If you’ve got a substantial budget, this is where you should be staying. The service is impeccable and they have a team of administrative assistants in the business centre that will take dictation, research things for you, organise your diary – in fact, anything you might need while in the city can be sorted out from this hotel. You also get to use their amazing spa facilities, which cover the top two floors of the building.

www.peninsula.com

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If you’re after old-world charm, I can strongly recommend The Peninsula or the Four Seasons. The Peninsula is located in the middle of Chicago’s magnificent mile of department stores and designer boutiques, has a fabulously grand lobby and is home to Shanghai Terrace – arguably Chicago’s finest Chinese restaurant. The lobby lounge is lit by twenty-foot-high windows, and the bar, in contrast, is intimate and low-lit, with a roaring fireplace and a surprisingly hip crowd. Despite its excessively grand décor, I’ve always found it very difficult to leave the Four Seasons – the CEO hotel of choice. The service is friendly, super-competent and never intrusive; the views spectacular – of the Michigans (Avenue and Lake); and the pampering genuinely top-notch.

The New American food at Seasons is delicious and you can easily lose a week at the extraordinary spa and pool. Every bit as impressive as its New York sibling, the Chicago Seasons happens to be cheaper, too.

The Peninsula Chicago 108 East Superior Street (at North Michigan Avenue), Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA Tel: (1-312) 337 2888Fax: (1-312) 751 2888 chicago.peninsula.com

Four Seasons120 East Delaware Place, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 60611-1428 Tel: 1 (312) 280-8800 Fax: 1 (312) 280-1748
Website: fourseasons.com/chicagofs

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The Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue is a remarkable homage to consumerism. With four enormous malls and a host of favourite designers – from Gucci to Prada and Levi’s to Ralph Lauren – it’s the ultimate “one-stop-shop”: you can find the perfect birthday, anniversary or Christmas presents here. And there’s shopping outside the Mile, too – in the shape of some fabulous little specialist boutiques. Try Sam & Willy’s for everything a dog could want; or the H.I.M men’s clothing boutique; or Unique So Chique Tea & Chocolat for a glittering array of bath and body products, cards and stationery.

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BMI fly direct to Chicago from Manchester. Don't forget regional airports when flying abroad - when you take into account heavier congestion around the London airports, it may prove to be quicker to fly from the regions.

www.flybmi.com

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It is quicker and cheaper to prebook a town car or limo to get from the airport to downtown. Some taxi drivers charge up to $80 while a town car costs only $55.

Nightstar limos is a good one. www.nightstarlimo.com

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