Chicago,Illinois:
We've decided Chicago is on the list to visit annually. No questions asked. We will likely make it here a few times in a year but jic the calendar gets full, we will at least commit to once. This time, we decided to bear the cold winter and venture out during our annual winter vacation trip. This time we switched it up a bit - starting with how we got there. Honey wanted to fly from Atlanta - for a few reasons: Better SkyClubs, Non-stop flights, and Less Expensive. All wins except for - and I will say it time and time again, Hartsfield Jackson is a zoo. Literally. It's way too many people flying through this airport for me and the pre-check benefits while are still worth it, it's less appealing to fly through this airport because the pre-check line is still terribly long. Sigh. So...we arrived in Atlanta Wednesday evening and Honey insisted on his favorite for dinner - Houston's. The weekend before we visited Charlotte and while he has been craving the Hawaiian steak, me on the other hand I was a bit steak'd out from Bricktops. This go around, I bypassed the steak and went for a new dish - the Rotisserie Chicken. It's slow roasted and is seasoned with crushed herbs with a warm kale panzanella salad. I honestly had no clue what to expect on that but I can honestly say it was delish!! I will definitely have this again if I am not in a steak mode here. We had dinner and retired to our hotel a few miles up the way.
For just one night, we secured a room at the Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta. It's tucked away right behind Lenox Mall. Rooms were reasonable and in fact, I was pretty impressed with the hotel overall. The lobby and bar area were really nice (sorry no pictures) but the room was spacious, very clean and also the area (hotel propery) seemed to be safe.
Important to note for this hotel:
They only offer valet.
The overnight parking fee is $40.00.
Be mindful of getting all required items out of your vehicle because if something is left you will need to text the valet representative in order to get to your car. This was at least our experience.
Up for an early morning flight and we arrived at ATL. The route was ATL>ORD and with a Delta Companion Cert, the cost for 2 tickets was ~$330. The lounge near our gate opened fairly early and while there was a short line, we got in pretty fast. This lounge in contrast to the other we normally visit, was super nice and much, much larger. The breakfast options were great, and I had the best Bloody Mary before our flight departed. Thomas, I think had juice. LOL.
So in short, that covers how we got there.
As with many of my blog posts, I don't want them to grow too long so I am opting to split our trip into a few different posts listed below for quick reference and segmentation. I hope you enjoy!
Chicago Winter Vacation (CWV) Blog Posts:
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