We really loved our stay at Nicole's apartment. It was perfect for our needs - the location was great for exploring downtown and also the more Northern parts of the city, and the two apartments were perfectly laid out for our family.
Finding the apartment was straightforward, and checking in was made extremely easy by the very handy step-by-step pictures that Nicole provides. It simply couldn’t be made any easier.
The location of the apartment is great for Brown line and Red Line L trains. Southport (Brown Line) is around a 5 minute walk from the apartment, which is great for getting down to the Western part of downtown. You can go straight down to Quincy which is right next to the Sears (Willis) tower on this line. Belmont (Red Line) is a 10 minute walk, which takes you right down into the heart of the city for exploring Millennium Park, the Art Institute, the Hancock tower etc. Belmont is only one stop away from Addison, which drops you right next to Wrigley Stadium if you want to catch a baseball game like we did (Go Cubbies!). In fact, if you don't mind the walk, Wrigleyville is only half an hour by foot from the apartment - you can see the stadium from Clark and Belmont, which is also a great place to find breakfast at Kanela Breakfast Club.
If you're thinking of hiring a vehicle, I would say that unless you're going out of the city you probably don't need to as you can get everywhere you need to on the L. But if you do have a car there is free parking on Fletcher Street, although these do get snapped up pretty quickly. There is other parking available on adjacent streets, but again it can take a little while to find a space. However there are also half a dozen paid parking places right next to the apartment that are very handy.
But like I say - unless you have plans to explore further afield I would say that getting a taxi/Uber from the airport to the apartment is probably the way to go as you can get everywhere very easily on the L train.
There is also a great bar right at the corner next to the apartment called Schuba’s Tavern. It's the authentic American bar experience - lots of beer, some great cocktails, decent bar food, and of course you can get a shot of Malort if you really want to! They also have regular live music here, but you never hear it from the apartment so it doesn't disturb.
We rented the top two apartments as we were a large family booking (two sets of parents + one child, and grandma too). In the downstairs apartment there is a room with bunkbeds which was perfect for the kids, and a double bedroom with lots of cupboard space. Then upstairs there is a master suite and another double, which was great for the rest of the family.
The apartment has everything you need for your break - a nice big fridge, a gas hob and electric oven, microwave, coffee maker, dishwasher, and a clothes washer and dryer, and it was all nice and clean and well presented. There is a bath/shower room on each floor so you are not tripping over each other or waiting for the bathroom to become free etc. There is also a lovely little veranda out the back with a couple of chairs, which is perfect for waking up with a cup of coffee in the morning or listening to the cicadas with a nightcap in the evening.
So thanks Nicole for a great stay in Chicago! The apartment was perfect for our needs, both for the size of our group, and locationwise – we have no hesitation in recommending it to others!
Ash & Andi