Wallace and CEO David Kong - Best Western Chicago,
originally uploaded by Best Western River North Hotel Chicago.

Wallace received an Excellence in Service award from Best Western International President and CEO David Kong on May 5, 2010.

We traveled to Sterling Heights Michigan, just outside of Detroit to attend the Best Western District III meeting where the awards were given out to employees who embrace the spirit of Customer Service.

Prior to the awards ceremony on Friday, we attended a dinner/dance on Thursday evening at the spectacular GM Heritage Center. At the Heritage center GM has one of every car they ever made, including concept and experimental cars. Visit our Facebook Page and see pictures from this fabulous evening. After checking out all the cars we enjoyed a delicious dinner and dancing to live motown music.

You can watch a video of the awards ceremony or view pictures on our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/chicagobestwestern

Where’s Wallace April 2010 Best Western River North Hotel Chicago,
originally uploaded by Best Western River North Hotel Chicago.

Last month we asked all our Facebook Fans to suggest a place for me to visit this month. Thanks to Ruth Shaffer, I had the pleasure of eating today at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.

Rock Bottom is located at 1 West Grand Ave and is open daily from 11am-2am. Of course the food is excellent but what makes Rock Bottom really special is the beer. They brew their own beer right at the restaurant. In the picture you can see me standing near some of the brewing equipement.

The brew kettle you see in the picture is actually the fourth of seven steps in the beer making process. I learned a lot about brewing beer, but…….since this is a work assignment I didnt get to taste any (on this trip at least)

I started my lunch with the Ball Park Pretzel. It is served with a cheesey dip to dunk your pretzel and it was out of this world. I almost didnt have room for the Smoked Chicken Enchilda’s I ordered!

I have a very exciting surprise next month so stay tuned!

It wouldn’t be summer without a new issue of Midwest Living’s Best of the Midwest magazine. The 2010 edition includes recommendations of where to go, where to stay, what to eat and what to do. The staff of Midwest Living has eaten at every restaurant, stayed at every lodging and visited every destination to ensure they’re good.

Best Western River North Hotel is again featured as a “Where to Stay” in Chicago. Just a handful of Chicago hotels are featured. We sincerely appreciate the recognition and will continue to do our best to provide a great lodging value in the great city of Chicago!

Hello from high above Chicago! This month I went to visit two of the highest points you can reach in downtown Chicago; The Skydeck at the Willis Tower and The Signature Room at the 95th.

The left side of the photo captures me out on “The Ledge”. Yes, thats right, you can stand in a glass box that hangs off the side of the Willis Tower….or Sears Tower and I did it! You can see the day I visited it was a little cloudy, but the views were still incredible.

Next I hustled over to the John Hancock building and worked my way up to the 95th floor. Along with an observatory, The Signature Room is open for lunch and dinner and offers unbeatable views while you are dining. There is also a lounge if dining is not in your plans.

These two places offer a truely unique experience and are must see’s when visiting Chicago.

Where’sWallace,
originally uploaded by Best Western River North Hotel Chicago.

Alright everyone, welcome to the first edition of “Where’s Wallace?” I let the secret out a little early, so you may have heard I was at Navy Pier. I spent an afternoon walking around the state’s #1 attraction, and here is what I discovered.

For over 10 years, Navy Pier has been the place where all of Chicagoland and tourists come together and enjoy a day of fun and beauty on Lake Michigan. I started my day with a walk down “Dock Street”. Dock Street is the outdoor area that runs the length of Navy Pier. Now, you might be asking, what is there to do outside in winter? The answer is plenty! All along Dock street Chicago’s best dining cruise and sightseeing ships dock. Cruises are available all year long! From Dock Street I made my way up to “Pier Park”. Pier Park is located on the upper deck and features attractions like a Carousel, Wave Swinger, Miniature Golf and more. While most of these attractions are not open for the season yet, the one attraction open year round is the 150 foot high Ferris wheel. As you can see in the picture, it was a beautiful clear day when I was at Navy Pier, and the views from the Ferris wheel are spectacular! I think I even saw River North Hotel from the top!

After the excitement of the Ferris wheel ride, I headed indoors for some lunch. With many restaurants and a food court, deciding where to eat was tough. I finally chose the Bubba Gump Restaurant and Market and boy was I happy I did. The food was terrific and so was the service. When I explained to the staff a little about my “Where’s Wallace” column, they were even nicer! So please visit my friends at Bubba Gumps, and tell them Wallace sent you!

After lunch, I strolled around inside and did some shopping. Navy Pier offers 30+ shops. I made a stop by DC Mad Hatter. Here you can have custom embroidery done on a hat, while you wait. DC is a good friend of Best Western River North, so he made me a Wallace hat, check out the picture. We wrapped up my day at the Navy Pier IMAX theatre, now showing Avatar. They say you haven’t really seen Avatar until you see it in IMAX 3D…lets go…

Best Western Chicago - Papers,
originally uploaded by Best Western River North Hotel Chicago.

As part of our Social Consciousness Program, our employees drop off old newspapers to our community neighbor The Anti-Cruelty Society. Anti-Cruelty reuses these newspapers in both the cat and dog adoption rooms.

We’ve Been Selected As a Favorite Place!,
originally uploaded by Best Western River North Hotel Chicago.

Best Western River North is proud to have been selected a “Favorite Place” by Google.