We stayed at the AC Marriott in Downtown. The location is perfect and we were given an upgrade to a suite which was huge. The staff were all lovely, especially Eric who checked us in and Jorge at the bar.
We had a couple of drinks in the hotel bar, where Jorge showed us his cocktail making skills before heading out to explore Chicago.
I had heard about a themed restaurant called SafeHouse whilst searching online for interesting places to visit in Chicago. When we walked past the secret red door next to our hotel (sorry no photos as it really is a secret!), we just had to go in and try it out. We walked into an office with a man sitting behind the desk. After an awkward 10 minutes trying to convince him that we weren't British spies and that we needed to enter a safe house, we were asked to pass a test to enter. The test involved some silly dancing which we obviously passed with our skills. We were taken through a secret door, down some stairs and into the SafeHouse. As we entered, everyone in the Safehouse cheered, our dancing had been recorded and was playing on the TVs throughout the restaurant!
Once inside, we took a couple of seats at the bar and were handed a secret mission to complete. It was a lot of fun exploring the restaurant finding the answers to the clues and just checking out the randomness of this place. They also had a magician doing spy related magic tricks. He was actually really good and my mind is still blown as to how he did it!
One of the best parts about visiting the SafeHouse was leaving. You'll see from the video, we laughed the whole time and there was a huge surprise at the end!
With our spy identities removed, we decided to check out a couple more bars in Chicago. First up was Sugar Factory. I had heard of this bar/restaurant before as it is known for its over-the-top desserts and cocktails. Being a sweet-toothed person, I felt like I just had to try it out! The menu is huge, there are so many interesting creations to try out and choosing is really tough. I tried the Raspberry Sin, a raspberry and white chocolate martini which was yummy! Lee was tempted by the Bacon Cheeseburger Milkshake but decided it was a little weird and went for a beer instead.
Our final bar was a secret bar. At the back of a champagne bar, there was a door with a W on it. Through this door and down some stairs was Watershed, a Prohibition speakeasy-style bar with comfy sofas, dim lighting and no windows. The food here was amazing and although it felt like a private members club, the beers were actually really reasonably prices, even the champagne beer which was my favourite.
We really enjoyed exploring the Chicago night life and were surprised just how busy it was on a midweek evening. We now can't wait to explore the rest of Chicago tomorrow by day!
You can't beat a room upgrade although I guess anything after the night before would have been better.
ReplyDeleteNice start to the vid with some in car tunes and the view of the city skyline, bit jerky on the camera though and the windscreen needed another wash!!
The Safe House looked a lot of fun and the tour of the loos was funny as was the exit from the building.
Nightlife looked good and made me smile to read... Lee was going to have a cocktail but ..... had a beer instead. Just to show he is nothing if not predictable, he also then had some chicken wings.
Look forward to seeing more of Chicago soon.