Brrr Chicago! The Crowne Plaza O'Hare - Economy Class & Beyond

Brrr Chicago! Crowne Plaza O’Hare

With a race off the plane to get a reasonable place in the queue, it was time to endure the wonder of US Immigration again. US Immigration tends get odder each time I use it – even at the great Chicago O’Hare International.

Eventually, I was directed to a queue where I would be seen to – and again – it was the machines.

The good news is, that many more Automated Passport Clearance machines have been installed. The bad news – the queues are as long as ever clearing US Immigration as multiple users of ESTA and US Citizen are mixed into one batch queue now.

Ho hum

Eventually, I got to a machine, and was cleared through it – with redesign of the pre-clearance slip too.

US CPB forms – Heavily Redacted! – Nicceeee.

With that, it’s back into another queue for one of five immigration agents to clear you. This queue did move a bit faster – but it’s still a long queue to face when coming off a flight.

My passport was stamped – and I was admitted into the USA. With that done, it was time to hit the luggage belt . I had fear that my bags didn’t make it with the short connection at Madrid, but I was pleased to see the spinning around the luggage carousel waiting for me.

A final check through Customs, and I was on my again.

40 minutes this time. Not great, but a peak time improvement… I suppose.

With that done, it was pretty much straight into a cab as my planes for the day were pretty much in bits already, and then to my hotel for the first night – the Crowne Plaza O’Hare.

With a usual Chicago flourish, the taxi driver deposited me at the Crowne Plaza without so much as blinking… or ripping me off.

Occasionally, the Chicago Taxi’s do behave. For other times, there’s Uber

Crowne Plaza O’Hare.

Why yes…. I’m doing night-time photos of hotels again. Old habits are hard to change.

I entered the hotel, and was welcomed. My check in was processed with speed – and I was informed that I had been upgraded to a suite.

That is a first at this hotel – normally, I’ve ended up in corner rooms or normal rooms. This is nice change indeed.

Business area

To the rooms!

With the formalities done, it was time to head up stairs to see what awaited me.

Exiting on the 10th floor, I turned and found the entrance and entered the key.

And whilst it maybe just a “Crowne Plaza”, here’s the room I got from a panoramic viewpoint

Not bad in the least.

Living room (laptop and bag out, and me getting on with something that might resemble writing)

Entrance-way

Bedroom

Bathroom

Whilst the views aren’t great, they’re not bad per-say.

I had a bit of business to do in downtown Chicago (a bit more on that later), but when I came back, a welcome amenity and a note from the manger was wa9ting for me.

This was missing last time – so it was nice to see this back to be honest.

The room itself dealt with the Chicago cold nicely (i.e. – it was warm without being over-hot), whilst the main feature – the bed – was exactly what I needed. Nice and comfortable – not too soft, not too firm.

In other words – what I needed after a long flight, a walk around Chicago and dealing with my sleep deprivation.

Mind you, morning views weren’t bad either.

The rate I was on also included breakfast as well and as such, it would had been rude of me to refuse it. The voucher entitled me to access the buffet breakfast – and a fair spread was put out for it:

Cold items

Dear Hong Kong Hotels… this are a variation on what the rest of the world calls “sausages” (and alas what Americans call “Bacon”

French Toast

The Dining Area

Time as usual however was not at my side at this property – there was a lot of business of the day to be carried out I checked out at a convenient time, and headed over to the other property I was staying at. My bill tallied up correctly – and it was time to make tracks.

Overall: Once again, the Crowne Plaza continues to be of a constant standard at this hotel – and that’s no bad thing in my book. The service amenities are improving and there is a definite uptick in this property. It’s still a solid choice for those who have to overnight in the O’Hare area

Next: Dealing with the Chicago Cold

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Brrr Chicago! The Crowne Plaza O’Hare

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