ORDAirport Guide

Staying near O'Hare before an early flight

Three hotels list a shuttle that runs all night, and the Hilton at the airport needs none. First checkpoint times by terminal and what to ask a hotel.

The Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel entrance canopy and tower in Rosemont, where the shuttle to the airport runs through the night.
Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel

If your flight leaves before sunrise, pick the hotel by its shuttle. Three hotels list one that runs 24 hours a day: Loews Chicago O’Hare, Staybridge Suites Chicago O’Hare Airport and Sonesta Simply Suites Chicago O’Hare Airport. The Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport needs no shuttle at all, because it’s the only hotel on the airport grounds.

When the first checkpoints open

Your airline decides your terminal, and your terminal decides your checkpoint. Our airlines page lists where each airline checks in. This table comes from the airport’s checkpoint hours.

Terminal Opens first Opens later
Terminal 1 Checkpoint 1 at 3:30 a.m. Checkpoint 3 at 3:45 a.m., Checkpoint 2 at 4 a.m.
Terminal 2 Checkpoint 5 at 3:15 a.m. No other checkpoint listed
Terminal 3 Checkpoints 7 and 7A at 3:30 a.m. Checkpoint 6 at 3:45 a.m., Checkpoint 8 at 4 a.m.
Terminal 5 Checkpoint 10, open 24 hours No other checkpoint listed

The airport says checkpoints are generally open as stated and that day-to-day activity can change the hours. It recommends checking with your airline about the day of your flight. Our security page lists every checkpoint with its hours, and our PreCheck and CLEAR guide covers the lanes that keep hours of their own.

Hotels with a shuttle that runs through the night

Hotel How you get the shuttle By road from Terminal 5
Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel, Rosemont Every 15 minutes, no booking 1.9 miles, about 6 minutes
Staybridge Suites Chicago O’Hare Airport, Rosemont Leaves the hotel every half hour on the hour, booked ahead with the hotel 2.0 miles, about 7 minutes
Sonesta Simply Suites Chicago O’Hare Airport, Schiller Park On request, so call the hotel 2.7 miles, about 7 minutes

The hotels’ pages say how to get the shuttle but not which terminal it drops you at. The airport’s shuttle page covers pickup, which is the Terminal 2 arrivals curb, with some shuttles also serving Terminal 5, and it tells you to contact your shuttle provider. Ask your hotel before a Terminal 5 flight.

If you land the night before, virtual concierge kiosks on the arrivals level by baggage claim will call a hotel shuttle at no charge. Our guide to hotels with a free shuttle gives the Terminal 2 pickup door for each hotel that lists one, and our hotels page lists the other places to stay.

The hotel you can walk from

An underground walkway joins the Hilton to Terminals 1, 2 and 3. For Terminal 5, walk to the terminal core and ride the Airport Transit System, which runs around the clock.

The airport’s hotel page lists sound resistant windows and says FAA regulations prohibit planes from flying directly overhead the hotel. It doesn’t give a walking time or hours for the walkway. Our Hilton guide has the routes from each terminal.

Hotels that give no early shuttle time

Hilton’s page for the Hilton Rosemont/Chicago O’Hare says the shuttle runs 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and to 10 p.m. on weekends. The first run, at 5 a.m., is after every checkpoint has opened.

Wyndham’s page for the Super 8 by Wyndham Chicago O’Hare Airport says the free shuttle runs from early morning until midnight and is booked by phone. It gives no first-run time, and nothing runs in the small hours.

Seven hotels offer a free shuttle and publish no hours for it:

  • Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare
  • DoubleTree by Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport - Rosemont
  • Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago O’Hare Rosemont
  • Hampton Inn & Suites Rosemont Chicago O’Hare
  • La Quinta by Wyndham Chicago O’Hare Airport
  • Sonesta Chicago O’Hare Airport Rosemont
  • Wyndham Chicago O’Hare

Phone one of these before you book and ask when the first run leaves on your flight’s morning. Two of them have a way around a shuttle that isn’t running. Crowne Plaza says it is a short walk from the CTA Blue Line, and La Quinta says a Blue Line station is nearby. Neither gives a distance. The Blue Line runs 24 hours a day, and boarding anywhere but O’Hare costs $2.50.

Two Des Plaines hotels list no airport shuttle: the avid hotel Chicago O’Hare - Des Plaines and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chicago O’Hare Airport. You’ll need a taxi, rideshare or your own car for both. Our taxi page lists the meter rates and a $1.00 overnight surcharge between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

How long to allow between the hotel and the checkpoint

No page gives this number. The airport publishes checkpoint hours but doesn’t give a walking time from a curb to a checkpoint, and no hotel gives a time for its own shuttle. The table above holds two pieces: the wait for the shuttle and the road time to Terminal 5, which is a drive and not the shuttle’s own run. The walk and the line have no published figure, so your airline is the one to ask how early to be at the airport.

The wait is where hotels differ. Miss the Staybridge shuttle and the next one leaves 30 minutes later, but at Loews the wait is 15.

Sources