Four Seasons Hotel – Chicago!

My family weekend getaway began early Saturday morning as all the excitement gathered for our special overnight stay at the Four Seasons Hotel. On our way into the city, my daughter asked me so many questions about the overnight stay.  Do they have a pool? Is it close to American girl store? Will we have robes? What does “Four Seasons” stands for?  One by one, I answered her questions as she looked out the window excited for our adventure in Chicago to begin. Once we arrived, we easily valet parked our car and walked into the lobby.

We proceeded to check-in and while I worked out the details, my daughter along with her best friend/cousin, were directed to a treasure box full of toys. “This is better than the dentist’s treasure box… Don’t you think mommy?” Yes, its pretty close, I said.

It was time to go upstairs and our room was all ready for us. As we opened the door, we noticed our view of the John Hancock building right away and the other skyscrapers in front of us. It was truly a magical site of Chicago. The kids sailed in and screamed in excitement when they realized we all had matching robes, cookies and chocolate milk waiting for us on ice. ( it’s the little things in life.)

Of course, the pool was the next stop.( Kid pool hours on the weekend are 9am to 9pm.) You enter through the spa to get to the pool. In my opinion, the Four Season’s pool is one of the best in the city. They have everything you need… floaties, noodles, towels and the ambience and view of the city is unbelievable! Also, on a side note, the Four Seasons pool was featured in the movie Home Alone. So, the kids enjoyed knowing that little fact.  My daughter would swim all day long if  we let her… So, after an hour with the girls I quickly traded with my husband for a little “mom” alone time and passed off the parental responsibilities to him for an hour or two.

Ok ladies, here is something I didn’t know….  The Four Seasons is connected to the 900 shops… So you never have to leave the building. You can shop, get your hair styled and/or have a glass of wine in the lobby all without putting on your coat! ( I did all three by the way. )

Next up was dinner at Allium with Chef Kevin Hickey. He is brilliant and one of my favorite chefs in the city.  I was looking forward to enjoying his latest food creations.  That was the plan until the kids heard about movie night and the ice cream man coming to your room. So, we ended up watching movies. creating ice cream sundaes from the ice cream cart and eating dinner in our robes from room service.  Secretly, I loved it too. It’s not often I’m in a fancy robe ordering a fantastic steak and a pinot noir from room service. It was a perfect, low key evening for everyone. If you have a chance and your kids are old enough, go to Allium. Chef Hickey is one of the best and highly respected chefs in Chicago. 

The next morning we ordered in again ( so indulgent I know…) and then went back to the pool one more time before we headed to the much anticipated, American Girl store. My advice – visit before 11am on a Sunday to beat the crowds. We walked right in and our American girl dolls got a much needed makeover.

All in all, it was the perfect weekend. As we packed up to go home my daughter asked me, “Mommy, the Four Seasons is really relaxing.  Does it get any better than this?”.  I thought about it and replied, “Not in Chicago, honey!”.  To which she casually replied, “I didn’t think so,”.

~ Catie Keogh, Host