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Hilton O'Hare

Driving back from southern Indiana and knowing it would be a 9 or 10 hour trip which I didn't want to deal with all in one day, I started looking for hotels at around the halfway point, which is Chicago. Downtown was stupidly high priced, but out by the airport, a hotel I have used many times but never had the time to blog because I would get in from canceled flights around 11:00pm and have to leave at 5:00am (yeah, great rest time eh?) is the Hilton O'Hare which is connected to the airport via tunnels. So, why not multitask - get a decent night's rest while hitting a milestone bonus with Hilton and writing up the property?
I drove in after wasting a lot of time downtown. At first, I tried to valet while they were not around, there was a sign that said "Full". So I went back around the entire airport to the parking garage literally across the street from the entrance.
Walking from the parking garage to the entrance is a snap My excellent hosts for the stay, Cassidy (Cash) and Tai-yomi, who took care of me

The Room

This hotel is a business convention center, and I don't think there is one suite on the property. Every floor is like 60 rooms of identical size and layout.
About as typical a layout as they come, but it had room to move around The bathroom was a tad tight, needing to close the door to access the shower Conformity
You can see right out to the terminals and tarmac

Food and Drink

There is the standard bar, Sports Edition, which has a bar menu, drinks and well, TVs with sports. It's busy as soon as it opens at 4pm. The restaurant, Andiamo, is pretty much a standard hotel dining affair with exactly the types of foods you would expect right down the salad and the burger. But then, there is the Gaslight Club, which is a very unique item, with aged meats and a very distinct 20s, almost western, atmosphere. Not cheap by any standard but very interesting and great ambiance.
Sports bar, which had wings, which of course I will put on a wings post
Your menu, options for everyone, and prices are not too bad. Rob had the burger for lunch and did not regret it The Gaslight Club, the gem of the property Very old school feel
Well stocked bar, I sat here, had a medium rare filet. It was good, but I wouldn't say it was mind blowing
Oh yes, and there is a little cafe that is pretty much always open during the day, Mercato. I didn't go to this one though (and strangely no Starbucks in this Hilton)
I should have included this in the above, but I forgot until I was putting pictures in and organically it seemed better to make a separate line here so you know how my mind flounders

Event Spaces

Man, talk about event spaces, this hotel is designed for a major worldwide convention, everyone to fly in, stay here, and do all the convention things.
Each mini conference room on this floor is the size of two guest rooms and there's still a massive amount of them Event rooms all over the place here, larger ones on the mezzanine and the lower level
Dedicated event desk when things are going on The lower level ballroom, tight ceiling but a larger space

Amenities

Now, having been here so many times and never once looking at the gym or anything else, I was totally floored that they have a swimming pool, and a decent one. Plus an excellently equipped gym. Oh and a barber and a dentist because you never know what you need these days; actually those are super impressive service items.
This'll do nicely I think. That's a lot of equipment If you forget your things, they have them here for sale
Also gift shops above and below and a dedicated business center.
Chicago stuff, drinks, snacks, in the lobby Way more stuff, they call this one the international gift shop, and it's in the tunnel system

Summary

Totally a business/convention hotel, and probably not a destination in itself. Excellent for those overnight emergency stays with the connectivity to the airport, and believe it or not, very soundproof. I didn't hear much of anything from the airport at any hour.

The tunnels also go directly to the subway blue line which makes this a decent option for a cheaper stay visiting downtown.
The tunnel to Terminal 2, there is also one to Terminal 3 The underground entrance from the subway side

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