I made one night reservations for my wife & I at the Essex (via Groupon) on December 16th. The overnight stay was a 46th wedding anniversary surprise for my wife, Charlene. The rate for a Deluxe King was very reasonable for a Michigan Avenue hotel.
The valet parking at $50 per day was a little expensive, but I liked the convenience and did not bother looking for less expensive options. We checked in at about 12 noon, and I was delighted that our room was available this early. The Hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. Several days prior to check-in I called the hotel and told them it was a special occasion and could they give us an upper floor with some sort of nice view. We were very pleased to find that they had reserved a very nice room on the top (15th) floor of the hotel with 2 huge windows and views of Grant Park, Michigan Avenue, Lake Michigan, the Museum Campus and Navy Pier !
The Hotel lobby of the Essex was a little small and not anything special, but we walked across the street to the magnificent Chicago Hilton Hotel, and had fun exploring the shops, restaurants, grand ballroom, and lobbies of this great old hotel. We next took a free shuttle several miles north on Michigan Avenue and walked a couple of blocks to Macy's Department Store (formerly Marshall Fields), where we had a...I made one night reservations for my wife & I at the Essex (via Groupon) on December 16th. The overnight stay was a 46th wedding anniversary surprise for my wife, Charlene. The rate for a Deluxe King was very reasonable for a Michigan Avenue hotel.
The valet parking at $50 per day was a little expensive, but I liked the convenience and did not bother looking for less expensive options. We checked in at about 12 noon, and I was delighted that our room was available this early. The Hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. Several days prior to check-in I called the hotel and told them it was a special occasion and could they give us an upper floor with some sort of nice view. We were very pleased to find that they had reserved a very nice room on the top (15th) floor of the hotel with 2 huge windows and views of Grant Park, Michigan Avenue, Lake Michigan, the Museum Campus and Navy Pier !
The Hotel lobby of the Essex was a little small and not anything special, but we walked across the street to the magnificent Chicago Hilton Hotel, and had fun exploring the shops, restaurants, grand ballroom, and lobbies of this great old hotel. We next took a free shuttle several miles north on Michigan Avenue and walked a couple of blocks to Macy's Department Store (formerly Marshall Fields), where we had a great (and reasonably priced) meal at the magnificent Walnut Room at Macy's. (Be prepared to wait an hour or so for a table there.) After lunch we walked around Macy's and a couple of other sops on State Street and nearby Michigan Avenue.
Next, we walked back our hotel in a light snowfall (very pretty). Before we reached our hotel we stopped at a little Greek restaurant on Michigan Avenue, and had some Tera Ma Su in a booth with a great window view for some people-watching.
The next morning we got up at about 8am, went down to the nice restaurant at the Essex for a delicious breakfast (I had bacon & eggs). The booth also had a great window view for watching busy people scurry by. We then went back to our wonderful room with a view to finish packing, and relaxed until early afternoon check-out (I had arranged for a late check-out......no charge.) The courteous staff then arranged to have our car brought to us, and we were on our way. Oh, and the hotel also provided us with free tickets to the Field Museum of Natural History, We stopped there for a few hours also. We both had a great time and didn't break the bank while doing it !!More
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