Looking for a place to host your next event? Check out our list of the 10 best convention centers in Chicago IL. From spacious ballrooms to stunning outdoor spaces, these venues have everything you need to make your event a success. So read on and find the perfect convention center for your needs!
The Best Convention Center in Chicago IL
McCormick Place
- Address: 2301 S King Dr, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.5 (11462)
- Phone: +1 312-791-7000
- Website: Link
- Opening hours:
Monday: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PMTuesday: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PMWednesday: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PMThursday: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PMFriday: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PMSaturday: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PMSunday: 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM
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Top 10 Exhibition and Convention Center in Chicago IL
The Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center
- Address: 520 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 3.7 (6074)
- Phone: +1 312-427-3800
- Website: Link
- Reviews:
We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights & for an affordable price, it was quite decent. You can really see that the hotel has aged quite a bit especially with the rooms, the hallways & the elevator. However, their lobby is gorgeous! It honestly, looks like a historical museum!
Secondly, there is no free parking, so they recommended us to do overnight parking for $46.00 at a parking lot beside the hotel, where we weren’t able to do in & outs. Although, the hotel’s location is fantastic! Most of the tourist attractions were within walking distance. This was the best part!
Lastly, my least favorite part, was dealing with the receptionists while checking in, they were quite rude and did not give clear instructions. Nonetheless, the baggage/luggage guys were very helpful & even escorted us all the way to our hotel room.
Overall, if you’re just looking for a place to sleep after a long day of sight-seeing in Chicago, this is the perfect hotel for you! But, if you’re planning on spending some time at a hotel, please look elsewhere!
By Jourmae Abengoza (4 months ago)The room was very clean and much nicer than I expected given the reviews I read. The beds had very attractive and soft velvety covers that was nice to rest on after a bunch of walking. The bed itself was firm but oddly very comfortable, however the pillows were too thick for my comfort, I had to use a throw pillow. The bathroom was dated and faucets a little difficult to turn but it had very little impact on the stay. They provided plenty of towels and numerous hygiene products, there was a fridge and microwave, and they had 2 complementary water bottles which were a lifesaver coming from the airport.The location cannot be beat, and the lake view was amazing, I highly recommend paying the extra ~20$. We did not try the breakfast cafe, due to the reviews, but we probably should have, as it is incredibly difficult to find breakfast in downtown. The first place we went was closed for maintenance, second one it took the waitress 30+ mins to get our order so we left cause we were starving (should have waited though), third place we paid 10-15$ for a bagel sandwich and 6.50$ for a small late. We brought it back to the hotel room and ate at the little glass table in front of the beautiful view. So! I recommend preparing breakfast options the day before or check out the cafe.
Overall, I was very impressed with the hotel and the rooms, especially for the price. 10/10 would stay again. (But I’ll bring my own bagels and cream cheese.)
By Anna B. (a month ago)I’ll be honest, I really enjoyed our stay at this hotel. I read all the reviews and had a good idea of what to expect. The hotel was clean and the bed fairly comfortable. Yes, the hotel is old and could do with some upgrades, but we found a bit of humor in some of the workmanship and decor choices. In terms of hotel prices in Chicago, this place is tough to beat. I found the price to be very reasonable in terms of value. If you’re just looking for a place to get some sleep while exploring the city, I wouldn’t hesitate to book. In fact, I’m fairly certain I’ll be staying here again.By Paul daSilva (2 weeks ago)This place was fantastic. We had a group of 7 guys staying in two different rooms. The hotel is definitely a bit dated but it is a three star hotel. The rooms were extremely clean and house keeping did a great job! They were happy to hold our bags after we checked out which was very convenient. The guys in the front foyer were a lot of fun and frequently chatted us up before we leaving a few times.By Andrew Sanders (3 months ago)My family and I were there for a two day stay. We had 3 little kids, 1, 3, & 9 yrs old. We checked in the lobby was beautiful, employees nice. Then we went to our room, the family suite, room 457 with one bathroom. My daughter went into the bathroom and there was mold on the ceiling. We moved to another room 405 and there was mold on the shower curtain and the bathtub was dirty. The third room we moved to 557, the air conditioning unit had a leak and my husband stepped into a swampy area of water. The only thing that was offered was breakfast during our stay. We declined, the only request we made was to be comped for one night of our 2 day stay. They declined. The manager would not even come out from the back room to speak with me. Please please know that this is a historical hotel, but really there is no reason for management not to be professional enough to make the customer happy. I work in customer service and you have to give 100% to get 100%. The only employee I would give 5 Stars too is the Doorman, Steve, he is the epitome of customer service, very cheerful and helpful during our stay.By Tyre Hawkins (3 months ago)
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
- Address: 5555 N River Rd, Rosemont, IL 60018, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.4 (4244)
- Phone: +1 847-692-2220
- Website: Link
- Reviews:
Went for the car show. Nice facility. It had a sports show going on upstairs. So it must be bigger than I thought. Has a Starbucks in it. You meet some nice people in that line.By Sandi Wittenauer (in the last week)This venue has easy access from parking to the venue. You are indoors and walk above ground tunnels. Starbuck are available for purchase.plenty of places to sit. Food is accessible at convention prices. The fountains and flowers are nice touches. Restrooms are clean.By Patricia Bakosh (8 months ago)The space is plenty big.
Pick up for Uber and ride shares is easy enough.They seriously need another Starbucks or coffee vendor in the building. When a show is going on the average (low end) wait time is about an hour.
They also need to bring in more food vendors. They have the typical concession snacks and liquor (which is nice) but for the hair show the POKE bowl people were the only healthy option catering to those with dietary restrictions and needs and the bowl was $17. With water $22 or $21 depending on the day (the same exact order 2 different days and the price changed by a dollar ?♀️
The event center should have charging stations and more places to sit.
By Lindsay Ferris Martin (7 months ago)Excellent place for Conventions and car shows. Easy to get to and plenty of parking. One flaw is food prices, but that’s just Chicago. Enjoy!By Jay Hixon (10 months ago)The Don is one of the best convention centers in the Midwest. I’ve been going here since 1999. ‘been using the same toilet since 2004. Super clean. Plus they have a Starbucks.By Eric (4 months ago)
McCormick Place – West Building
- Address: 2317 S Indiana Ave, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.5 (940)
- Phone: +1 312-791-7000
- Website: Link
- Reviews:
We had our Pampered Chef conference at the McCormick and the security guards and custodians they were very helpful and friendly! The restrooms were always clean clean clean! There were a lot of Pampered Chef Consultants for 4 days so thank you for great service!By Margarita Maldonado Whitehead (4 months ago)Visited the Auto Show today and really enjoyed it. Not as big as past year’s but liked that there was a festival outside with food and music. It was good to see that things were well organized and safety measures in place. Was happy that it wasn’t overcrowded 2021 Chicago Auto Show 2 thumbs up.??❤By Marquette Craig-Harper (a year ago)This is one of the largest buildings in Chicago by square footage. No wonder this becomes the venue for international trade shows, conferences etcBy waran dv (2 months ago)Organized. Centrally located. Accommodated thousands for the NRA and Sweets and Snacks shows. Overpriced parking.By Sallie Wolcott (6 months ago)I was there for a volleyball tournament the weekend before Thanksgiving. Thousands of people throughout the day and the staff did a great job of keeping up with trash and restrooms. My only negative would be how they ran out of packaged food in the food court. Grill was fine but for someone with specific dietary guidelines, the packaged food is better and by the afternoon that was gone. We were dealing with hundreds of teenage boys athletes so I guess that’s understandable.By Timm Gyoerkoes (in the last week)
McCormick Place Lakeside Center, East Building
- Address: 2301 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.4 (225)
- Phone: +1 312-791-7000
- Website: Link
- Reviews:
Supervisor/manager of SP+McCormick Lakeside Center parking garage refused to process a refund, even after I provided a receipt proving that I’d only been in the garage for 14min, we’ll within the grace period for exiting the garage free of charge. Even worse, they forgot to delete their internal email chain when they emailed me to reject my refund, so I saw some unpleasant comments the supervisor had made about me. There are plenty of parking garages in Chicago. I’ll be sure not to end up in this one again. Would not recommend, based on extremely poor customer service.By Lisa Neal (a month ago)Getting old, looking it’s age. One day, soon I imagine, someone will tear it down to build something newer, bigger stronger. But I did find a cool fountain on the lake side that I hadn’t seen before, so that was interesting.By Mike Walker (2 months ago)One of our many events at the McCormick Place, we must say this is the Slate Summit had the most epic party we’ve ever been a part of!By Alexa Selfie Booth Rental (2 years ago)Great architecture. Fun place to see a show.By Joseph Thomson (4 years ago)By far one of the best convention centers in the country!By Camerashooter (3 years ago)
Merchandise Mart Conference Hall
- Address: 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.7 (119)
- Phone: +1 312-527-4141
- Website: Link
- Reviews:
Had a marvelous shopping experience at the One of a Kind Show! The variety of vendors and inclusive sizing was wonderful to see. Scanning in was easy, masking was optionally, and proof of vaccination was not required. Pre-event, I enjoyed a delicious chai tea latte at Starbucks. Service was as prompt and professional as always at this location. The entire day was very relaxing, including my travel time. Love the ease of getting to the Mart on the brown Line!By Mass Fractal (7 months ago)Huge, enormous, grandiose….are adjectives to describe this edifice.
First we saw it during our 90 min architectural boat tour. The guide stated many hard to believe figures about its construction in terms of miles of wiring, concrete used, window numbers,…etc and that until recently this building only had its own zip number.
Tomorrow we walked the Riverwalk and standing in front of it felt like ants.
It’s an enormous shopping and event venue with an odd mixture of Art Deco and massive brutalist Soviet architecture.By Dejan Braki (6 months ago)Went to a class for kids 7-18 yrs of age called “Designing Your Adventure” by Project 44. Awesome FREE class! Trainer and mentors were patient and accommodating. They had free food too! The kids asked to do this again.By Ayee VeePee (3 months ago)Watched the daily light and sound show that happens at 09:00 PM. Good experience with kids.By Amit Jain (3 months ago)Place looks very cool, but security last who was working was very rude. I asked a question (asking how to get around the construction) and was met with rudeness from the minute I walked up. Hopefully just an unfortunate experience, but definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.By Yerim Noh (3 months ago)
McCormick Square
- Address: 301 E Cermak Rd, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.6 (65)
- Phone: +1 312-791-6159
- Website: Link
- Reviews:
Great place as usual, they were clean and sanitizing like a well oiled machine. They made my visit feel safe. The gentlemen at the Scootaround rental office were kind, helpful and very accommodating. I will return again.By Gina Brown (11 months ago)Huge place for organizing events like MAS Convention. Connected buildings around make it convenient place to attend event even when staying in other nearby hotels.By Faisal Masood (11 months ago)Very beautiful convention center. I attended McCormick for the ASI Convention. Amazing staff, clean restrooms and wonderful atmosphere. East parking access and Uber/Lyft pick up. Excited to visit the convention center again. It’s huge and I was not used to the grid system of Chicago, so definitely make sure you’re parking on the correct side or you’ll be walking a mile to the right one!By Ayanna McLean (3 months ago)Second time here in this venue for the AHA conference. Great clean space with a wonderful staff.By A. I. (a week ago)Nice spot for a convention. Lots of rooms and options.By Philippe Tessier (a month ago)
American Airlines Conference Center
- Address: 1101 W Waveland Ave f2, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.6 (21)
McCormick Place – North Building
- Address: McCormick Place – North Building, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.5 (11)
ComplexCon Chicago
- Address: 2301 S King Dr, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.3 (6)
Metropolitan Pier & Exposition
- Address: 600 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
- Map: Click here
- Rating: 4.8 (5)
If you’re looking for a convention center in Chicago IL, these are the 10 best. Each of these centers offer something unique that could be perfect for your next event.
This hotel has been the Perfect stay, while attending a trade show at McCormick Center. Directly attached to the convention center – it’s just a quick stroll down a hallway, without even going outdoors. My room has been perfect, with a huge desk area for work and a gorgeous view of the lake. Great to-go options at The Market Cafe / Shop as well. Highly recommend!
Huge convention center hosting C2E2. The facilities staff are incredibly helpful and hard working. The entire facility is very clean and easy to navigate. There is ample parking and places to stay nearby including Marriott Marquis and the Hyatt Regency.
McCormick Place is a great Convention Center for any event that they host. Typically they have the auto show and Chicago Comic Con here as well as other Halloween and tattoo, and reptile conventions, etc. Parking is abundant and they have regularly running shuttles that will take you from each lot to the main entrance. Inside you’ll find at least five floors. The main, ground level, is the one that will usually hold most of the attractions for whichever convention you are attending. Above that, you will find smaller rooms for special dedicated themes and topics. I highly recommend attending any show that is put on here. McCormick is definitely very Cutting Edge in terms of convention centers.
This is a massive place. There are 3 wings with 4 floors in each.. They are all connected via a sky bridge. Excellent facilities. Well maintained and sufficient parking space. Although, if you are attending a large event, I would recommend taking an Uber
Always clean, pretty big place so make sure you know which building your event is in. Lyft pick up spot for West building May be a bit further to the right, and not at the actual curbside pickup spot, so keep an eye on the map to see where your driver is. Restrooms were always in top notch shape. Click thumbs up for them using the buttons on the wall 🙂 AC was pretty cold and projectors not very clear. Our presenters were sharing from their laptops and couldn’t make the screen clear enough for everything, it was a tech conference so hard to follow detailed things on a website but of course large font presentation slides were ok.