At the intersection of Clark and Addison, right across from Wrigley Field, sits Hotel Zachary at Gallagher Way. The hotel opened in 2018 and is part of a broader Wrigleyville redevelopment project that has drastically changed the face of the neighborhood in the past 10 years. Having just moved out of our Chicago apartment a few miles away, we were excited to finally have an excuse to stay at Hotel Zachary during a recent visit to Chicago. Read on to learn more about the hotel and our personal experience staying at Hotel Zachary.
About Hotel Zachary Chicago
Hotel Zachary is a boutique hotel owned by the Ricketts family — the same family who own the Chicago Cubs — via their real estate development company Hickory Street Capital. The hotel is managed by Pivot Hotels & Resorts and is a member of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio of hotels. That’s a lot to say that your reservation is going to say you’re staying at Marriott.
The hotel’s design and name come from Zachary Taylor Davis, the architect who designed Wrigley Field. This inspiration comes through in many forms, from the stadium blueprints throughout the hotel to the portraits in the entryway. The large communal table in the library-themed lobby even feels like you’re at an architect’s drawing table.
Hotel Zachary is meant to provide an authentic Chicago neighborhood experience by creating a homey feel that’s charged with unique Chicago character. I think the hotel accomplishes that through its decor, but more importantly through its location in the heart of the Wrigleyville neighborhood. Guests are immersed in the neighborhood’s vibrant atmosphere via close proximity to its many restaurants, bars and of course Wrigley Field.
The hotel’s theme is unmistakably baseball, but without feeling kitschy. From the art on the walls to the books on the shelves, the hotel will no doubt appeal to Cubs loyalists, baseball fans and more broadly those interested in Chicago history. That said, the hotel offers enough unique and charmed touches to please any traveler looking for an interesting hotel experience outside of downtown.
Food and drink at Hotel Zachary
There’s about 10 different restaurants and bars within the Hotel Zachary building complex. Restaurants on property include:
- The Bar at Hotel Zachary, which is the main hotel bar/restaurant located on the second floor adjacent to the main lobby
- Hush Money, which is a smaller, swankier hotel bar tucked a bit further back on the second floor
- Plus 8 additional restaurant and bar partnerships including: Big Star Taco, Smoke Daddy BBQ, West Town Bakery, Mordecai, Swift & Sons, Lucky Dorr Patio & Tap, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and Budweiser Brickhouse Tavern
A continental breakfast is available daily (not always complimentary) at The Bar at Hotel Zachary, with complimentary coffee available most of the day. You can also show your room key at West Town Bakery on the first floor near the entrance and receive a free coffee between 7 AM and 10 AM.
Limited in-room dining is also available at Hotel Zachary. The menu was pretty small and it was only offered from 4 PM to 10 or 11 PM, depending on the day.
If you’re visiting Hotel Zachary during Christmastime, Hush Money gets a full seasonal overlay which is very cute. (Christmas themed bars are super popular in Wrigleyville and lots of bars in the area get similar seasonal treatments.) The hotel also offers private igloos on the terrace, which seat up to 8 with views over the Christmas market at Wrigley Field. You can get more information on those here.
Things to do near Hotel Zachary
You don’t need to leave the hotel for meals but you should! Wrigleyville is a Chicago hot spot for a night (or day) out. It comes alive on game days and holidays, but any old Saturday afternoon in Wrigleyville can be a party. My party days are long behind me, but I always loved The Cubby Bear on games days, Irish Oak for a weeknight meal with live music and Old Crow for a night out with girlfriends. Other hot spots in the area include Happy Camper, Sluggers and Deuces.
If you’re looking for family fun, be sure to stop by Lucky Strike for bowling and a huge arcade. Gallagher Way, the park adjacent to the Wrigley Field, is also open to the public during non-game days. They host events throughout the year like live music, movie nights and markets (including Christkindlmarket and Winterland at Christmastime).
Venture beyond the immediate cross streets and explore the broader community area of Lakeview. You can hit up the bars in Boystown, enjoy some fresh air on the lakefront trail or shop along the Southport Corridor. Since the hotel is so close to the Red Line, it’s also easy to take the train to explore a new neighborhood like Uptown, Andersonville or Lincoln Park.
And it goes without saying, the obvious thing to do near Hotel Zachary is attend a Cubs game or concert at Wrigley Field next door. Staying next door to Wrigley Field is convenient for anyone, but it’s extra handy if your’e going to a Cubs game with a baby.
Booking Hotel Zachary Chicago
Reservations for hotel Zachary are available on the Marriott website, as well as third party sites like Expedia, Booking.com and Hotels.com. Prices are roughly the same on all platforms but you may have a preference for points or loyalty programs through these different sites.
We have loyalty status with Marriott Bonvoy, so we chose to book directly through the Marriott website. We spent $317 for a 2-queen guest room with a Wrigley Field view, which we booked one week in advance. One of the perks of Platinum Elite status is free suite upgrades, but unfortunately there were no upgrades available during our visit.
With seven floors and 173 guest rooms, Hotel Zachary is not small but it’s not huge. The hotel does completely sell out on dates surrounding popular Cubs games. On busier nights, such as concerts or popular rivalry games, Hotel Zachary may have a minimum night stay that won’t allow you to book a single night stay.
Rooms and rates at Hotel Zachary
Rates at Hotel Zachary vary pretty drastically based on the time of year and the Cub’s schedule. Prices start as low as $210 for a standard room with 1 queen bed with no view during the off season. That same room on opening day costs $460 and then sits at about $400 for most regular season home games.
The 2-queen room with a Wrigley Field view (the room type we booked) usually costs around $300 per night during the off-season and around $500 on game days. If you’re going to stay at Hotel Zachary, I would definitely recommend spending the extra money on a room with a view — it makes all the difference.
The hotel also features 20 suites, which are larger, more luxe and more expensive. The suites include Wrigley Field views and/or private balconies. The junior suites start around $600 during the off season and go up to around $1,000 on game days. Larger suites start around $750 to $1,000 and go up to about $1,500 on game days.
Location & transportation near Hotel Zachary
Hotel Zachary is located at 3630 N. Clark Street. It’s convenient to get to from downtown via the Red Line train. The nearest CTA train is the Addison Red Line Stop, which is two blocks (0.2 miles) from the hotel entrance. The 22 Clark and 152 Addison buses also stop right outside the hotel.
If you’re coming from Midway Airport, it’s a bit of a hike but an easy commute. Take the Orange Line from the airport, and then switch to the Red Line Line at Roosevelt and get off at Addison. If you’re coming from O’Hare, the fastest route will require a bus. Take the Blue Line to Addison, then switch to the eastbound Addison bus and get off at Addison & Clark. You can also take a taxi or rideshare from either airport. Keep in mind, though, that traffic can be brutal and a train is often faster.
Lastly, if you’re driving to Hotel Zachary, there is valet parking available for an additional $75 a night. It’s important to note that streets in the area frequently close during Cubs games, concerts or other major events. This means you might not be able to enter or leave the lot during these closures. Public transportation or rideshare is the best way to go.
Hotel Zachary amenities
Hotel Zachary is great for dining, bars and proximity to Wrigley Field, but it doesn’t have a ton of other resort-y bells and whistles.
The hotel has a fitness center on the 3rd floor, which offers basic fitness equipment. It was pretty busy in the morning, but wide open in the afternoon.
As far as common areas go, there’s not a ton of space that isn’t allocated to bar or restaurant seating. The most notable common area in the hotel is the large communal table near the check in desk. It had outlets and pencils, and looked like a great working spot for digital nomads. Past The Bar at Hotel Zachary was another cute sitting space that felt like a living room with a cozy fireplace.
Oh, and I thought this was fun — instead of traditional hotel ice makers, there are little freezers located on each floor. Inside there are tiny bags of ice that you can grab and take to your room to fill up your ice bucket.
Hotel Zachary does not have a pool or any spa services.
Our Experience at Hotel Zachary
In this next section, we’ll walk through our specific experience staying at Hotel Zachary in November 2022.
Arrival & check-in
We arrived in Chicago via Amtrak to Union Station. With our toddler, car seat and suitcase in tow, we walked to the Monroe Red Line and took that to Addison. We arrived at the hotel just before 1 PM.
The entrance to Hotel Zachary is located between West Town Bakery and Mordecai on the east side of the building. The lobby is on the second floor and there was stairs and an elevator leading up to it.
The check in desk and lobby shared an open floor space with The Bar at Hotel Zachary. There was complimentary coffee and tea available, some sofa seating, and a large communal table. The lobby felt like a library, but the massive Wrigley Field drawing on the wall set the tone for the baseball experience.
We were happy to hear our room was ready, even though we were there 4 hours before the official check in time of 4 PM. While we were checking in, we requested a crib for our toddler who was due to nap ASAP. To our surprise, the crib was in our room less than 10 minutes later.
Hotel Zachary 2-queen guest room with Wrigley Field view
During our recent stay at Hotel Zachary, we opted for a standard room with 2 queen beds and a Wrigley Field view. Overall, the room was spacious, bright, and delightfully themed.
Upon entering the room, there was a small hallway with a closet on one side and a bathroom on the other. The bathroom was large with plenty of counter space, a well-lit mirror and walk-in shower with a rain shower head. There were two bathrobes, including one in the bathroom and a second in the closet.
All bathroom products were by the brand Ivy Urban Apothecary. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash was available in fixed dispensers, plus a miniature bottle of hand lotion and soap bar were provided. Cotton swabs and balls were individually wrapped in a jar on the counter top.
Beside the closet was a small counter space with two complimentary bottles of water, two wine glasses and an ice bucket. There was notably not a coffee maker, but instead a card directing you to a free cup of coffee at West Town Bakery. The room also did not have a mini fridge.
The hall opened up to the main room area. There were two queen beds with a night stand in the middle, one sofa chair, a desk with a chair, a chest of drawers with a TV and a small bench. The room was very spacious, even with a crib in it.
On the nightstand was a clock which doubled as a wireless charging pad. If you don’t have a wireless charger (which I didn’t), there were two USB ports on the back and a standard outlet on the wall.
The room itself had some nods to the baseball theme of the hotel. There were a handful of prints around the wrong with Wrigley Field renderings and black and white Chicago city images. The desk was completed with a trio of Chicago Cubs books.
The view of Wrigley Field really stole the show. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entire west side of the stadium, including the iconic marquee and Gallagher Way. From our room on the 3rd floor, we could not see into the stadium itself — so don’t expect to see the game from your room. I can’t confirm if higher rooms have better views into the stadium, but I wouldn’t think so.
What we did in Wrigleyville
After we arrived, our little one immediately went down for a nap. My husband jumped on the Red Line to pick up our packets for the Turkey Trot which we were running the next day, while I looked up things do in the afternoon. However, once my child looked out the window and saw the Christmas market and carousel, we were obviously going to do that.
We have spent many years celebrating Christmas in Chicago, but rarely made it to the Christkindlmarket in Wrigley. We were excited to check it out and had a really lovely time! After enjoying some potato pancakes, a couple beers and gingerbread macarons, we took spin on the carousel. Inside Wrigley Field itself is a ticket event with rides, games and ice skating, but we skipped that this year.
Then we walked just a bit further east on Addison to Lucky Strike. It’s a bowling alley/arcade/restaurant/bar but we were mostly there for the arcade. We spent $40 on a game card and had the very best time playing all the games. Despite having a ton of tickets, all our little one wanted to spend them on was suckers.
On our way back to the hotel, we popped into Chipotle to get dinner for our little one. (They have the BEST kids meals!) If we didn’t have a toddler, we’d definitely have ventured south on Clark to grab a drink or two. Most of the bars were already decked out for Christmas and looked so fun! Instead, we just ordered Velvet Taco delivery for our own dinner.
This baby loves the hotel life
Sleeping and noise at Hotel Zachary
With our little one sleeping soundly in the crib, we watched a few episodes of TV on our tablet and ate tacos. The room was big enough that we didn’t have to worry about being completely silent on the other side of the room.
Around 11, we cozied up in bed. The beds were firm and the pillows were soft, and that’s about as good as I can describe bedding. I was comfortable, though, and fell right asleep.
During our stay at Hotel Zachary, the Cubs were not in town. However, we were staying on Blackout Wednesday (aka the unofficial drinking holiday the day before Thanksgiving), so it was’t exactly a quiet night either. With the hotel’s proximity to the bar scene, I thought there was a chance things could get just as loud as they would on a game night.
Fortunately for us and our sleeping child, the soundproofing from the outside was really good at Hotel Zachary. I did not note any significant noises from car traffic, rowdy youngsters or sirens.
However, the soundproofing from the inside of the hotel was not as good. Noise from the hallways really carried into the room and was loud. In our experience, this was mostly an issue with children screaming in the hallway during the day. During Cubs games, I could imagine rowdy groups coming home from the game or bars late at night and causing some annoyances.
On a similar note, the hotel room doors slammed really loudly. All day and night I could hear doors slamming from rooms nearby. This was honestly my biggest complaint about our stay. I feel like the technology for no-slam doors has to be there and hotels should invest in it.
Is Hotel Zachary worth staying at?
Hotel Zachary is a unique, boutique hotel offering in the heart of a classic Chicago neighborhood that doesn’t otherwise have a ton of chain hotel options. I don’t think many guests are stumbling across Hotel Zachary by chance — I think they’re seeking it out specifically because of it’s location. And for those people, I think Hotel Zachary is worth the splurge.
During the Cubs season, Hotel Zachary earns its marks for both convenience and theming. It’s a nice, new hotel, sure. But you’re paying for the experience of stepping back in time to baseball’s golden age, and then quickly crossing the street to enter the historic baseball stadium itself. A stay at Hotel Zachary creates a complete experience around your visit to Wrigley Field that you won’t get staying anywhere else in the city.
When the Cubs aren’t in town, visitors with a broader love of baseball or Chicago history will appreciate the themed experience at Hotel Zachary. It’s a great location for travelers who want to immerse themselves in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, whether that’s for the nightlife or a family-friendly night at the Christmas market. I’d even recommend Hotel Zachary to athletes running the Chicago Marathon, because it’s just a short train ride to the starting line.
I don’t think Hotel Zachary is worth it for everyone though. I wouldn’t recommend Hotel Zachary to first-time Chicago visitors unless you’re a Cubs/baseball fan. Most of Chicago’s most popular attractions (Grant Park, Michigan Avenue, museum campus) and even other neighborhoods (West Loop, Wicker Park) are a bit of a hike from the hotel. If you’re planning to spend most of your time outside of Wrigleyville, you’ll want to stay somewhere more centrally located like the Loop or River North.
Overall, I’d give this hotel an 8.5 out of 10. We had a great experience, the thematic touches were delightful, and we loved our time spent in Wrigleyville. I knocked off a few stars for the high price, lack of a swimming pool and loud slamming doors.
