Get the latest meeting and event planning industry news: Choose Chicago offers a Great Meetings promotion, The Hoxton and Hotel Essex Chicago make their debuts, Barton G. The Restaurant opens in River North, Shoreline Sightseeing expands its private charter vessels, and more.
- Choose Chicago Offers Great Meetings Promotion
- The Hoxton Makes its Debut
- Hotel Essex Chicago Opens
- Dinner is the Show at Barton G. The Restaurant
- Shoreline Sightseeing Expands Private Charter Vessels
- Choose Chicago Named CVB of the Year by ConferenceDirect
CHOOSE CHICAGO OFFERS GREAT MEETINGS PROMOTION
Choose Chicago, along with its partner hotels, United Airlines and McCormick Place, recently announced its 2019 Great Meetings promotion. Planners who book a new group meeting totaling 250 or more room nights through a Choose Chicago sales representative at a Choose Chicago partner hotel for 2019, 2020 or 2021 are eligible to receive awards that include 25,000 United MileagePlus Award Miles, a $500 VISA gift card or a $500 Lettuce Entertain You gift card.
Learn more about Choose Chicago’s Great Meetings promotion.
THE HOXTON MAKES ITS DEBUT
The eagerly anticipated Hoxton hotel has opened in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The industrial-chic, 182-room hotel features Cabra, a rooftop Peruvian restaurant helmed by celebrity chef Stephanie Izard, in addition to basement cocktail lounge Lazy Bird and Cira, a 200-seat all-day Mediterranean restaurant. Groups can rent The Apartment, the Hoxton’s meeting and events space made up of five separate rooms with access to The Pantry, a fully stocked kitchen.
HOTEL ESSEX CHICAGO OPENS
A $250 million renovation has transformed the former Essex Inn to Hotel Essex Chicago, a new luxury lifestyle hotel in the South Loop. Hotel Essex Chicago features 274 sleek rooms, the French-influenced Grant Park Bistro (with a seasonal outdoor patio lining South Michigan Avenue), and the hotel’s bilevel SX Sky Bar, boasting a dance floor, intimate spaces for private events, and retractable glass walls with a sweeping view of Lake Michigan.
Learn more about Hotel Essex Chicago.
DINNER IS THE SHOW AT BARTON G. THE RESTAURANT
The over-the-top Barton G. restaurant recently opened its doors in the River North neighborhood, promising guests a unique experiential dining experience. The larger-than-life dishes have a dramatic Cirque du Soleil quality to them (witness the whole roasted duck served in a giant birdcage accompanied by a video of dancing ducks). The two-level eatery features a second floor reserved for private parties.
Learn more about Barton G. The Restaurant.
SHORELINE SIGHTSEEING EXPANDS PRIVATE CHARTER VESSELS
The recent expansion of all vessels in Shoreline Sightseeing’s Star fleet (the Bright Star, Star of Chicago and Evening Star) affords planners excellent options for day and evening private group charters. Plan a 2- to 3-hour charter on one of the open-air, double-decker boats, accommodating 75 to 175 guests. There’s space for buffets, passed hors d’oeuvres and even a dance floor.
Learn more about Shoreline Sightseeing’s private charters.
CHOOSE CHICAGO NAMED CVB OF THE YEAR BY CONFERENCEDIRECT
Choose Chicago was named CVB of the Year – Primary Market by ConferenceDirect, a full-service global meetings company, at its Annual Partner Meeting 2019. ConferenceDirect noted that Choose Chicago “touts itself as a one-stop shop for assisting meeting planners and visitors.”
Learn more about Choose Chicago’s CVB of the Year recognition.
