While the Chicago River cuts through the middle of the city and has plenty of attractions, Lake Michigan, not so much. The beaches have nice views, but a lot of concrete. If you’ve been to place that mixes the city and beach really well, like Rio or even Miami, you’re not going to be impressed by Lake Michigan. On the other hand, it’s an interesting mix of high density development with water views.

In the area of Millennium Park, if you’re lucky, as I was, you’ll stumble onto one of the occasional free concerts in Jay Pritzker Pavilion, including a wonderful celebration of dance I saw one summer night, which included the Joffrey Ballet, but the real stars were the break dancing group which earned a standing ovation from the crowd.

Hotels

The Godfrey is for the young and hip who don’t mind some noise. Suites are nice enough, not large, but beware of the noise from the 4th floor nightclub; they have a DJ every night and go until 2. The club has very nice views and, when not too crowded, is a fine place to have a drink, and an even better place for breakfast or just to hang out during day. While the evening crowd is young and good looking, it’s pretty tame, unlike say the rooftop at the Standard in LA, where, being LA, you’ll find girls in teeny bikinis and men smoking cigars – plus the view is much more dramatic than at the Godfrey. There are probably some people that meet at the Godfrey’s club to talk business, while the only kind of business done on the roof at the Standard is funny business.

The Godfrey caters to a young good looking crowd, not many kids in this group, lot of Europeans. Rooms are dark and not well lit. Staff is okay, nothing special. Very nice location and an easy walk to restaurants, Mag mile, river walk, or the lake.

But the best place to stay in Chicago is, as is often the case in my experience, a Kimpton – but be careful, there are 4 Kimptons in Chicago and the one you want is the Hotel Monaco. This is a truly outstanding location despite the fact that the immediate neighborhood is nothing special. But the Art Institute, Millennium Park, and Pritzker Amphitheater are easy walks, and if you get a river view room you can sit in large, really neat window nooks and overlook all the activity passing by on the Chicago River below you. This is a really pleasant way to pass the time as well as to see Chicago at work and play. The rooms have high ceilings, the lobby is fairly spacious if not grand, and the service is good. If you can splurge, go for a river view suite.

The Hotel Monaco’s affiliated restaurant, Water Street Grill, is nice, with decent food but somewhat spotty and inexperienced servers. Generally speaking, lots of dining options in this area, but few that are really outstanding. You’re better off walking across the bridge along Wabash and finding a spot on the other side of the river. (And in terms of burning calories off, a real gym, LA fitness, very large and with a wide selection of free weights and equipment is two blocks away from Hotel Monaco. $20 for a day pass)