Hotels

Hotels

We have arranged special rates at the following hotels. All are in downtown Chicago, within a couple of blocks of Michigan Avenue, and close to Millenium Park, the River North restaurants and bars, and the Magnificent Mile shopping area. You can check them out on their web sites, but you should phone for reservations and mention the Jacobs-Kravis wedding. Rooms will be released June 1 and are limited in availability, so please reserve
early.

The Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers
800-233-4100
www.sheratonchicago.com

Beautiful city and lake views.
$119* King or two double beds.
*Plus 15% tax

The Fairmont Chicago
800-441-1414
www.fairmont.com

Larger rooms and baths. King or queen only.
$129* city view and $159* deluxe lake view.
*Plus 15% tax

Hotel Monaco Chicago
800-397-7661
www.monaco-chicago.com

Boutique hotel with more colorful Deco décor.
$159* King or $209* suite.
*Plus 15% tax
Ask for river or city views when reserving. (We've heard that you also get a goldfish to keep in your room while you're there!)

• The Blue Line El train ($1.50) will take you from under the terminals to downtown safely and quickly. Get off at the Washington stop (Washington and Dearborn in the Loop), and catch a cab to your hotel. It is about 5-6 blocks to the Hotel Monaco and a few blocks farther to the Fairmont and Sheraton.
• Cabs should run about $35-45 from O’Hare to downtown, unless traffic is terrible.
• The Continental Express bus service shuttles from the terminals to all downtown hotels. Fare is $23 ($32 for two) and one leaves every 10-15 minutes from just outside the baggage pick-up areas. You don’t need a reservation into town, but if you want to take it back to O’Hare you need to call to arrange pick-up at your hotel. You can save a few dollars by getting a round-trip ticket.

• The Orange Line El train ($1.50) will take you from the airport to downtown safely and quickly. Get off at the State & Dearborn stop. The Hotel Monaco will be two blocks away , the Fairmont 4-5 blocks, and The Sheraton just a little farther. If you walk a block or two north to Wacker Drive, you should have no difficulty catching a cab.
• Cab-fare from Midway to downtown should run $25-35.
• The Continental Express bus service shuttles from Midway to all downtown hotels about every 15 minutes. Fare is $18 one-way ($24 for two people), and a little cheaper for roundtrip. You don’t need a reservation into town, but if you want to take a bus from your hotel back to Midway, you need to get a reservation.

We will provide a bus from the hotels to the church and from the church to the reception. It will be easy to catch a cab from the reception back to your hotel. Buses will leave at about 2:30 pm from both the Sheraton and the
Fairmont hotels. See the welcome bag in your hotel for final times and
exact locations.

Overnight parking in downtown Chicago tends to be expensive. Check with your hotel for rates. You won’t really need a car, unless you prefer the flexibility of driving or want to visit suburban areas.

From I-94, take the Lake Street exit east about 2 miles, over the railroad tracks to the first stop sign. Turn left onto Wilmette Avenue and go one block to the church, at the corner of Wilmette and Forest.

From Lake Shore Drive: At the end of the drive, turn right onto Sheridan Road and follow Sheridan through Evanston, past Northwestern University, past the Baha’i Temple and the harbor in Wilmette, to Lake Street (a traffic light just a few blocks past the temple). Turn left onto Lake Street (if you come to a little group of high-rise apartment buildings on the right, across from a little shopping mall on the left, you have passed Lake Street. Turn around and turn right at the first light). Follow Lake Street a few blocks to the first stop sign. Turn right onto Wilmette Avenue and go one block to the church.

NOTE: Sheridan Road twists along the lake, so in at least three places it makes a 90 degree turn left, and then a right turn at the  next traffic light.  You’ll be OK if you just follow the flow of traffic, as most people will stay on Sheridan.

Take Lake Shore Drive to the LaSalle Drive exit. Proceed west (away from the lake) on LaSalle and take the first right onto Stockton Dr. Café Brauer will be a red brick building on your right, just past the barn. Pull into the circular drive for complimentary valet parking.

From I-94, take the Lake Street exit, east, and follow Lake for about 2 miles, passing over the railroad tracks and past the stop sign (where you would turn if going to the church).   Stay on Lake a few blocks past the stop sign to 7th Street, and turn right. Go 6 blocks to Maple and turn left. Our house is the third on the right.

From Lake Shore Drive, Take Lake Shore Dr and Sheridan Road, as if to church (and see note about Sheridan under church directions),  but after you pass Northwestern University, look for a sharp left curve followed by a traffic light.  Do not turn right at the traffic light, but continue straight.  This will put you on Isabella St. Go a little over 1/2 mile to Broadway and turn right.  Broadway will dead-end in a little curved street after two blocks.  Turn right and then immediately right again onto Maple. Third house on the right.

Local Area Links

Chicago Highlights
*** Indicates a Jon & Laura favorite

Good general resources:
www.egov.cityofchicago.org Choose Exploring Chicago from the home page - lower center in the confusing mishmash.
www.chicagotraveler.com
www.metromix.chicagotribune.com

***Architectural tours (boat tours are fun and leave from a dock within blocks of all hotels) www.architecture.org

***Baseball
www.cubs.com There is a game on July 1. Let us know if you're interested in joining us for it! (And then there's that other team...)

Boat tours
In addition to the architectural tours, there are tours from the riverfront which include both the river and lakeshore. Also boats go from Navy Pier to the Aquarium. www.chicagoboats.com or www.wendellaboats.com

***Deep dish pizza Try Uno's or Due's, within walking distance of hotels. If you have had Uno's in some other city, you have not had Chicago pizza.

Millenium Park Great interactive city park blocks from hotels. Includes fascinating "Bean" Sculpture and Frank Gehry outdoor concert pavilion with free concerts. www.chicagotraveler.com/chicago_millennium_park.htm

Museums

***Art Institute of Chicago - www.artic.edu
In addition to awesome collections (especially 19th and 20th century American and European art and the Chagall windows), the Art Institute features special exhibitions, many of which require advance tickets. See website for exhibition details.
Field Museum of Natural History - www.fmnh.org
Museum of Science and Industry - www.msichicago.org
Also contemporary art, photography, Mexican art, and African-American museums, a planetarium, a superb nature museum, and an aquarium...most within walking distance.

***Music/nightlife/theatre
Great jazz, blues, and music of all kinds, and dozens of small theatre companies. Check out the general web-sites at the top of the page.

Trolleys If you are going to spend a whole day touring, these provide on-and-off service (for a fee) to all the main tourist spots. www.chicagotrolley.com and www.chicagoduck.com
Also, there are free trolleys on weekends between some of the main downtown sites. www.egov.cityofchicago.org

***Taste of Chicago
An annual Chicago festival in Grant Park (adjacent to Millennium Park just south of the hotels), this is a fun way to taste feature items from over 100 of Chicago's best restaurants. Runs the whole week before the wedding. Free concerts included. See the city website (above) for details as the date approaches.

***Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo, a short cab or bus ride away is a walkable, free zoo in one of Chicago's nicest neighborhoods (adjacent to the reception site).