OnMilwaukee's second generation is school age now, ranging from newborn to 15 years old. Occasionally, some of these kids will contribute their thoughts to the site that is older than they are. This commentary was written by 10-year-old Mara, who is the daughter of publisher Andy Tarnoff.
ROSEMONT, ILL. – For spring break, my family wanted to go somewhere close to home that’s fun and easy, so we chose Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, a western suburb of the Windy City. Why does that name sound familiar? Because Loews served as our home base for finding holiday spirit and shopping sanity as well as taking mom on a quick trip south of the border.
Here’s my 2019 spring break journal:
Monday, March 25
After driving from Milwaukee to Rosemont, we checked in to the hotel and went up to our newly renovated and stylish room to relax. Around 4:45 p.m., my dad and I decided to go to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago – about a block away from Loews and the only two-story, indoor outlet mall in the Midwest. We browsed around the mall, then our family went to one of the Loews restaurants, The Ashburn.
While we were eating our appetizers, Chef Tiny, a reader and follower of OnMilwaukee, came out to say "hi" to us. Then we got our meal.
I had pepperoni pizza, my mom had an arugula salad with salmon, and my dad had the Pilot Burger, which had shaved Brussels sprouts on top. My pizza was very cheesy and it was hand rolled. My dad said his burger was huge, and he loved the pretzel bun.
Once we were done with our dinner, Chef Tiny made us some amazing avocado and strawberry gelato. Yum! With full tummies, we went back to our room to collapse in our plush, cozy, soft, full-sized beds.
Our room had two full-sized beds, one bathroom, and a little lounge area. I liked the rainfall shower, but it was cold because there wasn’t a full shower door.
Tuesday, March 26
My family went back to The Ashburn for breakfast because Chef Tiny’s food is so yummy. I had a bagel with smoked salmon, my dad had oatmeal, and my mom had the chilaquiles, a special item that Chef Tiny recreates based on his mother’s recipe from his childhood in Mexico City.
After breakfast, we went back to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago, where I visited Gymboree, Gap Kids and Claire’s and got a dress, two shirts, a sweater and perfume. My mom focused her time on AllSaints because it’s her absolute favorite. My dad picked up some new clothes from Levi’s.
Then, we went to the Parkway Bank Park Entertainment District and found some bowling fun at King’s Dining & Entertainment. Then, my dad didn’t want to miss his chance to check out Murray Bros. Caddyshack restaurant – he bought Bill Murray socks. Once we got back to the room, we watched a really sweet movie called "Dog Days." And then we went to sleep.
Wednesday, March 27
In the morning, I interviewed Hans Ritten, the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel general manager. After that, we enjoyed our second breakfast of our trip at The Ashburn, which you can do, too, with at least one of the packages the hotel is currently offering: Upgrade Your Style Package.
All and all, it was a great stay. "Why go to Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel?" you might be wondering. I’ll tell you why: While we were there, I learned that the Loews staff really understands hospitality; they’re some of the nicest, friendliest people I’ve ever met. They really make you feel welcome.
If you want to hear more about my stay or see my interview with Hans Ritten, go to the OnMilwaukee YouTube page, and you’ll find the video all about my time.
If I were you and needed to fly out of O’Hare International Airport, I would definitely stay at Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel.
