- Terrific location in heart of gay Lakeview neighborhood, near everything
- One of the few lodgings on Chicago's north side
- Reasonable rates (with inexpensive parking next door)
- Rooms have free Wi-Fi, refrigerators, and microwaves
- There's an attractive little terrace-patio out front
- A longish cab ride or El train ride to downtown
- The decor is ho-hum (although perfectly pleasant)
- Parking garage is right next door but not onsite
- At 3434 N. Broadway, in Lakeview a block west of Lake Michigan and a block east of N. Halsted Street's gay scene.
- The 59 rooms and suites have free Wi-Fi, cable TV, movies on demand, refrigerators, microwaves, irons, and voicemail.
- Rates include a pleasant if simple Continental breakfast, and on-site you'll find a small but well-equipped gym.
- Bathrooms are pleasant and decent-sized with high-quality bath amenities, and the top units have whirlpool tubs.
- Book online or call 773-244-3434 or 888-860-3400
- Rates start at $190 for a standard room, although when Cubs games are slated for nearby Wrigley Field, expect to pay $300.
- This is a mainstream hotel but with a very gay following - especially on weekends springs through fall.
- If you're staying for more than a couple of nights, book a Junior Suite or Deluxe with sitting area and sofa bed.
- Wrigley Field and Lakeview's many gay bars and restaurants are all within the immediate blocks around the hotel.
- There's parking for fee in the garage next door, and the Belmont "El" train stop is just a 10-minute walk southwest.
A classy, redbrick, four-story hotel with an ivy-covered facade, the Best Western Hawthorne Terrace is one of only about five hotels in the Lakeview part of Chicago. That's a good reason to stay here, if you're keen on exploring this part of town (as well as the city's other gay-popular area, Andersonville, just a 20-minute walk or short cab or bus ride away).
Of course, as the neighborhood continues to become trendier and more fun, the tight selection of hotel rooms creates a sellers' market, especially when the Cubs are playing at nearby Wrigley Field. So rates here are actually a bit higher here than at a number of comparable hotels downtown.
What you get here are reasonably large rooms - in fact, the Junior Suites, which have sitting areas and pull-out sofa beds, are downright roomy and can sleep four. At the Deluxe Room level, you get that same layout plus a whirlpool tub in your bathroom. But all of the rooms have a bounty of amenities that you're unlikely to find at those huge convention properties downtown, which nickel-and-dime guests relentlessly. At the Best Western, rates include Wi-Fi, a decent Continental breakfast, local calls, refrigerators and microwaves - even free bottled water. There's parking next door in a garage (with in-and-out privileges) for $20 per night, also far less than what you'll pay downtown.
Perhaps nicest of all, the Hawthorne Terrace feels like a neighborhood hotel - the staff is low-keyed and helpful, and you can stroll up and down Broadway to find a number of lively, gay-friendly restaurants, shops, and bars. Walk a block west, and you'll find North Halsted Street, which is lined with the city's most popular gay bars. Walk a block east, and you'll find the Belmont Harbor section of Lake Michigan, with its gay-popular grassy sunning areas. It's not fancy, but the Best Western has much going for it.
