Rhys and I celebrated our one year anniversary on December 23rd. Since its right before Christmas and the holidays are so busy, I wanted to do something different since we didn’t have time to get away. I have always wanted to do a staycation, we live in one of the most beautiful cities and in my opinion a very desired place to visit in the United States. I began to research different hotels I’ve walked by or heard of that were specifically downtown and near the river. I have wanted to visit LondonHouse Chicago in the Michigan-Wacker historic district since they renovated the building to a hotel. The rooftop has these incredible views of the city and the whole vibe of the hotel is really swanky and chic!
I figured after we ate we needed to do a little cardio. I dragged Rhys to one of my favorite cardio sessions… shopping! Haha all we had to do was stop in Nordstrom ( which was a zoo!) and pick up an order I placed. You know that song by The Weekened – Can’t feel my face? That’s how I felt the entire walk which was six blocks to LondonHouse and the rest of the weekend. To me ” I can’t feel my face when I’m with you” had significant meaning this day because I literally couldn’t feel my face. I am not really sure how The Weekend intended for people to interpret this song, but that line right there rang so true for the rest of our weekend. At least we got to stop for a little photo op at one of my favorite Christmas Trees in the city at the Wrigley Building.
After we lounged a little bit and took a cat nap, we got ready to go out for drinks and to dinner. We walked across the river which was a little over a block to Trump Tower. Remember not that long ago when I told you I couldn’t feel my face? Well now this time it was my entire body, the wind picked up, temperature dropped and the sun had set. I was miserable. I didn’t know if I was crying from the weather or because I was going to Trump Tower (Jk.. well kind of ). Rhys won a gift card for Trump at work a while back so we figured why not use that since we are right here and we can take in the spectacular views of the Chicago River. Well since it was deathly cold night none of the rooftop bars were open, not that we wanted to go outside, but to at least be in the bar upstairs to take in the views of the skyline and river would have been nice. We ended up at Rebar which is on the second floor of the hotel. Overrated. It was nice to try somewhere new and to be with Rhys, but I absolutely would never go back. So overpriced and the service was less than average. After a couple glasses of Prosecco for me and wine for Rhys we were ready for our dinner reservations at Smith & Wollensky which was another dreadful block away.
I complained the entire way and Rhys was a good sport. I can’t help it I am a delicate flower and it was apparently colder that weekend than it was on Mars. Mars was -6 and Chicago was -9. Going out on a date even if its with your boyfriend of a year is not fun. There is no possible way to look cute when you have a runny nose, your hair is a mess and you are all bundled up. I was so happy to have another cocktail and to be back inside again. We were lucky to get a seat by the window which overlooked the Chicago River. They give you the most delicious Monkey like Garlic bread for an appetizer. I could simply go back for that and the view. Smith & Wollensky is a chophouse that serves prime steaks and seafood. We ordered the Shellfish tower for dinner and Mac and Cheese as a side. The mac was so cheesy and so delicious! The Shellfish tower was really delicious, it came with Lobster, Alaskan King Crab, Oysters, Clams and Jumbo Shrimp. The Lobster tails and crab legs were really meaty, but we each got one of each piece, my only complaint was that I wish we would have had a little more of each. We were both ready to go back the hotel and relax, but when I looked outside I looked right at Rhys and said ” I know this is ridiculous and that we can see our hotel but we are taking a cab”. It was the best six dollars I have ever spent.
We headed up to one of the hotel bars for a couple of drinks before we headed back to the room to watch Quantico. Yes I am obssessed with that Quantico and Priyanka Chopra, I’m sure I will get into that obsession in another post. We ate, we drank, relaxed and froze our butts off, but I had the best time celebrating a year of us!
The hotel was nothing short of amazing. The rooms are not huge, but just enough space for the two of us for the amount of time we were going to be there. I really loved the bathroom, the door to the bathroom was a sliding frosted Glassdoor with a beautiful etched flowered design. It was very unique and unlike anything I had ever seen in a hotel room. They had a complimentary breakfast which we didn’t make it to. It was nice to sleep in, in a insanely comfy bed and just relax before we checked out in the afternoon. If you are coming to Visit Chicago or wanting to do a staycation of your own I definitely recommend checking out LondonHouse Chicago!! Thank you for making our day and night so wonderful, we will definitely be back to this location or to any of the other Curio Collection hotels!
Xoxo Maria