Christmas in Chicago?
Christmas in Chicago: Cosy and romantic - but where should we stay? Where should we eat? What’s open, and what’s cool?
So, me and the s.o. are going to spend Christmas in Chicago. It’s our first Christmas spent together, and apart from our respective families, so it’s kind of a big deal. We need it to be not just a getaway, but a special, memorable thing.
About us: We are late twenties/early thirties, we like music, architecture, good food, good wine, cool stuff, old stuff. We fly in on the 22nd of December and we plan to stay five nights in the city before traveling on to visit friends in Michigan. It’ll be just the two of us. I’m trying to choose a hotel, restaurants and fun activities. I have this kind of Mad Men idea of winter in Chicago with beautiful old skyscrapers, comfy chairs and well-mixed drinks. In London we’ve stayed in, and loved, the Rookery, but we also had a really cool time at the Barbican. We like to stay and hang out in places that have a sense of history and story to them; not necessarily old, but interesting. I spent a few weeks in Chicago - in the summertime - years ago, and I’ve pored over the other Chicago threads which have given me some ideas. For example, a hot toddy in the Duke of Perth is definitely on the agenda, and I’m going to try (and probably fail) to get reservations in Alinea. But there’s still lots of stuff I feel I need to check up on.
Hotel-wise (and going on previous threads) , I’m leaning towards the W in the City, but I’m not sure. Hotel Sax is another option. The Burnham looks beautiful but is probably slightly out of our budget. The Hard Rock Hotel tempts me with its beautiful 1920’s building and free internet access, but is it super-cheesy? Other contenders include the Dana Hotel, which is new, the Amalfi, and the Rafaello. (caution: lots of auto-playing music in those hotel links)
Oh, and ideally we would like a hotel with a pool, but it seems to me that that would involve some compromises on location and other coolness. A nice lobby, a comfy and fairly spacious room, and being in a good location are more important.
Other stuff: I don’t know what to expect from Christmas in the U.S.! Where I’m from, almost everything is shut on Christmas day and St Stephen’s day, and the time between Christmas and New Years is a kind of quiet family time. Will the art galleries and museums be open? How about the shops and restaurants? Cinemas and theatre? Will we be able to get dinner reservations for Christmas day, or should we make sure we have a hotel with a restaurant/room service? Will it be possible to dine out at all without reservations? Will all the bars be packed, or empty? Or shut? Is there cool Christmas stuff we shouldn’t miss?
We’ve got a moderate budget - I found deals on most of the above hotels at around 0-0 a night, and about that’s as much as we can pay. We’ll eat cheese and bread one day so we can afford some amazing meal the next day, and we’re willing to splash out a little for really special things. But cheap also = good and we don’t want to waste our hard-earned cash. Hivemind, help me plan a really great, romantic Christmas!
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