Tiers and Dreams: Crowne Plaza O’Hare, Rosemont

Chicago XV – Tiers and Dreams
Crowne Plaza O’Hare, Rosemont

Contents:

• Tiers? And Dreams? Huh?
• Off to Heathrow, American Airlines FlAAgship Lounge
• American Airlines AA99 London – Chicago
• Crowne Plaza O’Hare – THIS SECTION
• Back to O’Hare, AA AAdmrials Club
• American Airlines AA1380 Chicago to St Louis, St Louis AAdmirals Club, AA1685 St Louis to Dallas Fort Worth
  
• DFW and AAn CEO encounter…
• American Airlines AA1180 – Dallas Fort Worth to San Juan
• The Intercontinental San Juan and #Rucksackgate
• San Juan International Airport
• American Airlines AA1591 San Juan to Dallas Forth Worth
• More messing around DFW
• American Airlines AA1618 Dallas Fort Worth to St Louis International, A quick STL Stop, American Airlines AA1186 St Louis to Chicago
• The Hyatt Regency O’Hare with a Rucksack gate update
• One Time Exception: A Chicago Photographic Interlude
• O’Hare Take 3, AA AAdmirals Club
• AA3360 Chicago O’Hare to Toronto Pearson
• Toronto Airport Omnishambles – The Long Wait, BA Toronto Lounge
• BA96 Toronto to London Heathrow featuring the British Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner
• Homeward bound
• The long and winding road

US Immigration.

After landing, I headed to immigration, and was send to secondary customs inspection. Whilst not as intrusive as Canadian immigration, it was a bit of a pain. Although they were surprised how much chocolate I was bringing in (and they could understand).

With time allowed to pack, I was sent on my way into the main arrivals hall.

After clearing immigration, I headed out of the hall and to the side to reorganise the searched bags and call home to let people know I landed safely. With those distractions done, it was heading to 10:30… or time to head to the hotel.

I jumped a cab at O’Hare to the Crowne Plaza O’Hare (who dinged me 1 1/2 fare for going into Rosemont… I love how some taxi drivers play by some rules, and others don’t)… and after a short drive, I was back at one of my regular haunts in Chicago.

Crowne Plaza O’Hare

Lets just say I earned enough points to pay for my Ambassador Renewal…

The images: http://www.photoblog.com/kevincm/2013/10/14/crowne-plaza-ohare.html

I prefer my hotel photos at night.

After I hefted my luggage in, I was welcomed at the front desk, and my night’s stay was confirmed. No room upgrade was offered (something I’ve come to expect with at this property).

Lobby Area

A swipe of my credit card and I was off to my room… which was a quite a hike away from the elevators. Still, it meant it would be quiet.

I wasn’t drunk – I was exhausted. Same difference

Lounge – I had no invite…

Internet access was complimentary, as was a drinks voucher (which I forgot to use – again).

So the room – was comfortable enough.

Sleep kit on the bed

Armchair

Tea and coffee

The bathroom was well equipped too – definitely an upgrade on the Holiday Inn’s in terms of amenities.

(Do you know how hard it is to shoot this photo?)

The bed itself was the right level of firmness, with the air conditioning at the right temperature. And this was a good thing as I relaxed from a long flight.

Once relaxed and refreshed, it was time to brave the big world and wander downtown.

I went for a bit – and utilised the shuttle (every 30 minutes – not brilliant, but better than paying off a taxi driver that makes up the rules… like most drivers around O’Hare)

After wandering back with some stuff I needed to get (like an external hard disk… I was seeing how much space the new camera was chewing through – and I got one just in case… I was right…), I wandered back to my room to find a welcome gift had been placed with a welcome from the manager.

It’s not a big thing – but a wonderful thought… and that’s a big plus in my book

Meanwhile, night had settled, and my exhaustion was kicking in (and the realisation I had to be out of the hotel at 5:30 to stand a chance of checking in).

I slept well – and thats why I have a good hotel – to get a good rest.

The pre-requested alarm went off at 4:30, and groggily, I got up not knowing what time zone I was in. With the packing done the night before, I got my day bag contents together, and headed downstairs for check-out.

And I’m glad I did… as there was a big queue for the shuttle back to O’Hare with a lot of people on Frontier.

My bill was checked, and all charges were settled.

I thanked the staff and headed outside to the madness that was a fully loaded shuttle back to O’Hare…

Overall: An Excellent performance. Good friendly staff and attention to detail – I like these things. Whilst the hotel shuttle could be a bit more and frequent, it’s a small detail that I’m overlooking as everything else was done well.

Next: Back to O’Hare – Take 2.

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