Feast on the Flavors of Fall at Loews Chicago

The leaves are starting to turn. The corn is being harvested, pumpkins are everywhere you look, and the chill in the air is unmistakable. Fall is here.

Celebrate the season with a brand new “Flavors of Fall” at Loews Chicago package. My husband and I had the great good fortune to be the first to experience this new collection of amenities, and it is a pampering worthy of any solstice.

The package is a prescription for anyone who is stressed out, overworked, and just-needs-to-get-away-and-epsom-salts-don’t-cut-it-any-more. It feeds the foodie, is a balm for the imbiber, and replenishes and rehydrates and relaxes.

How does this magic elixir work? Read on…

Mapletini Cocktails for two from ETA Bar

After you check in cocktails are delivered to your room in a beautiful jar with an accompaniment of fresh sage. It’s chilled in an ice bucket, not too sweet, not too strong, but with enough of a kick to help you wind down and relax before you indulge in an amazing dinner.

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Fall Flavors Chef Tasting for Two at Rural Society

Rural Society is the on-premise restaurant at Loews Chicago. This house of wood-fired brilliance is an Argentinean steakhouse with Chef Jose Garces (Mercat a la Planxa, anyone?) at the helm. As you enter you smell the fire burning and you know you’re in for an authentic experience.

With the Chef Tasting for Two included in your Flavors of Fall package you explore the menu, from start to finish. We began with cocktails selected by our server, Marcus. (Ask for him when you go. He knows everything. And he glides. GLIDES.) Somehow he knew I’d like the El Diablo, with tequila, pineapple, and jalapeno; and my husband would prefer the Gaucho, a cocktail made of Kettle One, mint, and lime. As we sipped we were served cheese-infused yucca bread and caramelized onion focaccia with a selection of chimichurri, relish, and Malbec-infused butter.

[]photo by Noelle Bauer

The rest of the dinner followed suit. Octopus carpaccio with sundried tomato and Malbec cheese, Noqui Con Hongus (gnocchi with mushrooms). Blood sausage with raisin and pine nuts. Emberred beets with coriander and black truffle – the beets are roasted overnight in the embers of the wood-burning stoves. Flavorful ribeye. The most tender lamb chops you could ever imagine. Potatoes with so much cheese they were like cheese with potatoes. Grilled zucchini with that oh-so-perfect char. And then a sweet potato sorbet and chocolate cake with diced candied sweet potatoes sprinkled on the plate. Every step served with a corresponding drink.

This. This alone makes the Flavors of Fall package.

But wait, there’s more….

Pumpkin Facial

Also included is a pair of pumpkin facials in the Spa at Loews Chicago. This hour-long treatment takes you completely away from the stress of everyday life and deep-cleans your tired skin. If you’d like, your aestheticians can explain the products their using, or you can be pampered solely to the accompaniment of the relaxing soundtrack. The pumpkin itself acts as a natural exfoliator and you can feel it tingling when it’s applied to your skin. I’m 45 years old, and when I left my skin looked as fresh and dewy as someone at least a decade younger. I was so impressed I even shared an un-retouched photo of myself in Instagram – without makeup!

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I had taken a hard hat tour of Loews Chicago in November of last year and I was jaw-dropping impressed with not only how the property was shaping up, but also with the passion expressed by everyone I met who was involved with bringing it to life. Now that I’ve had an opportunity to stay overnight I’m even more impressed, and can unequivocally say: if you can experience their Flavors of Fall, do.

Flavors of Fall at Loews Chicago is offered now through December 21. Prices begin at $599 and the package includes:

•          Fall Flavors Chef’s Tasting for two at Rural Society
•          Deep Cleansing Pumpkin Facials for two at Spa at Loews Chicago
•          Mapletini Cocktails for two from ETA bar

To book your package call the hotel at 877-868-8232 or 312-840-6600 and request Flavors of Fall. Loews Chicago is located at 455 N Park Dr., Chicago, IL.