An Outer Limits Weekend Family Trip to Chicago

We have become quite fond of taking short weekend trips to Chicago and have made something of a tradition out of staying just outside of the city limits where the vibe is a little calmer and there are fewer people. However, when we want to try to save some money by staying outside of town, we always keep in mind that we are not locals and therefore do not always know what kind of area we’re going to end up if we just drive around looking for a decent-looking kid-friendly hotel in Chicago. This is something we know from experience, I’m afraid. 

One of the first times we took a family weekend trip to Chicago, we decided that it would be okay to drive around for a while to look for nice places to stay and we got lost. For a long time. And if I recall correctly, we were somewhere on the south side of windy city. And while it was a great cultural experience to be able to view real live hookers in their native habitat and also to have the opportunity to observe open-air crack-smoking on a public sidewalk, it is not exactly my favorite travel memory. In fact, looking back, the whole experience can be best summarized as such:

My apologies, dear sensitive reader, but really. I can think of no other parallel from popular culture that communicates our experience so very succinctly or in words so profound.

Besides, by staying outside of downtown Chicago, one can avoid paying the parking fees that are nothing short of criminal. For instance, when researching one of our trips, we found a great four-star hotel that was just across from the Field Museum for something like $68 per night but our excitement over such a deal dissipated quickly when we learned that parking our car for our stay would cost us close to $120. If you are thinking about booking a family trip to Chicago and want to stay anywhere near downtown, make sure you ask over the phone how parking works and what the cost is. Some of the hotels do not even list the parking fees on their website. On that did, upon a quick phone call, confirmed that parking was less there than at other hotels because it would be parked at a garage four blocks away and valet was an additional $40.

The Outer Limits -- Family-Friendly Places to Stay Outside of (but still close to) Chicago : Merrillville Wins

We have checked out the airport and Lincoln Park areas but (and this is partially based on our starting location so might not be as accessible for those coming from the west) have settled on the nice town of Merrillville, Indiana. It’s about 30-40 minutes to downtown Chicago and staying will leave you fresh to enjoy the experience of driving through the city as opposed to being road-weary upon arrival. I like staying at a hotel in Merrillville because it’s easy to hop back on the highway and get truckin’ to Chicagoland and also because there is a lot to do in town. There are tons of good places to eat right near our general hotel choices as well as a movie theatre and a mall. There’s nothing special or quaint about it, but it makes a good pitstop and overnight stay location.

So, on to the reviews of where we stay…

There are two places we have stayed on more than one occasion and both have been excellent, despite the ways in which they are different. Our favorite is the Radisson at Star Plaza because of the crazy party pool thing and total kid-friendliness and the other, which is more relaxing and quieter with a smaller but clean, nice pool is the Merrillville Courtyard (or Courtyard Merrillville, however it goes). I have divided the mini-review of both into two categories: the calm one and the crazy one for your viewing pleasure.

The Calm, Cozy One – The Merrillville Courtyard in Merrillville, Indiana

This is a warm and cozy hotel that is tucked back on the road right off of I-65 (which offers instant access to the main trek into Chicagoland). It was a great place for a cold ass day in the Midwest because of their huge fireplace. In fact, here is our family taken right on front of the sucker. It was big and warm and the completely bored clerk at the front entertained Bee for a while and offered to take our picture. I wish I remembered her name.

We really liked the pool at the Merrillville Courtyard, mostly because it wasn’t all crazy with slides and kids running around everywhere. Everything was clean and our Bee had a wonderful time swimming with her daddy and a few little friends she met while we were there. The pool area had a lot of little tables and places to sit and was quite comfortable.

When we were done swimming, we actually hung out in the lobby (something we don’t usually do) because it was vast and lit up and warmed by said fireplace. This is one of the only hotels we’ve been to that people were just chilling with their families in the lobby, playing cards and chatting. It was very nice.

Bee making friends in the lobby. Who wouldn't want to be friends with a kid who chooses to wear tie-dye with cowgirl boots?

Another thing I liked about this hotel was the hot hotel breakfast buffet that comes with the reasonably-priced room. It sure beats the standard cold-ass bagel and stiff cream cheese with a stale cup of coffee we have had at so many other hotels that boast a “breakfast.”

The Crazy One - Radission at Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana

Omg, this place is crazy. I took pictures inside with my Blackberry but they don’t show off the full spectacle of this wild pool place enough, so I’m directing you to the website for the Radisson at Star Plaza. That is really what it looks like. I kid you not.

The pool is the best thing about this hotel. They’re going to ask you if you want a pool view room but let me tell you, if you want peace and quiet and plan on going to bed before 11:30, this is not a good idea at all. The acoustics reflect every single sound, scream, screech, and shriek directly through your door and into your sleeping ears and you can expect a gaggle of excitable kids hitting the pool well before you might want to be up and about too. Your kids might like having a room with a pool view but I don’t know about it myself. It was way too loud.

The pool and general vibe at the Radisson at Star Plaza in Merrillville is more in tune to the tween crowd. Having a little two or three-year old flopping around in water wings while surrounded by crazed Hannah Montanas might be a bit too much for a young one. And the pool never dies down either. It closes late at night and when we’ve been there, they have to ask the kids several times to get out. If your kids are older though, have a ball—this is the place for you.

I also like this hotel because it has a Starbucks built right into it. That’s the easiest way to lure me in and it worked. If you do get snookered into a pool-view room and wake up at 7 a.m. to the sound of splashing and laughing, at least you have this in store for you.

The rooms at both of the hotels listed here at comfortable and clean—we have never had any problems. The service and staff at the Courtyard are by far friendlier but that might just be because they are bored. It’s a quiet hotel and they don’t see the kind of endless action that goes on at the Radisson. They are also roughly the same price, although if there is a big event at the Star Theatre in Merrillville, you might get hit with a higher rate and might also want to consider booking ahead of time.

Oh, and by the way, Gary is Scary

We like Merrillville but also have considered staying in Gary, Indiana, which is even closer to Chicago and also boasts a number of very affordable hotels. Now, perhaps the poor town isn’t getting a fair shake here because we drove through the wrong parts of it, but Gary, Indiana is a scary place. It’s like a shanty town and I did not see anywhere—not even in the rehabbed downtown—that I would even consider staying. If you have thoughts on that, let me know. What are we missing about Gary?

I look forward to comments about staying outside of Chicago…Where do you like to take your family? Do you generally stay downtown when you go? If not, what is your favorite suburb or quick-trip hotel spot?