As the third most populated city in the U.S., Chicago typically takes a backseat to the fame, fortune, and prestige of New York City and Los Angeles. If you're one that has ignored Chicago because of this, I recommend taking a closer look. While Chicago may lack Times Square or Hollywood, the Windy City makes up for this with a beautiful lakefront, stunning architecture, and, perhaps best of all, clean streets and sidewalks!
When it comes to luxury, Chicago is not following behind NYC or LA, in fact it may be leading the pack. Located toward the north end of Chicago's famed Magnificent Mile, you will find two of our favorite luxury hotels. We'll begin with the Four Seasons Hotel. Located on floors 30-46 of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, The Four Seasons offers spectacular views in all directions. During our stay, we had a perfect view of the Hancock Center, located directly across the street, and North Shore beach.
The Four Seasons Chicago regularly serves as the home away from home for celebrities looking to escape the glare of the spotlight. When Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston were trying to hide their budding relationship during the filming of the "The Breakup," they made The Four Seasons their home.
Our Executive Suite featured a spacious living room area, separate bedroom, and a luxurious bathroom. As you enter the Suite you are welcomed into a elegantly appointed foyer leading into the spacious living area. The living area features a flat-panel TV, a sleeper sofa, coffee table, and executive desk. Perhaps, my favorite aspect of the Suite was the window seat that offered an unrivaled view of the Hancock Center and lakefront. Another window seat could be found in the separate bedroom. Secluded from the living area by frosted glass sliding doors, the bedroom featured a plush king bed and another flat-panel TV, along with another window seat which offers quite the view upon waking up. From the bedroom to the Italian marble bathroom. Consider yourself warned, you will not want to leave the bathroom once you enter. No matter whether you're a bath person or one who prefers a shower, the Four Seasons has you covered. The deep soaking tub is perfect for relaxing after a long day of walking and shopping the Mag Mile. There is also a separate shower with plenty of room to move about and a shower head that hits all the right places.
In addition to the luxurious comforts of your guest Suite, the Four Seasons also offers one of the best fitness centers in the city. The changing rooms alone are larger and classier than most luxury hotel rooms. From here you enter the pool which is the most extravagant pool I have personally ever seen. Roman-style columns are positioned around the pool and the ceiling features two glass domes, one above the pool and another above the hot tub. If this isn't ultra-luxury, I'm not sure what is.
From the Four Seasons, we walk just a few blocks south on Michigan Avenue (Magnificent Mile) where we find The Omni Chicago. Like the Four Seasons, The Omni has long been a hit with Hollywood celebrities and is the official hotel of Chicago's own Oprah Winfrey Show. The Omni was recently chosen as one of Travel+Leisure's World's Best Hotels in 2010, and in 2009 was ranked by Travel+Leisure as one of the best hotels in the World for families. As you see, we are not the only ones who recognize the Omni Chicago as being a luxurious hotel.
Though the Omni and Four Seasons are close in proximity, the two offer very different views of the city. At The Omni we had spectacular views from our Executive Suite of downtown, including the new Trump Tower. I suggest taking the time during your stay to enjoy the beautiful sunset across the city from one of your Suite's multiple window seats.
Much like the Suite at the Four Seasons, our Suite at The Omni featured a fabulous, spacious living area with a sleeper sofa, and separate bedroom. Altogether, the Suite offers more than 530 square feet of space. Upon entering the Suite, you are greeted by the most delightful scent, which the Omni is known for. Sometimes we actually entered and exited the room just to smell the refreshing scent once more. You are greeted by a large dining room table with seating for six. While this may not be a neccessary feature, we certainly made good use of having a table with our late night pizza deliveries and breakfasts.
The living area featured a comfortable sleeper sofa and chair, coffee table, executive desk, and a flat panel television. You will also find one of the two window seats of the Suite here as well. Next, we find the bathroom, which compared to the Four Seasons bathroom was considerably less extravagant, but still a nice bathroom nonetheless. Finally, onto the bedroom which is nearly the same size as the dining room and living area combined. A luxurious king bed awaits you, and if you're like me you won't want to get out of the bed for the remainder of the trip. You will also find another desk, flat panel television, and window seat in the bedroom. There is also a closet and dresser offering plenty of space for all of your belongings. You can expect nightly turn-down service as well and service was superb during our stay.
The Omni features a fantastic fitness center with the latest exercise equipment and free weights. There is also a lap pool, which is kept at a very comfortable temperature, and a large hot tub. During the warm weather months you can also step out of the pool or fitness area onto balconies overlooking the city. If you need an incentive to workout while on vacation, this is a great one!
Overall, you can't go wrong between the Four Seasons Chicago and Omni Chicago. For rates and more information on these hotels check out their websites at www.fourseasons.com/chicagofs and http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/Chicago.aspx.
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