Valentine’s Day: The Belden-Stratford Hotel

For Valentine’s Day, Liz and I decided to skip away for the evening. We booked a room at the Belden-Stratford hotel, and decided to spend our evening here. There were a few loose ends at work, and by the time I arrived… she was already checked in.

Interior of the hotel. Pretty gorgeous (although surprisingly small).

Ok. Before we get too far, let me back up some. We got a package deal for Valentine’s Day, and the room was listed as a “suite.” I imagined we would have a fairly spacious place for the night, but I was in no way prepared for the sheer SIZE of our room.

Let’s start here. This is the living room area.

Looking to our left, this would be the dining room area. There’s a desk you’re not seeing that’s to the immediate right.

And next to the dining room… a small little kitchen, complete with fridge, sink, microwave, oven, and dishwasher.

Detail view of the kitchen. The urge to cook something, ANYTHING, was incredibly strong. I felt like I was wasting money by not using this area at all.

Bedroom area, complete with its own desk, adjoining bathroom and walk-in closet.

In the bathroom, there was a nice glass shower and a semi-jacuzzi bath guy. Maybe it’s been my prior experiences with hotels… but I can’t see a hotel bathroom anymore without imagining it full of beer.

In the walk-in closet, Liz and I noticed two pretty funny things. First: we had a washer/dryer!

Second: the walk-in closet has a little tiny closet of its own! This little discovery cracked us up to no end.

Scattered around the entire suite were an assortment of storage spaces, including this little guy tucked behind the TV. I was hard pressed to imagine needing all the storage room this place offered up.

The view from our room, looking out over a dark Lincoln Park Zoo, and the ice-covered lake in the background.

Liz and I dressed all fancy, and about to head downstairs for dinner.

On our way out, we found yet another hidden little room – a smallish bathroom, located right next to the front door. This thing was the size of a telephone booth, and I have to believe that no one’s ever really used it (with the exception of small children). I gotta say – they sure tried to pack a lot into this place.