Standing at the floor-to-ceiling window in my room on the 23rd floor of the Hyatt Regency Chicago I looked east, toward Lake Michigan. I could see the tip of Navy Pier. the Chicago River, a bit of the Riverwalk and Lake Shore Drive.
It was a view I returned to often during my stay — the light varied the scene from the sparkling sunrise over the lake to the city lights twinkling at night.
Location is a key advantage of the Hyatt Regency. It’s just a bit northeast of the Loop, just south of the Magnificent Mile, close to Millennium Park (where you’ll find the famous “bean”) and a short walk to myriad shops, restaurants and the Art Institute of Chicago.
That said, this is a humongous property — 2,019 non-smoking guest rooms. It bustles nonstop with conventions and meetings moving in and out of its 240,000 square feet of event space. That said, the elevators were numerous and surprisingly swift, the in-room WiFi free and reasonably fast and the complementary coffee maker a welcome touch.
I checked out the hotel’s BIG Bar (which had a sign forbidding hats after 9 p.m. — an attempt to fend off baseball caps, management said) and had dinner in Stetsons Modern Steak + Sushi. Yeah, it sounds like a strange mash-up but the result is delightful — delicate fish-y appetizers followed by a substantive and perfectly cooked filet.
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The Hyatt Regency Chicago is located at 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois. Rack rates start about $299, but there are often seasonal discounts. You can compare rates at Booking.com or Hotels.com. If you’re driving, it’s easiest to approach heading east on Upper Wacker from Michigan Avenue. The parking charge is a hefty $65 per night.
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(Photo of guest room courtesy of Hyatt Regency Chicago; review and all other photos by Susan McKee, who was a guest of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.)
