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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Alice in the Online World
Kirby's Korner · July 9, 1999

Chicago's House of Blues Hotel sits on a prime piece of real estate, directly facing the Chicago River a block or two west of the Wrigley Building and the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Daily News buildings.

It is in one of the most recognizable -- and, for a place called the House of Blues, most appropriate -- buildings: the Marina Complex, that two-tower stack of circular concrete that looks like two piles of CDs or off-white 45s carefully placed atop one another. The building is such a well known part of the Chicago skyline that owner Loews Hotels adopted a sketch of its image as part of the House of Blues' logo.

The hotel quickly has become the place wealthy and "in" Chicago natives and visitors alike meet and greet. The reputation is deserved. The one complaint a plugged-in visitor could have about the comfortable, lush, and efficient surroundings of this grand hotel, opened in October 1998, is how the management botched plans to connect temporary tenants to the outside world through the Internet.

With Hilton Hotels leading the way, most chains aimed at business travelers are seeing in-room Internet access as a service they have to provide to remain competitive. Within a couple of years, some type of in-room connectivity will be as common in business hotels as the telephone is now.

The House of Blues has been after me since last fall to visit and check out the online access there. When business took me to Chicago last week, I made plans to stay. (Full disclosure: I paid a reduced rate, but I didn't get the freebie too many travel writers take.)

I had hopes of traveling without a laptop, but while packing I couldn't remember whether the hotel expected me to have one to access its high-speed Internet connection. While throwing things into a suitcase late the night before departure, I called the concierge at the House of Blues and asked: should I bring a computer, or do I get on the Internet through the in-room television? Different properties have adopted different approaches -- a problem for any unwary traveler who stays in hotels around the country.

"Oh," the concierge assured me, "we do it through the TV." Once I got to the hotel -- at the same time, I was told, the multi-hued Dennis Rodman was visiting the adjoining restaurant and local hot spot -- I discovered TV access isn't the full story. You can use a WebTV-like interface, complete with infrared keyboard but no mouse, to get on the Net. But for full T1 access, you need a computer equipped with the correct jack. Even the public relations person who appeared, laptop in hand, to help me get connected didn't know what she needed, and she didn't have the proper jack.

By itself, none of this is a big deal. So what if I spend a couple of nights without access to Ticked.com, or with the clunky access I can get only through my television? But it points to a need for standards in the hotel industry as Internet access becomes ubiquitous. I don't want to have to install a network card for one chain, add a special jack for another, and unexpectedly be without access to my regular e-mail because I'm stuck in the world of WebTV at yet another hotel.

We need to see something that all travelers can rely on. If you want to leave this Internet stuff at home for a few days and get away to one of my favorite cities, though, I'll make you a promise. You couldn't do better than the House of Blues in Chicago. The rates are reasonable for a luxury hotel, but I'd reserve early.

As I left last Friday, the bell captain told me the hotel was full for the weekend. Alice Cooper and Al Green were among the guests. The combination of location, pervasive native artwork, and exquisite service promises a visit you won't soon forget. You can reach the House of Blues through the real world at (312) 245-0333.

Next week, I'll check in on what you've had to say about why you buy directly from airlines or from travel agencies. It's not too late to respond to my quandary. E-mail me.

David Kirby is the editor of the Interactive Travel Report. You can reach him at dbkirby@pressroom.com.