Spotted at Hotel Felix

Guess who we spotted last weekend at Hotel Felix? Here are some clues: Lethal Weapon, Angels in the Outfield, The Color Purple.

You guessed it; actor, producer, humanitarian, Danny Glover! Mr. Glover spent his weekend here in the Windy City and chose none other than this Eco Friendly dig. A big thank you to Danny Glover for choosing us during this recent stay in Chicago.

Looking Back Today: The Snow Storm of 2011

Snow-mageddon, Snow-pocalypse, Snotorious B.I.G or Sno.m.g. Whichever name you prefer, on this historic day last year Chicago was hit was one of the largest storms to date. The storm left a blanket of snow over the city leaving many people stranded. Although not record breaking, the storm left 20.2 inches of snow in its path.

The storm settled in as the third worst snow fall behind 1999, which came in second with 21.6 inches, and 1967, which had an astounding 23 inches covering the city. Hotel Felix offered an oasis from the “Thunder Snow” with a discounted price for those with no place to go. Take a trip down memory lane with this photo gallery of Snow-pocalypse from the Chicago Tribune. What are your memories or experiences from the blizzard of 2011?

And The Results Are In…

The Hotel Felix Photo Contest has come to a close and we would like to send out a huge congratulations to our winner Sophia Vu!

Our five runner ups, also winning fabulous prizes, are:

Kristoffer Carter

Matthew Weiner

Victoria Vu

Leah Jones

Deborah Palacios-Hayes

Our grand prize winner, Sophia Vu, will be enjoying  a two-night stay and one spa treatment. Plus, a $50 credit toward the lobby bar, room service, or Elate Restaurant, the sumptuous eatery adjacent to Chicago’s Hotel Felix. The top five runner ups receive a $100 gift card to be redeemed during a stay at Hotel Felix. We would like to thank all of our shutter-bugs for participating in the contest and hope to see you all again soon.

Two Days and Counting

The Hotel Felix Photo Contest will be coming to a close on August 3rd. Chicagoans and visitors have just two days to upload their photos with our eco-friendly sculptures for a chance to win big. All you have to do is pose with either sculpture, ‘Like’ Hotel Felix on Facebook (www.facebook.com/hotelfelix), then upload your picture to the photo contest. Contestants have a chance to win a two-night stay, one complimentary spa treatment, and a $50 credit toward the lobby bar, room service, or Elate Restaurant. So head out to 111 W. Huron St. downtown Chicago!

What The Schwer?

We are pleased to announce that The Hotel Felix Photo Contest is now featured on a local Chicago blog. What The Schwer focuses on up-to-date information on Chicago sports teams and they have created a widget in Hotel Felix’ honor. Head over to What The Schwer, click on the picture and it will bring you straight to the contest. Good luck to all!

Have You Chosen Your Favorite?

We have approached the two week mark of the Hotel Felix Photo Contest. Loren and Madeline have been battling to become Hotel Felix’s most photographed staff member. In order to join in on the contest just strike a pose with Loren or Madeline then upload your masterpiece to the contest page.

The FREE grand prize consists of a two-night stay and one spa treatment. The winner will also receive  a $50 credit towards the lobby bar, room service, or Elate Restaurant, the upscale eatery adjacent to Hotel Felix.  The first runner-up through the fifth runner-up will receive a $100 dollar  gift card to be redeemed during a stay at Hotel Felix. Don’t forget, you only have until August 3 to become the winner of  Hotel Felix’s Photo Contest!

Foodies Flock to Chicago

We welcome attendees of the National Restaurant Association Show 2011 to Chicago. Members of the National Restaurant Association and members of the restaurant, food service and lodging industry attend the annual show held at McCormick Place (2301 S. Lake Shore Drive). The International Wine Spirits & Beer Event 2011 is held concurrently with the NSA Show and hosts mixology competitions and educational sessions for restaurant trade members.

Image Credit: NRA Show 2011

Last year the NRA Show had over 42,000 attendees and nearly 16,000 exhibitor personnel. Running from May 21-24, today marks the final day of NRA Show 2011, the show wraps up at 3 p.m.

Check out video coverage of the show and the official NSA Show 2011 blog. If you’re an attendee looking for a place to grab a bite to eat, head to Elate – the upscale organic restaurant adjacent to Hotel Felix in River North.

Jobs News – The Real Dirt on Green Jobs

Interested in a green career?  Check out the expert advice, including one from George Jordan, general manager at the Hotel Felix.

Jobs News – The Real Dirt on Green Jobs.

What’s helping your green job search?  Share your tips here.

Hotel Felix’s Green Efforts

Hotel Felix strives to offer a relaxing, fun boutique hotel experience while still being mindful of the environment.  Some of this was inherent in the hotel’s design, for example, Hotel Felix is a preserved building structure (the ultimate recycle!), and has a natural northern exposure that reduces energy usage.

Here are a few other things we do and are working on to ensure the eco-friendliness of the hotel:

Our Lobby

• Hotel Felix is a 100% smoke free building.
• The front desk is paperless to reduce waste.
• We offer organic, local Metropolis coffee and tea for our visitors.
• Newspapers offered in lobby daily with limited supply to reduce waste.
• Trash cans pending that contain a place for recyclables.

Our Rooms

• The carpets in each guest room are made of recycled material.
• Motion-sensored heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems cut down on waste.
• Water waste reduction valves in the guest bathrooms save about 1 million gallons of water/year.
• Our linen reuse program is slightly different than other hotels in that we only change linens by guest request, which saves about 45K gallons of water and 325 gallons detergent a year.
• All of the chemicals used for cleaning rooms and linens are eco-friendly; there is no bleach used.

Our Spa/Fitness Center

• Eco-friendly products are used for spa services.
• The spa features decorative walls made of recycled material and bamboo flooring.
• Our fitness room has recycled flooring.
• The cups and wipes of the fitness room are recyclable.

Other Stuff

• The hotel utilizes low energy-use lighting throughout the building.
• The meeting rooms and business center have eco-friendly cork floors.

The overall cost of maintaining the hotel about 3-4% higher because of these environmentally-friendly initiatives, but it is well worth making sure we are doing what we can to help our planet stay good and healthy for a long, long time!

Halloween Fun

How was your Halloween?  Some Hotel Felix staffers got into the spooky spirit this weekend!  Here’s a few pix:

Nerd-tastic

Our prince!