The Unofficial Guide to Chicago (Unofficial Guides) [Paperback]

David Hoekstra (Author), Laurie Levy (Author), Alice Van Housen (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2007 | Series: Unofficial Guides (Book 178)

From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide® to Walt Disney World®

"A Tourist's Best Friend!"
—Chicago Sun-Times

"Indispensable"
—The New York Times

The Top 10 Ways The Unofficial Guide to Chicago Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip:

1. Information that's candid, critical, and totally objective
2. Hotels reviewed and ranked for value and quality—plus secrets for getting the lowest possible rate
3. More than 70 restaurants reviewed and profiled, with listings for dozens more
4. A complete guide to Chicago's sights—museums, architecture, ethnic neighborhoods, and more
5. Complete information on Chicago's lakefront beaches and parks
6. The inside story on shopping—where to get the best for less, on and off the Magnificent Mile
7. All the details on Chicago's nightlife—jazz and blues clubs, dance clubs, concerts, theater, and more
8. The best places to play golf and tennis, ride a bike, go boating, and work out
9. Tips on enjoying Chicago with your kids
10. Advice on how to plan and make the most of your business trip

Get the unbiased truth on hundreds of hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more in The Unofficial Guide to Chicago—the resource that helps you save money, save time, and make your trip the best it can be.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"A Tourist's Best Friend!"
—Chicago Sun Times

"Indispensable"
—The New York Times

Five Great Features and Benefits offered ONLY by The Unofficial Guide:

1. Information that's candid, critical, and totally objective

2. Hotels reviewed and ranked for value and quality—plus secrets for getting the lowest possible rate

3. More than 70 restaurants reviewed and profiled, with listings for dozens more

4. A complete guide to Chicago's sights—museums, architecture, ethnic neighborhoods, and more

5. The inside story on shopping—where to get the best for less, on and off the Magnificent Mile

About the Author

Lead writer David Hoekstra is a staff writer and columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times. He won a 1987 Chicago Newspaper Guild Stick-O-Type Award for Column Writing for outstanding commentary on Chicago nightlife. He's also a contributing writer for Playboy and has been a contributing editor for Chicago magazine. His anthology of Sun-Times travel columns, Ticket to Everywhere, was published by Lake Claremont Press in 2000.

Former Restaurant Consultant Alice Van Housen (Part Eight, Dinning and Restaurant) is a writer, reviewer, and editor for a variety of food-focused publications and Web sites. She has served as Chicago editor for the print and online editions of Zagat Survey since 2001. She has also contributed dining chapters to Frommer's Chicago and Mobil Travel Guides; served as founding editor of Local Palate, a monthly foodie newspaper; and written for numerous local and national publications, including Fast Company, the Los Angeles Times, Wine & Spirits, Plate, Restaurants & Institutions, Restaurant Business, the Chicago Tribune's Metromix and RedEye supplements, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Reader, Chicago Social, and Front Desk Chicago. In addition, she has been a contributing Chicago reviewer for the Citysearch online-entertainment and dinning guide since its original incarnation as Chicago Sidewalk in 1996.

Journalist-Fiction Writer Laurie Levy (Part Nine, Shopping in Chicago) has written locally for the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Collection, Chicago magazine, and Today's Chicago Woman, among others, as well as for national publications such as Business Traveler, Travel Agent, and I Magazine. She is the author of three nonfiction books and is an award-winning short-story writer and novels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 7 edition (April 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470042079
• ISBN-13: 978-0470042076
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,993,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Chicago Guide, August 9, 2005

By 

Debbie (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Chicago (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

This guide has ratings for the places you can visit, by age range. This is helpful so that you know it your family members will be interested in visiting there. They gave helpful hints for some of the locations. We found they underestimated the amount of time needed at some of the sites. The maps were very well laid out and showed how things were related to each other. They didn't give many parking locations, but often places to park were easy to find. Take plenty of money for parking (usually $18 and for all the toll roads). Some of the restaurants were much higher priced than listed in the book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete, disappointing as far as Unofficial Guides go, May 23, 2007

By 

emory2001 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Chicago (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

No discussion of pre-theater dining! When you are going to see Wicked at the Ford Theater, there is not much more you care about than where to eat first. In fact, the restaurant guide does not even mention half the restaurants that are listed online as "the" pre-theater dining places (none of which "grabbed" me online, so I was hoping this book would be more enlightening).

Also no full drawing of the various parts of the city. Small maps that show only two districts do not tell me where Bucktown is relative to The Loop. This is critical when all the hotels, restaurants, etc. are referred to by district.

Overall disappointing, because The Unofficial Guides tend to be better than other guides, and they tend to be better than this.

5.0 out of 5 stars The only travel guide you will need, May 16, 2010

By 

Anthony Centracchio - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Chicago (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

I have always been a big fan of the Unofficial Guides. In the past, I have used their guides to San Francisco and Las Vegas. The Chicago guide was just as informative. The book is simply organized and provides very accurate and informative ratings of dining, hotels and attractions. What I really liked about the book is the rating system that is used to evaluate restaurants, hotels and attractions. Not only do they provide an overall ratings, but also provided is a value rating. In other words, are you getting what you paid for? Or are you getting more or less?