Oh they have such a great Art Museum. and aquarium. and restuarants. including Greek!

I won't mention all the obvious, one not so obvious; we took an architectural tour at sunset on a boat down river and out on to the lake. That was great.

I was there mostly for business though and even when not stayed at the Ritz Carlton since we always had business rates on personal travel. Lovely but boring; Im sure there is something more interesting. I know the Palmer House lobby is famous but know nothing of the hotel.

Chicago Hilton and Towers is the closest...about 10 min walk. Loads of people walk to Soldier Field from the Hilton area - there's lots of parking near the hotel as well.

Palmer House is also a Hilton. it's farther ... About 20 minute walk to Soldier Field. Palmer House rooms are smaller than those in the Chicago Hilton.

If you are planning over July 4, book now.

This post was edited by jmc01 on Mon, Jan 19, 15 at 22:03

Thanks so much Mtn and Jmc. I definitely want to go the museum. The architectural tour sounds awesome. I will look into the Hiltons and get something booked.

We don't want to be the yokels wandering through bad areas-- any advice on where to avoid? :-) Public transportation vs walkability? We'd like to avoid renting a car.

We went on the architectural tour also and really liked it too. We had a girls trip there and stayed in a rented apartment for a long weekend so no help for the hotel. We took taxi's everywhere-only had a hard time getting one once, after the "Book of Mormon" show.

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by olliesmom on Tue, Jan 20, 15 at 10:15

Yikes I feel old! I used to go to Chicago for work frequently in my last job (18 years ago!!!!) I think I liked the four seasons better than the Ritz in chicago for some reason. I think I met Stevie Wonder there. :)

I also used to loooooove the Hotel Nikko jazz brunch on Sundays. I think the hotel Nikko is no longer the Hotel Nikko and I think the brunch is gone. :(

Boop, I may have this wrong, but wasn't there something weird like the Ritz was managed by the Four Seasons, or vice versa? I seem to recall something bizarre like that.

Whichever one it was, you came in to the lobby and then you had to go to the seventh floor or somesuch to get to real lobby. It was also connected to a (very nice) mall. Is this the hotel you are thinking about?

Hey, in the bohemian spirit Robo has us all in, why not AirBnB? We are doing a girls weekend in June in NYC and looking at AirBnB lofts, Robo has me on a kick now.

I've linked to a post on Trip Advisor regarding hotels & how to get to Soldier Field. There's 4 pages of responses of which a few of the responses should be helpful.
A cab is not a good option, especially after the concert.
The Blackstone, Chicago Hilton & Hyatt Regency are mentioned as being walkable with other options a few blocks further.
You definitely don't want a car as parking at the hotels & at Soldier Field is expensive.
If anyone in your group likes baseball, the tour of Wrigley Field is fun.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hotels near Soldier Field

yes! that is the hotel I am thinking of mtnrdredux!

I tried to look for the brunch at the Nikko (or whatever it is called now) and I don't see it. I tried so many new (to me) foods there in my early 20's. :) My parents were not adventurous cooks and we rarely went out to eat. I had good times traveling with my coworkers. it was exhausting, but we got to stay in so many nice places.

If you;re staying downtown, you probably don't need a car unless you are going out to the suburbs. Downtown, the Loop area, Wrigley Field, etc., are pretty safe. Taking public transit is definitely the way to go.

We usually need a car to visit with DH's grandma who is in the Chicago suburbs. You will easily pay $30 per day to park a car at a hotel.

Last time we stayed at The River Hotel on East Wacker which was a small boutique hotel. It was good but the rooms are small, and they were literally filming a Transformers movie outside the hotel. We also stayed at the hotel which is next to House of Blues. I think it was called at the time the House of BLues hotel, but now it is something else. One of my friends loves The Palmer House.

Oh and its famous for the comedy clubs, too, right? Second city.

I love all this vicarious travel. : )

jlc712- Are you headed to the Fare Thee Well show?

Thanks all! You are so helpful! Thanks for the links and recommendations!

Not sure if this will work out or not. It's looking like all the walking distance hotels, and the walking distance AirBnBs are already sold out! We are also headed to NY at the end of July, so it seems a little crazy to fly back and forth across the country twice in a month.

Sparkle- yes- my DH was quite a Deadhead in his younger years :-) and I had a great time at the shows we saw in the early 90's. It's DH' s 50th birthday this year, so we thought it would be a good way to celebrate. Hopefully it will all work out.

The Hyatt Regency McCormick Hotel is about a block south of Soldier Field.
The hotel is part of the McCormick Place convention center complex..

You could stay in the suburbs if you find one near a Metra train station. The only one I can think of offhand is,the Deerpath Inn in Lake Forest, about 30 miles north. The hotel is 2 peaceful blocks from the train. The only thing is, later in in the evening the trains run only every 2 hours, and I think the last one is 1am.

We went to a Dancing With The Stars show at an arena once, and hired a car and driver! We had a meeting point, and after the show we called the driver and met up with him there. Not cheap, but then with parking and gas, and split among us, we figured it wasn't too bad a deal. And we didn't have to drive!

This place is nowhere near where you asked but it looks so cool:

Here is a link that might be useful: hotel

Some other hotel ideas that would be about 20-25 min walk from Soldier Field are the W Hotel on Adams, the Club Quarters on Adams, the Hotel Blake on Congress is another, about 15-20 min walk. These are all a bit smaller and a few extra minutes walk. My only concern about the McCormick Place Hyatt mentioned above is that it's in the opposite direction from the Loop. You could always try the Trump...it would be a good walk.

If you keep striking out, I can keep offering suggestions. I'm in downtown Chicago every day.

The hotel with the higher floor lobby is the Ritz which is connected to Water Tower Place. The lobby is on the 12th flr.

Mtn, that does look very cool!

Thanks Jmc! So nice of you! I keep checking further and further away, and the weekend of the 4th is just booked solid everywhere. I agree about the McCormick Hyatt- if we're walking a lot, I want to be in the Loop. There was a double bed available at the Blake for around $500 a night :-)

Still trying to decide if we can really afford it. If we could somehow combine it with our trip to NY, it would make much more sense!

My friend posted on FB that she is attending that show. She is so excited.

I would say that you shouldn't let the walk-ability stop you from coming. You can set up your homebase anywhere and then stay in whatever location you want for the day. The museums are fun, but I am a big fan of neighborhoods as well. To me, the Loop isn't Chicago. I grew up in Chicago and my orthodontist was downtown (so we went often), but Chicago is so much more.

If you are fan of FLW you could even head out of Chicago to nearby Oak Park (just over the border).

Have been in Chicago my entire life. If given a choice, I would not choose to stay at the hotel nearest Soldier Field (Hyatt), nor would I walk from Soldier Field to any hotel.

Would probably stay at one of the hotels in the North Michigan Avenue area, cab to Soldier Field and take the CTA bus back to the hotel.

Many museums Art Institute, Museum Science & Industry, Field Museum, Planetarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, Navy Pier, Chgo Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera. Suggest look at Trip Advisor and find things that interest you.

Good luck. Let me know if I can help you further.

If you do consider Oak Park, try the Carleton Hotel. It's right by the Green Line El and is a 20 min ride into the city. The older part of the hotel is wonderful. The Carleton is definitely the better of the 2 Oak Park hotels (Wright Inn is the other).

The Congress Hotel and Hotel Blake are both within walking distance, about 15-20 minutes. The walk is a well-known one because it's done many times by people who park in the Grant Park lot and walk to Soldier Field events. The Congress might give you the best price.

Have not stayed here, but hope to.

Here is a link that might be useful: Langham Hotel