Springtime Transatlantic Adventures
Into the USA and The avid Hotel, Des Plaines
Good afternoon USA. It’s time to cross into the country and head to the avid hotel. With some winds and rain to boot.
In this Adventure
- So, 80 more Tier Points. Always demanding more, British Airways…
- To the joy of Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 with FlixBus
- British Airways Galleries South Lounge and T5B Lounge
- British Airways BA295 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare in World Traveller Plus
- Into the USA and the avid Hotel, Des Plaines
- The Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Airplane Art Extra from the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- A Simple Burger Night at Chilli’s
- Deep Dish Pizza Special at Pequods
- A Monday Morning Adventure around Chicago
- Back to O’Hare, The American Airlines Flagship Lounge
- AA90 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow in Main Cabin Extra
- Luggage Trolley Drifting – Rushing to the bus
- The Other Shoe Drops. Was it worth it?
We now come to the bit I’ve not been looking forward to – US Immigration. With people reporting that getting through the US Immigration has been a lot more “fun” recently, I steeled myself.
Thankfully, being in the first row of World Traveller Plus meant I had the jump on a lot of other passengers and proceeded down the escalator at speed, which dropped me at the main immigration point for visitors.
Sometimes, it does work out.
I queued up patiently, given that another flight was clearing too. I was eventually called forward by an agent, who asked why I was visiting. After giving an explanation and explaining I brought sealed chocolates with me, he stamped my blue form and let me through.
Nothing to worry about there today. Who knows next time?
I took the time to grab a trolley, as I would need to cart my stuff off to a taxi after I arrived. Whilst baggage delivery wasn’t fast, it kept moving.
Free trolleys – a rarity in US Airports
The Great Gathering around the luggage belt
Eventually, my two bags appeared on the belt (thankfully, having AirTags in both bags meant that I knew where both of them were and that they both made it to the USA)
With the bags retrieved, I followed the signs to the Customs clearance section, where my blue form was examined and I was waved through.
To the exit
That complete, I followed the signs past baggage re-check and re-booking (which looked like they were starting to fill up, with the weather in Chicago that day) and through to the exit.
Exiting the immigration hall.
I suspect a lot more people would be queuing in a bit
All done and dusted in under 35 minutes. Not the best performance (given that the luggage delivery was sluggish), but it was good enough for me to rate this as “more than passable”, with the immigration agent being reasonable.
Once through, I checked the time. It was nearly 16:30.
Considering I had a few things to do, I was into the “bugger” territory, as opposed to anything else. I was behind more than an hour, and conditions outside were deteriorating too.
There was only one option – engage a Chicago Taxi driver, rather than head to Terminal 2 and pick up a ride share.
Thankfully, at 16:30, there were plenty of drivers around, with one willing to take me to my residence for the first night – the avid Hotel, Des Plaines (although the scowl I get for a short trip at O’Hare Airport always appears).
This being a Chicago taxi driver… they didn’t hang around in the least. I could appreciate that at this point in the game. With ease, the drive made it through the back roads of O’Hare, heading to Des Plaines, past a familiar Target and Chilli’s, to the entrance of the hotel.
It’s a bit nasty out there.
avid Hotel, Des Plaines (an IHG Hotel)
Price paid £89.03 (£127.63 down including £38.60 deposit)
We’re back to night photos of hotels. I prefer them.
I arrived at the avid hotel as conditions were changing rapidly. It seemed that rain was on the way. As well as tornadoes.
Oh, for giddy aunts’ sake. I’ll add there were a lot of diversions that day into Chicago.
Plenty of holds and a host of diversions away from Chicago-O’Hare this evening as storms move through.
Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Detroit leading the diversion list so far. www.flightradar24.com/airport/ord
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24.com) March 19, 2025 at 10:59 PM
That’s fun.
I headed into the hotel, with a short wait to be greeted, as the agent was checking in someone else. After that, I was processed, with my ID taken, and the room confirmed.
Reception area
Market.. buy all the sugar and salt here.
Things with strings
The agent thanked me for being an IHG Platinum member, offering a snack from the shop or 500 points. You all know what I went for, as my IHG balance is never too high.
With two keycards issued, I was issued a room on the third floor of this four-floor property.
The bad news? I had a hike from one end of the corridor to another. With my tiredness, that was less than welcome.
Lift
Interstage
It feels longer when you’re dragging wheeled luggage.
Making it into the room, it was how I remembered it. The first thing – the floor isn’t carpeted, but rather laminate flooring. That’s fine, be honest.
On the right was the bathroom. This had a shower, toilet and basin in it, with all the amenities in a bulk-pack format.
On the left-hand side, a mirror to show the realities of the world was there.
Progressing inwards, on the right, there was a fridge and an iron.
And a do not disturb sign on the door frame that’s a magnet. Cute
In the middle of the room was the bed.
And a lovely bed it was. Trust me. After that flight… it was lovely to have the ability to get changed and spread out for a little bit.
It was also on just the right side of being firm – how I like my beds.
On each side of the bed, there was a mains outlet, along with a USB-A outlet. On the table in front, there was the main TV (which I forgot to switch on), and more power outlets – both mains and USB-A.
I’ll answer why there’s a keyboard on top of my keyboard one day.
Although I dread to think why this sign is here
Whilst USB-C is nice, having reasonable output USB-A plugs is never a bad option, as plenty of things charge that way still.
Now I’ve gone through the amenities. And you’re probably wondering where the tea/coffee machine is.
This hotel doesn’t put this amenity in the room – rather, it centralises it in the downstairs main area. It has ups and downs – mainly, you have to get semi-dressed to get a mug of coffee or a hot drink.
Coffee and tea making are.
The upside? They have a bean-to-cup machine, which spits out Costa Coffee.
That, as I’ve been known to say, would do nicely. There’s only one constraint (compared to last time), which is that you have to be a hotel guest to grab free coffee.
For those who want tea, there’s also a selection of teas too. It’s not the best selection in the world, but not the worst.
More than enough for a budget-minded hotel.
Even if the next day, Mother Nature decided to dump snow in the Midwest.
I did not authorise this.
As this is a budget hotel, breakfast is offered. That sounds positive, doesn’t it?
I would describe it best as “a prepacked special”. Two hot items were offered (a cheese omelette and a sausage and cheese biscuit), with plenty of help-you-self items (that are mostly shelf-stable, bar the fresh fruit).
Cheese omelettes on show, along with cold juices.
A supply of breakfast biscuits too
It’s not bad per se, although those biscuits… don’t have too many of them at 500 calories a pop.
As to the rest of the items… pre-packaged specials.
Bread and Cereals
Apples and Porridge
Yogurt
Muffins
I suspect this microwave has more stories than not.
The internet experience was more than passable, with it accessible via the IHG Portal or via a code the hotel supplied. Plenty enough for me to knock out some articles, edit some pictures, post away and watch bad YouTube videos
I checked out at 11 am as that was booting out time. The receptionist said I could have had a later checkout, but it was easy enough to work in the reception area (although you’d be disappointed for a hotel shuttle, ass that had been suspended).
With everything done, and more Costa Coffee than I could shake a stick at, I headed out.
Overall
The avid Hotel remains a solid budget option for the Chicago O’Hare area, especially if you’re IHG loyal (as you get points and qualification nights) and want to contain costs. Whilst you won’t get an upgraded room or anything like that, it provides a solid pit-stop for a night on the way out, or on the way back from a trip.
It provides the basics, done well, with a reasonable enough breakfast to get you started for the day, with reasonable coffee (providing you can dress to go and get your mug of coffee).
There’s only one real downside for those who are considering the avid Hotel – just be warned that the hotel shuttle (which was limited in the past) has now been removed, so you’ll need to factor in your Uber/Lyft rides to the cost.
However, if you want a kettle or coffee machine in your room, good luck with that.
Next:
The Hyatt Regency O’Hare. Hello, Old Friend.
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