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The House of Blues Hotel

The Palmer House Hilton

December 27, 1999
Web posted at: 12:24 p.m. EST (1724 GMT)

From Keith Oppenheim
CNN Correspondent

CHICAGO (CNN) -- Out-of-towners spending New Year's Eve in Chicago -- or in-towners craving a little pampering -- have some swank hotel packages to choose from. CNN's Keith Oppenheim looks at what's being offered in addition to the mint on the pillow.

Towering above Grant Park in downtown Chicago, the Fairmont Hotel has a premiere New Year package that includes a three-night stay with a party for 10 friends. The party comes with caviar, six bottles of Dom Perignon, a bottle of Romanee Conti wine valued at $4,000 and a private serenade from an 11-piece orchestra.

The next day, guests can relax with six hours of pampering at the spa. The hotel is offering a souvenir too, a special edition titanium Lamborghini. (Only 10 were produced.) The total package price is $306,426. Space is still available.

The House of Blues Hotel has had trouble unloading its $29,000 package that includes bathrobes, diamond-and-sapphire earrings, a Hublot watch and gold-overlay champagne flutes. Managers have been able to find a buyer for a $6,500 deal, which promises all kinds of "Blues Brothers" paraphernalia.

Managing Director Stuart Schwartz says the suite will be stocked with two parakeets, Jake and Elwood, named after the characters played by Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in the 1980 movie. "They're blue parakeets that can spend the night with you in the suite, in case you get lonely with your 10 other friends," he says.

Managers at the Drake Hotel, a Hilton property, have taken a comparatively affordable approach to New Year packages. One of them includes a three-night stay and breakfast in bed for $1,950.

"I think we've been very clever in knowing what the market wants -- not overpricing ourselves," says George Jordan, the Drake's director of sales and marketing. "As a result, we're sold out."

And at the Palmer House Hilton, $1,000 can buy a couple an extravagant five-course meal. Managers say that deal is selling well.

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