When it opened in May 1927, the $30 million, 28-story towers of the Stevens Hotel contained 3,000 rooms, an 18-hole rooftop miniature golf course complete with sand traps, and its own hospital. It was, according to its own press clippings, “the greatest hotel of all times.”
Room rates were a lofty $3 per night at the hostelry, now known as the Hilton Chicago and Towers.
Today, room rates are often 100 times that amount. But the rooms are significantly larger: A $150 million renovation in the mid-1980s trimmed total rooms to 1,543.
In recent years, the hotel has had starring roles in numerous films, including “The Fugitive” and its sequel, “U.S. Marshals,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and “Home Alone II.”
As part of its 75th anniversary, the hotel has created an archive of material related to the visits of famous Hilton guests, including Charles Lindbergh, Queen Elizabeth II, seven U.S. presidents and dozens of other personalities. Housed on the fourth floor, the archives will be available for use by historians, according to hotel officials.
Later this year, a book on the history of the Hilton, titled “Chicago’s Grand Hotel: 75 Years of the Hilton,” will be published.
In November, the hotel will host a reception for civic leaders at which U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the grandson of the hotel’s founder, is to attend.
Southwest top airline Web site: Southwest Airlines’ SWA.com continues to dominate airline Web site business, according to a rating compiled by Jupiter Media Metrix in New York.
According to Jupiter, American Airlines’ site, AA.com, was the second-most-used site among the nation’s 10 largest airlines. In third place was JetBlue Airways’ JetBlue.com, while Delta Air Lines’ Delta.com and United Airlines’ United.com ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
Gates remain open for parents: Despite the new security rules imposed at the nation’s airports, parents still are permitted to escort their kids to and from the gate.
Although only ticketed passengers are permitted beyond security checkpoints, Transportation Security Administration officials have authorized airlines to issue special escort passes to parents, according to officials of American Airlines.
Parents, who must stop at the airline ticket counter to obtain a pass, must present ticket documentation that their child is scheduled to board a flight. Likewise, when seeking to meet a child at the gate, parents must stop at the ticket counter. The pass is issued after ticket-counter personnel verify the child is a passenger.
Hotel Sofitel set to open: Paris-based Accor hotel group’s newest property is to open on Tuesday. The Hotel Sofitel, located a block west of Michigan Avenue on Chestnut Street, is the latest addition to the luxury chains grouped at the north end of the Magnificent Mile.
In addition to the Hotel Sofitel, four other luxury hotels can be found within a four-block radius. They are the Four Seasons, the Park Hyatt, the Ritz Carleton and the Peninsula Hotel. The new hotel has 415 rooms on 32 floors.
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The downtown Sofitel is the second for the Chicago region. The chain also operates a Sofitel Hotel on River Road in Rosemont, near O’Hare International Airport.