Santa’s a busy guy, especially during the holiday season. He seems to be all over the place and one of his favorite spots in Chicago is his special Santa Suite at the Swissotel. The Swissotel is an all glass 4-diamond hotel with views from Navy Pier to Millennium Park. They have over 600 rooms and suites, and the Santa Suite is a 5-room suite located on the 41st floor.
Location:
Swissotel Chicago, 323 East Upper Wacker Drive, Chicago
Phone:
312-565-0565
Website:
Santa Suite at the Swissotel Chicago
Social media:
- Facebook – Swissotel Hotels Resorts
- Twitter – @Swissotel
- Instagram – @SwissotelHotelsResorts
Reservations:
Reservations are not necessary to take a tour of the Santa Suite. However, you can make reservations to stay at the Swissotel online or by phone, and they have special elf-decorated rooms available during the month of December with a special milk and cookies amenity and a personalized letter from Santa.
Additionally, the Santa Suite is available for private events. There is a Santa Suite Family Package which is a 90-minute private event for up to 12 people which includes champagne, a hot chocolate bar, canapes, and holiday cookies and treats for $500. Private events for up to 100 people can also be arranged.
Hours:
Santa Suite is open for tours through December 25. Weekday hours are 4:00 pm-8:00 pm, and weekend hours 11:00 am-8:00 pm. Santa Suite is closed on December 12, 14, and 21. Santa will be making an appearance to meet visitors and take photos on Saturday, December 16 from 11:00 am-4:00 pm.
Cost:
Visiting the Santa Suite is free.
We paid:
Nothing. We were invited to a media preview event, but a visit to the Santa Suite is free.
Amenities:
The Santa Suite has elf-guided tours, a letter-writing station so kids can write to Santa and drop their letter in a special mailbox, treats, and a gift for kids on the “nice” list.
Our experience at the Swissotel Santa Suite:
Cooper, Dexter, Campbell, and I took a trip into the city recently to check out the Santa Suite at Swissotel Chicago. The front desk directed us to the elevators and we zoomed up to the 41st floor, where elves were waiting.
First we got a tour of the elf-decorated rooms available for guests to reserve. See the “Reservations” section above for photos and more information about elf-decorated rooms.
Then, it was time for the 5-room Santa Suite. The Swissotel is gorgeous, so I knew the Santa Suite would be impressive, but it was beyond what I was expecting.
Of course, the boys were immediately drawn to the giant gingerbread house. Wow.
Santa is prepared for visitors, with the table set for Santa, Mrs. Claus, and some of their magical friends. Pictures don’t do it justice – everything was sparkly and this was quite the sight to see.
During our visit, the boys had an opportunity to decorate cookies – one of their favorite activities – and Campbell took full advantage of the multiple colors of icing. In fact, we couldn’t see his cookie when he was done, just a pile of icing with sprinkles on top. Too sweet for me, but he loved it.
The suite is filled with Christmas trees with a variety of colors and themes. The kids were most impressed by the tree with the train running around it. I couldn’t choose a favorite; they were all beautiful!
The hot chocolate bar was another highlight. The kids were able to fill their own cups and top them with peppermint candy, whipped cream, and marshmallows. A word of warning: The topping that looks like chocolate is actually espresso. Luckily, an elf caught the kids reaching for it and warned me before we had a VERY unpleasant evening!
The Santa Suite has plenty of decorative seating so you can rest a bit and enjoy the sights, or grab a spot in front of the tv for some classic Christmas movies.
We even got to peek into Santa’s (ginormous) bathroom, and spotted his personalized Swissotel bathrobe.
And look what the kids found – Santa’s stash of extra suits and hats hanging in the closet.
Santa’s bedroom is especially warm and inviting. Sadly, only Santa’s sleeping here!
We even got a chance to see Santa himself! It was great seeing him and he was really nice to the kids, but I think the kids would have had a blast even if he wasn’t there. It was fun to explore his suite!
Omgosh! How much fun is this? Youre like the coolest mom ever taking your littles to do so many fun things!