The Ohio House Motel is an anomaly—drab and unremarkable but perpetually booked. It looks like just another roadside haven for weary travelers until you realize the road is LaSalle Street in the middle of cosmopolitan River North and the fares are more than double what you’d pay at a downstate motel. A single room with a queen bed starts around $90-$100 per night, and mini-suites top out around $200. The 50 rooms can be reserved online and all stays include free parking which, more than anything, is why booking well-in-advance is a must.

Free cable TV and wi-fi access, seemingly the motel’s only concessions to post 1950s technology, are its next best amenities. Guests shouldn’t expect too much else, the rooms in this squat structure are small, the decor is rather drab, and the steam heat and window air conditioning are a few steps down from what you’ll find at high-profile downtown alternatives. But guests get a bed and bathroom for around half what they would at the boutiques and are a short walk from tourist mainstays like the Hard Rock Cafe, Gino’s East and Ed Debevic’s.

Centerstage Reviewer: Justin Sondak