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That Summertime Chi
I’ve been to Chicago countless times, and the city holds a truly special place in my heart. I love the city, the people, the vibe, the food, the bars, and any chance I get to visit, I make an excuse. But a trip during the Summer to Chicago? Well, the bear has come out of hibernation, the caterpillar turned into a butterfly, lets just say this city changes from Andy Dwyer to Star Lord. The city spills into the streets, beaches, rooftops, rivers, and is a ton of fun.
I’d stayed at the Intercontinental roughly 10 years ago during a New Years trip and found the hotel to be quite tired, but it completed a $13M renovation in 2015. The hotel often advertises outstanding sub $150 rates, and this presented a great opportunity to check it out again.
Last July, my cousin was celebrating a special birthday and my family planned a surprise trip for her. Since both of my parents are Intercontinental Ambassadors we thought it presented a great opportunity to book BOGO award nights that are an annual perk of Ambassador membership.
One great perk of the Ambassador BOGO is that it often applies to rooms above entry level. This was the case at the Intercontinental Chicago. We were able to use two certificates, the first on standard King, the other on a One Bedroom Suite. We thought this would afford us a little real estate for everyone to hang out while still getting two free nights. It also extracted additional value from the BOGO.
Intercontinental Chicago stay details
- When: July 2018
- Where: Chicago
- Loyalty: IHG Platinum/Spire + Intercontinental Ambassador
- Perks: Free coffee certificates at Starbucks
- Room: Executive Tower Suite and Executive Tower King
Location:
The hotel is well located just north of the River on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Illinois. You’re within walking distance of Navy Pier (20 mins ), River cruises (5 mins ), shopping on Mag Mile, Water Tower/Hancock (10-15), and the Willis Tower ( 15mins). If you’re considering driving into the city I’d HIGHLY recommend using SpotHero to find cheap parking. The hotel rates are NOSEBLEED and you can find parking for $15-20 a day within a few blocks of the entrance.
Check-In
The Intercontinental Chicago has a grand 2 story lobby featuring a gorgeous floral arrangement. Continue on and you’ll find guest check-in.
Rooms:
There are two towers in the hotel. The last time I stayed in the hotel I was in the north side of the building, the historic side, or what they call the Grand Tower. Not my favorite. Perhaps post reno these have been updated, but having stayed in the Executive Tower, on the south side, it’s incomparable.
The south tower has very few rooms on each floor making it a far more intimate stay. You’d never guess the hotel has hundreds of rooms. The south tower even has its own entrance which will lead you past Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse before getting to your elevator bank.
The Suite we booked was a standard one bedroom executive tower suite. It’s advertised as roughly 500-600 sq feet. I’d have guess it was on the larger side of this range with all corner vantage points. For the roughly $250 a night we were paying ( and the 2nd was free ) it was a great deal.
A few feet down the hall, on another corner was the king room we booked. It was very large for a city hotel, and had we not needed the extra sitting room, I’m not sure booking a suite was really worth it. Although prorating the BOGO, it wasn’t much more per night for the extra space which is great if you and your partner don’t share similar sleeping patterns.
The views were amazing.
Pool and Gym Facilities
The most special aspect of the hotel is its incredible junior Olympic size pool. There’s even tiered seating, and the entire design speaks to some of the Moorish elements you’ll see throughout the hotel. It’s quite the sight to behold and one of the coolest city hotel perks I’ve ever seen.
There is workout facility too
Dining:
The best part of this hotel is the fact that Starbuck’s is a part of the building. Look, I’m addicted and biased, but being able to go directly through the lobby into my favorite coffee shop and get some of that good, good is amazing. There is also Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, Eno, and Center Court.
Overall:
I would stay here agin in a heartbeat, and I’ve stayed at my fair share of Chicago properties. The renovations make this a competitive hotel in the price range, and the location is great. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the property; however, I think the pricing usually lends itself to paying outright rather than using points.
At the time of publishing the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile costs 50k IHG points per night. Using 1/2 cent per point valuation, I’d say its worth using points when you paid rates are above $250 a night. If you hit this property at the right time, like dead middle of winter, you’ll get rooms circling $100. That is a downright steal especially if you can compound your stay with an Accelerate promotion, or whatever IHG is calling their latest promos these days.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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