Howard Johnson Inn Downtown Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The Howard Johnson Inn Downtown Chicago is a Quality Excellence President Award winner and a Gold Medal Award Property. Howard Johnson Inn-Downtown Chicago is an ideal destination for both leisure and business travelers who are opposed to tall buildings and high prices. Located in the Historic River North Gallery District, we are just blocks away from the Magnificent Mile Shopping area, Water Tower Mall, John Hancock Observatory and Navy Pier. Our hotel is convenient to both the Red and Brown line train stations and walking distance from a host of area attractions and famous restaurants that include Spago, Ed Debevic and Rainforest Cafe. We are also a short cab ride from Wrigley Field or Soldier Field, the Merchandise Mart and Financial District. We are one of the only downtown hotels offering complimentary parking to our guests! Cafe Luna located on our property is a popular neighborhood restaurant, offering affordable priced breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The staff at Howard Johnson-Downtown Chicago eagerly anticipates the opportunity to welcome you or your group to our hotel and look forward to providing you with the highest level of service. Notice - On 8/14/06 we will be renovating the back of our parking lot. We will go from 52 spaces to 31 spaces until October 1/2006. We apologize for any inconvenience and as usual our parking will be on a first come first serve basis, subject to availability

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During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:

Chicago Fed Visitors Center
It's not worth a special trip (unless you're a huge Alan Greenspan fan), but the Visitors Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is worth a quick stop if you're wandering around the Loop. More than just the standard history-of-banking displays, the center has kid-friendly features such as a giant cube that holds a million dollars, and an exhibit that lets you try detecting counterfeit bills. And yes, there's even a section where visitors can pretend to be Alan Greenspan for a moment, showing how changes in interest rates affect the economy. Free guided tours are offered weekdays at 1pm. Allow a half-hour.

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
The Rockefeller Memorial Chapel is just across from Robie House. Did someone say chapel? This is false modesty, even for a Rockefeller. When the university first opened its doors, the students sang the following ditty:John D. Rockefeller, wonderful man is heGives all his spare change to the U of C.John D. was a generous patron, indeed. He founded the university (in cooperation with the American Baptist Society), built the magnificent minicathedral that now bears his name, and shelled out an additional $35 million in donations to the institution over the course of his lifetime. Designed by Bertram Goodhue, an architect known for his ecclesiastical buildings -- including Cadet Chapel at West Point and New York City's St. Thomas Church -- the Memorial Chapel was dedicated in 1928.In keeping with the rest of the campus, which is patterned after Oxford, it is reminiscent of English Gothic structures but was built from limestone and with modern construction techniques. Its most outstanding features are the circular stained-glass window high above the main altar (the windows, in general, are among the largest of any church or cathedral anywhere) and the world's second-largest carillon, which was donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., in 1932 in memory of his mother, Laura. The chapel's organ is nearly as impressive, with four manuals, 126 stops, and more than 10,000 pipes.Choir concerts, carillon performances, and other musical programs are presented throughout the year, usually for a small donation. The building is open to the public; in-depth tours can be arranged through the university's Office of Special Events at tel. 773/702-9636. Tours of the carillon are done during the academic year; call the office to find out times. Allow a half-hour.

Oriental Institute Museum
Near the midpoint of the campus, a few blocks from Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, is the Oriental Institute, housing one of the world's major collections of Near Eastern art. Although most of the galleries have been renovated within the last few years, this is still a very traditional museum: lots of glass cases, very few interactive exhibits (in other words, there's not much to interest young children). It won't take you long to see the highlights here -- but a few impressive pieces make it worth a stop for history and art buffs.Your first stop should be the Egyptian Gallery, which showcases the finest objects among the 35,000 artifacts from the Nile Valley held by the museum. At the center stands a monumental 17-foot solid-quartzite statue of King Tutankhamen, the boy king who ruled Egypt from about 1335 to 1324 B.C. The largest Egyptian sculpture in the Western Hemisphere (tipping the scales at 6 tons), the Oriental Institute excavated it in 1930. The surrounding exhibits, which document the life and beliefs of Egyptians from 5000 B.C. to the 8th century A.D., have a wonderfully accessible approach that emphasizes themes, not chronology. Among them are: mummification (there are 14 mummies on display -- five people and nine animals, including hawks, an ibis, a shrew, and a baby crocodile), kingship, society, and writing (including a deed for the sale of a house, a copy of the Book of the Dead, and a schoolboy's homework).The Oriental Institute also houses important collections of artifacts from civilizations that once flourished in what are now Iran and Iraq. The highlight of the Mesopotamium Gallery is a massive, 16-foot-tall sculpture of a winged bull with a human head, which once stood in the palace of Assyrian king Sargon II. The gallery also contains some of the earliest man-made tools ever excavated, along with many other pieces that have become one-of-a-kind since the destruction and looting of the National Museum in Baghdad in 2003. The Persian Gallery displays approximately 1,000 objects dating from the Archaic Susiana Period (ca. 6800 B.C.) to the Islamic Period (ca. A.D. 1000). Other galleries are filled with artifacts from Sumer, ancient Palestine, Israel, Anatolia, and Nubia.The small but eclectic gift shop, called the Suq, stocks many one-of-a-kind items, including reproductions of pieces in the museum's collection. Allow 1 hour.

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Most recent user reviews

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2 out of 5

Review

Anonymous, 2006-12-09

No review provided by user

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5 out of 5

Very Friendly Staff

Angela, 2006-08-27

Go check out the Chicago Rib House 800 N. Dearborn, Chicago, IL, priced right, awesome food.

The Howard Johnson downtown was great! Bathroom is small, but it's somewhere to take a shower. The restaurant was awesome, great food. Our stay was great for the money for the budget we had at the time.

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Score

4 out of 5

Great Location

Stephen, St Louis, MO, 2006-08-20

$35 cab ride from Midway but for $2 per person el runs to airport with one free transfer

Located close to restaurants and attractions also close to el train. Rooms good size and clean. Nothing fancy but location makes up for lack of many amenities.

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4 out of 5

OKAY

Anonymous, 2006-08-09

roof over our head for one night. no pool.

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4 out of 5

budget minded

John, Minneapolis, MN, 2006-08-07

I stayed at the hojo for a weekend while in town for a festival.The location was good being down town and near the redline train with the closest stop being Chicago/State. However, there is not much going on in the direct area at night. There is no internet in the room and the only internet in the area was at a starbucks two blocks away with the t-mobile service you have to pay to use. The LaSalle Grill is next to the hotel and is an awesome breakfast and heads up it's cash only. If you are in town for a few days and just need a place to sleep this is perfect place without breaking the bank.

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5 out of 5

Great location

Michelle, Rochester, NY, 2006-07-11

Gino's Pizza was only a few blocks away and had great pizza and pasta!

The Howard Johnson Hotel was very conveniently located. We parked the car in their free lot for our entire stay and were able to walk to shopping, the John Hancock Observatory, some nice restaurants, and we also were able to walk from the hotel to Navy Pier. It was great to be right downtown and not have to worry about driving to these spots. The room was a little small, but it had everything we needed. It was clean and comfortable.

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2 out of 5

Good free parking

Anonymous, 2006-06-29

short distance to a lot attractions in Chicago

It is really convenient to have free parking. In addition, it is in good location to different attractions. However, the hotel condition did not match the price we paid. The AC noise were too loud and we could control the direction. They did not provide breakfast nor network. They provided Shampoo however without conditioner.

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5 out of 5

More than served it's purpose

Richard, Philadelphia, PA, 2006-06-23

Restaurant next door, flower shop opposite and lots of nightlife within a couple of blocks.

A very well located hotel. Even though it was located close to downton Chicago, it was very quiet. The room was small but had everything we needed. The staff were friendly and I received a courtesy call asking if the room was clean and suitable for our needs. Although we only reserved a room for one night, we decided to stay an extra night and the hotel had no problem accommodating us - we didn't even have to switch rooms. The maid came by to clean the room and because we were still in it, she came back later at her own inconvenience when we had left. Overall a very pleasant hotel and I would not hesitate in recommending it.

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4 out of 5

Review

Anonymous, 2006-06-04

Navy Pier was only a few blocks from the hotel and there is also a park/beach in that same area as well with a beautiful view of Lake Michigan.

Score

4 out of 5

Review

Anonymous, 2006-05-14

Welcome to Orbitz.