American Girl Chicago...which hotel?

[infomama]

Any suggestions or personal experience with any (nicer) hotels within walking distance to the AG store in Chicago?

[GvilleGirl]

The Westin and Four Seasons are the the two closest hotels that come to mind. They are both within a few blocks.

[egoldber]

Older DD and I stayed at the Seneca when we went. We had a wonderful experience there. It is about half a block away from the store. There are many many hotels close by.

[DebbieJ]

Any hotel that serves Water Tower Place or the John Hancock Bldg will be close.

[hollybloom24]

The Westin is super close and I really liked it! They are quite family friendly (have strollers to borrow, etc.)

[msmouse523]

Here are a few others that are nearby:

- Ritz Carlton (next door to AG)
- Affinia
- Allerton
- Omni
- Park Hyatt Chicago (across the street from AG)
- Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown
- Chicago Marriott Downtown
- Millenium Knickerbocker

[arivecchi]

If you are doing a girl's weekend, also look at the Drake Hotel. They have an awesome tea service and lots of moms go there with their girls. It is a couple of blocks away from the store and right by the lake and the 900 North Michigan Ave. mall.

[infomama]

We will be going during the week. Will the Drake still have tea service during the week? I really want to stay somewhere within a block or two so that sounds great. We may not have a car.
I am reading the Drake is a little dated (the rooms). Maybe we can just go there for tea. I would love to stay somewhere like the Elysian but I don't want to be surrounded by snooty fake nice staff.

[egoldber]

The Ritz and the Peninsula also do tea as well.

We had a 1 BR suite at the Seneca with a kitchen and full breakfast for $100 a night. That was 18 months ago, but non-weekend rates are comparable to that now. I have posted about the Seneca here before and others have stayed there. Truly, it is a very nice small, boutique hotel.

http://www.senecahotel.com/

It is literally a half block from AG Place, and next to the Ritz. It is 1 1/2 blocks from the Drake and 2 blocks from the shops at 900 Michigan. It's about a 6 block walk to the Peninsula if you decide to do tea there.

It is also a block from the Contemporary Art Museum which has a very cool museum store. :)

When we were there, my older DD loved going up in the Hancock Observatory (which is across the street from AG Place).

[infomama]

Wow. The Seneca sounds fantastic. I'm going to look into it more.
Thanks Beth.

[arivecchi]

We will be going during the week. Will the Drake still have tea service during the week? I really want to stay somewhere within a block or two so that sounds great. We may not have a car.
I am reading the Drake is a little dated (the rooms). Maybe we can just go there for tea. I would love to stay somewhere like the Elysian but I don't want to be surrounded by snooty fake nice staff. I have not seen the rooms but go there for tea service a couple of times a year. It is pricey but so good. They do have it during the week too.

http://www.thedrakehotel.com/dine/palm-court/

[tiapam]

We have stayed at the Hotel Sofitel a couple of times but without kids. It is more grownup but a very cool place. If you are just going with one child I think it would be fine.

Also, some hotels may have special AG packages where they provide little beds, etc. See:

http://www.americangirl.com/stores/popups/map_chi.php?hotels=1

The Affinia seems nice enough, though I have never been inside. It would probably be among the more reasonably prices hotels in that area.

[Melbel]

It sounds like a great trip! We have been wanting to take a family or mother/daughter trip to Chicago.

Don't forget to check the bed bug registry: http://bedbugregistry.com/search/hotel/l:chicago/

[golightly1118]

I've never stayed in the Penisula, but one of my chef instructors at pastry school in downtown Chicago was always telling us to go to the tea service when we have time-so I figure if it's good enough for a French pastry chef, it's good enough for me! Plus the rooms are supposed to be amazing-I'm hoping in a few years my mom and I can have a girls weekend in the city with DD.

[infomama]

It sounds like a great trip! We have been wanting to take a family or mother/daughter trip to Chicago.

Don't forget to check the bed bug registry: http://bedbugregistry.com/search/hotel/l:chicago/
Blech.....I may haul my camper up there. Well...the Seneca looks good!

[DebbieJ]

Today's Groupon Deal looks promising: Sutton Place Hotel

http://www.groupon.com/chicago/deals/sutton-place-grande-hotel-chicago?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&c=a&[email protected]&utm_content=chicago_deal_feed_with_updates

[newnana]

Thanks to Beth's rec, we stayed at the Seneca this summer. It was fantastic. We had a 1 BR suite with full kitchen/dining room/living room. DD could go to bed at her normal 7:30 and DH and I could stay up without disturbing her because she was in a separate room. I can't thank Beth enough for that trip because I never would have found it otherwise.

When I checked their website, they had a buy 2 nights get 1 free that wasn't available over the phone. Looking at the website right now it's buy one night get the second free.

The location is perfect. We actually weren't even planning on going to AG, but DH caught our nasty cold from the week before and zonked out in the room so DD and I decided to walk the 1/2 block there. We were there for a few hours, had a blast, started our obsession, and DH didn't even know we were gone.

It's also a block from the one bus stop that takes you to all the major attractions in the CityPass.

As PP said, there are some hotels in the area that do AG packages with a doll bed in the room and stuff, but we didn't even know we were going so didn't investigate. It might be something you can call and ask.

have fun!