Full Disclosure: I was offered 3 nights at the Loews Chicago area hotels in exchange for this review, however, the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. 

It had been a long 9 and a half hours. I promised the family that this particular road trip would be 10 hours total and, in my attempt to beat the time on the GPS, I shaved off 30 minutes of this trip.

But we had made it, despite getting lost in Hannibal, Missouri trying to find something to eat. We were, pulling in to check-in at 10:30pm at the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel.  It was short one night stay before we headed into downtown Chicago to look at the sights and enjoy some good Chicago style pizza.

I must have looked tired when I walked in the sliding glass door to the front desk…

“Hello Brandon, we have been expecting you and your family.”

“Really? I’m sorry we are so late, we had a late start out of Kansas City.”

“Not a problem, we hope that your family enjoys your stay with us, do we need to send someone up to make your pull-out couch?”

Knowing that Joseph was sleeping in the back seat and how much later the night would go if we woke him up, “No, I think we are OK.”

With that, I took our room keys and headed out to the car to unload. Joseph so tired that he didn’t even wake up as we pulled him from his car seat. We weren’t anticipating much as we rode the elevator to our room. We were just ready to get into bed and prepare ourselves for the adventures that lay ahead.

Opening the door, we were presented with a spread of candy, nuts, and soda from the Flavor collection from Loews Hotel. Just what a tired family needs to feel at home when they check-in at a hotel after a long day of traveling. As we settled in, I went down to park the car. The only downside that to the Loews Chicago O’Hare Loews Hotel is that we had to park on the eleventh level of the parking garage, but it provided a great view of the planes taking off at O’Hare Airport.

When I made it back to our room, sure enough, the hotel had sent up staff to make the sofa bed for us. Even though I had said that we didn’t need it, I knew at that moment looking out at the vast Chicago skyline through the window, that this would be home.

Drifting off to sleep faster than I ever had, I woke up with next morning feeling rested and ready for the day. Even though the hotel didn’t have a pool, we decided we were going to take full advantage of the 11am checkout and stick around and enjoy our room for the morning.

The summer that we had up to this point had been crazy and filled with baseball games and summer camps. But in this one morning, all four of us spread out on the king-size bed and spent some quality time reading a book and watching TV.

Checking out, the typical question from the front desk was asked, “How was your stay?”

“Besides feeling like I was at home at your hotel, I wish that we could stay longer, but it is on to downtown Chicago.” And down I-90 we went.

Not knowing what we were going to do once we got downtown, we pulled into the Loews Chicago Hotel. We knew our room wouldn’t be ready but asked that our bags be held so that we could explore what the city had to offer.

“This is a great weekend to visit! I see that you have two little kids, you’ll want to go down to Millennium Park, and if you are up for it, head down to the Planetarium.”

We have never gone on a trip and NOT had anything planned like this road trip, but it was all coming together.  We oohed and aahed at the Chicago architecture as we walked through the park, looking at our step counters throughout the walk to the Planetarium and back and seeing that we reached 30,000 steps easily.

Our feet needed a rest, and we knew that some Chicago style pizza was in order. We checked in, informed of the evening Dive-In movie at the pool. A quick stop by the concierge to ask where the best Chicago Style Pizza would be, that also has some dairy-free options for our youngest, within walking distance.

“I have a few ideas, but I’ll give them a call to make sure that they have dairy-free options. What is your room number and I’ll give you a call when I find out.”

We hadn’t made it two steps into our room when our phone rang,

“I know just the place. I called to double-check that they had a dairy-free option and it is within walking distance.”

“Great! And we will make it back in time for the Dive-In movie!”

Never have we felt like we were at home at a hotel while traveling. But it was the Loews Chicago and Loews O’Hare Chicago Hotels that made us feel that way.

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Feeling at home at the Loews Chicago Hotels

Now our room might have overlooked Navy Pier, but I don’t want to overlook the experience we had at the Loews Hotel. Loews new program Loews Loves Families is a great way for families to travel. When you visit a Loews Hotel, you can Leave It To Loews that offers conveniences for families from bottle warmers to outlet covers. There are also plenty of family-friendly games, books and more available at the front desk.

With the Family Road Trip package, families get 50% off on their second room and complimentary breakfast for the kids, AND a $30 food and beverage credit… oh and don’t forget the parking which is complimentary as well.

To book the Family Road Trip package visit https://www.loewshotels.com/special-offers/family-road-trip-package or call 1-800-23-LOEWS.

Or you could visit the hotel with the Discovery Chicago package. Which includes free breakfast for the kids, milk and cookies delivered to the room, a Mrs. O’Leary plush cow and a Discovery Kit backpack filled with items to help your kids on their adventure through Chicago. There is a scavenger hunt booklet to make seeing the sights fun for your kids and a journal so that they can keep notes to remember the trip, along with a compass, water bottle to keep them hydrated, and sunglasses.

To book the Discovery Chicago package head over to the Loews Site – https://www.loewshotels.com/chicago-downtown/specials/chicago-discovery-family-package or call 1-800-23-LOEWS.