Girl's night out
CLOSE TO HOME | Hotels welcome living dolls and their toy counterparts
(Lori Rackl/Sun-Times)
RITZ-CARLTON: American Girl sleeping bag set and other gifts, milk and cookies and free in-room meals for kids under 6. Hotel page will deliver your American Girl purchases to your room. Starts at $395 a night; (800) 621-6906, http://www.fourseasons.com/.
AMALFI: Cookies and milk, $50 American Girl Place gift certificate and doll bed, comforter and pillow. Starts at $229 a night; (877) 262-5341, www.amalfi hotelchicago.com.
WYNDHAM: American Girl bed, doll robe and breakfast buffet for $259 a night through Dec. 6 and $185 a night Dec. 7-Dec. 31. An extra $100 upgrades you to a two-room executive suite and comes with child's robe and milk and cookies; (877) 999-3223, www.wyndham.com.
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON: American Girl bed, breakfast and cookies and milk. From $165-$315; (888) 627-7088, www.fourpointschicago.com.
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT: $60 in American Girl gift certificates, milk and cookies and Starbucks coffee drinks for mom and dad. Starts at $199 a night; (312) 573-0800, www.courtyard chicago.com.
MARRIOTT: American Girl doll bed, breakfast buffet and 15 percent off in hotel restaurant. From $209 to $429; (800) 834-7260 (ask for promotional code ZH4), www.marriott.com.
PARK HYATT: Kid's robe, bubble bath with American Girl products, split of sparkling cider and cookies, American Girl doll bed and outfit and breakfast starts at $515, or book a less expensive package that doesn't include the bath or robe; (312) 335-1234, www.parkchicago.hyatt.com.
Note: Blackout dates and other restrictions may apply.
The 52,000-square-foot American Girl store that opened last week on Mag Mile isn't just a place to shop. It's an excuse for a staycation.
It seems like just about every Chicago hotel has rolled out an American Girl Place getaway package to entice moms, daughters and dolls to spend the night downtown. But only one hotel -- the Ritz-Carlton Chicago -- can claim to be an elevator ride away from American Girl's new Water Tower Place digs.
"We don't have to go outside?" my 4-year-old niece Sara asked when I told her to push the No. 2 button in the Ritz's wood-paneled elevator.
When the doors opened, we were in the shopping mall, just a few steps from the dual-level doll emporium.
Over the years, I've bobbed and weaved past those ubiquitous red shopping bags on many a Chicago sidewalk. Maybe that's why I'd avoided American Girl Place like a pile of anthrax powder on a windy day. But 4-year-olds in cute dresses have a way of making me check my cynicism at the door, so I happily followed Sara into the belly of the beast for some serious shopping.
Ninety dollars later, we were joined by Maria, an 18-inch-tall, brown-eyed blond who, like Sara, was about to spend her first night ever in a hotel.
The Ritz had plenty of surprises waiting for both of them, including a tiny bed and puffy sleeping bag for Maria.
Apparently the hotel already had caught on to what I was just learning: You're supposed to treat these dolls like they're, um, real. That explains the silver-dollar-sized cookies and shot glass of milk on the nightstand and a Ritz staff member rushing over with a miniature chair for Maria as the three of us sat in the hotel lobby.
Luxury hotels don't have a reputation for being the most kid-friendly places, but during our Sunday night stay, it was like Walt Disney himself was leading the show.
At check-in, a Ritz bellman wheeled out a red wagon full of toys and let Sara pick one. She also got a teddy bear and a Cubs hat to bring home to her baby brother, who's thankfully too young to be traumatized by this year's playoffs.
A trio of pink balloons anchored by a Capri Sun juice pack waited in our room. The bathroom was tricked out with spongy toys lining the bathtub and a countertop scattered with bright confetti. (Housekeeping must love that.) A dinosaur toothbrush and purple toothpaste stood at the ready.
Several of these perks are given to kids regardless of whether you book the American Girl package. Each afternoon, for example, children are invited to don paper chef hats and head down to the hotel kitchen to make sugar cookies, which get delivered to the room with a couple tubes of icing for do-it-yourself decorating.
"I like hotels," Sara said in her fluffy white Ritz robe and slippers, Maria tucked safely under her arm.
The thought occurred to me I might be setting the bar a bit high by breaking in this preschooler to hotel life ... at the Ritz.
The thought occurred to Sara's mom, too.
"Thanks," my sister quipped over the cell phone. "She's going to love staying at Super 8 after this."
Back in the bathroom, Sara excitedly pointed out, "There's two potties! One for me and one for Maria!"
This prompted a tutorial on the difference between a toilet and a bidet. I'm still not sure she gets it.
Just like I'm still not sure I get the whole American Girl craze. But when I watched my niece carefully tuck in her new doll and wish Maria a good night, I knew she got it. And that's good enough for me.