit - along with diagrams and pages of instructions on how to make the bed. The then-Mrs. Tom Cruise never actually arrived.
The plethora of blues clubs in Chicago presents a quandary: with so many to choose from, how do you know which ones are worth your time and money?
Luckily, the InterContinental in Chicago has done the legwork for you, with its Blues Chicago package. Rates start at $221 per night, per couple, and include VIP passes to the legendary Blue Chicago Club, with an opportunity to meet the band; a commemorative autographed CD from the Club; and a tour of Chess Recording Studio, where artists like Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson have recorded music. Note: A two-night minimum stay is required.
If you're interested, you better book soon--the offer is good through the end of the month.
Is quitting smoking one of your new year resolutions? The good news is that the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers has quit smoking this year, and they want to help you quit too.
The thing is that the Chicago Sheraton is now a 100% smoke-free environment, so rather than putting off its smoking guests, it's hoping to convert them to a smoke-free lifestyle with a couple of incentives. If you're staying at the hotel and you bring your pack of cigarettes and hand it over to the staff at the hotel fitness center, you'll be given a free one-day pass to use the fitness facilities.
The Chicago Sheraton suggests that "guests can "drown out" their cravings with a couple of laps" in the indoor swimming pool, although we're wondering if it's really that easy. On top of that, the trade-in for a pack of cigarettes will include a coupon to make one free phone call home, to get some moral support while you're trying to quit.
It's a cute gimmick, although we're not sure how many non-smokers it will produce, but what we're even more curious about is what the Chicago Sheraton fitness center staff are going to do with all the packs of cigarettes they collect.
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by Jenna
