City Suites Hotel

This unpretentious 45-room hotel occupies a beige-brick building a few steps from the elevated Belmont Red/Brown/Purple Line Station in Boystown. City Suites doesn't have any property features; its lone common space is a good-sized lobby lounge, where a free breakfast is served in the morning, free cookies are put out in the afternoon, and free coffee and tea are available throughout the day. The lobby's breakfast area is pleasant, with a fireplace, sets of armchairs, wood communal tables, and shelves with free newspapers. The location is a stone's throw from public transit (the aforementioned Brown, Red, and Purple lines, plus several local buses), the service is sincere, and many of the homey units are two-room suites with double amenities (two flat-screen TVs, two mini-fridges). All this gives City Suites solid appeal for a range of travelers, including couples and small families.

City Suites Hotel is located in Boystown, the heart of Chicago’s LGBT scene, amid restaurants, shops, and bars. Most of Chicago’s top tourist attractions are a 20-minute subway ride away, but there is an elevated train station right next to the hotel, as well as several bus stops nearby. This is also a great location for baseball fans: Wrigley Field is a 15-minute walk away.

• One-minute walk to Belmont Red/Brown/Purple Line Station
• One-minute walk to Vic Theatre
• 15-minute walk to the Wrigley Field
• 15-minute walk to Lake Michigan's Lakefront Trail
• Eight-minute drive or 19-minute bus ride to Lincoln Park Zoo
• 13-minute drive or 16-minute subway ride to Old Town
• 14-minute drive to Navy Pier
• 14-minute drive or 20-minute subway ride to the Art Institute of Chicago
• 16-minute drive or 20-minute subway ride to The Loop
• 40-minute drive to Chicago Midway International Airport
• 35-minute drive to O’Hare International Airport

Except for the base-level Standard Queen rooms, units at City Suites Hotel are reasonably large. Certain rooms get noise from the subway running outside (about a third of the hotel's 45 rooms face the train station), but all rooms come with amenities like 42-inch flat-screen TVs with premium channels, free Wi-Fi, minibars, and bathrobes, as well as air-conditioning and ceiling fans. Note that some suites only have a low wall dividing the bedroom from the living area, so the lack of privacy could be an issue. Some suites feature pull-out sofas, wet bars, and microwaves. Bathrooms feature shower/tub combos and wall-mounted shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, hand soap, and body lotion by Gilchrist & Soames' Essential Elements collection.

A free continental breakfast is served in a space off the lobby with a fireplace on one end, clusters of striped easy chairs, potted plants, fresh flowers, and brightly colored vases on two big communal tables. Breakfast spreads typically include bagels, muffins, pastries, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, orange juice, hard-boiled eggs, as well as microwaveable Jimmy Dean egg and sausage biscuit sandwiches. Coffee, tea, and real milk are available here 24 hours a day, and warm cookies are set out in the afternoon. City Suites also offers a limited room service menu of burgers, sandwiches, and pizza.

Wi-Fi is free throughout the lobby and in the rooms, and the hotel offers free passes to #1 Gym, a fitness facility that's a three-minute walk away. Overnight self-parking in a covered, secured garage a short distance from the hotel is less expensive that at most Chicago hotels, with in-and-out privileges.