Midway Airport has a great hotel setup. Within two blocks (or a quick shuttle ride) of the south end of the airport is a gated community of hotels. Included in this Hotel Center are a Courtyard by Marriott, a Marriott, a Fairfield Inn, a Hampton Inn, a Hilton Garden Inn, a Residence Inn, a Holiday Inn, a Holiday Inn Express and a Sleep Inn. There are also a handful of restaurants such as Fridays and Starbucks.

Of course, there are also several hotels outside of the hotel center. They range anywhere from half a mile to several miles away from Midway. However, with such a cluster of hotels, why would anyone venture outside this zone?

This is probably not the only “hotel center” like this in the country, but it is a great concept. The area around Midway isn’t the best. There are plenty of abandoned, run-down and shabby buildings. There has been an improvement in the area, but it is slow. For Midway to compete against O’Hare, it needed this hotel center.

The hotel center is perfect for either the business traveler or the vacationer. The hotels offer different amenities and different pricing scales. Again, they have something for everyone. However, all hotels offer secure, shared parking facilities, along with a decent amount of extras like continental breakfasts and business centers.

This is a great example of the hotels working together and with Midway for the betterment of everyone. The hotels probably got a better deal by partnering with each other for this area. Midway benefits by having quality hotels so close. Travelers certainly are better off with excellent choices within a shuttle ride.

McCormick Place and downtown Chicago are just about a 20-minute ride away (as opposed to an hour from O’Hare). Midway is an often overlooked airport. Many years ago, I wouldn’t suggest Midway, but I have to say it really is a viable option.

I grew up not too far from Midway, on the far south side of Chicago. Midway was always viewed as the cheaper, grungy alternative to O’Hare. I have seen Midway undergo many great changes. It is still size-challenged, because of the area, but it has done many things to improve the experience. The hotel center might just be the best improvement.

— John Wroblewski, distribution specialist