Clark und Balmoral

Enjoy local living on the 1st floor of our classic Chicago 2-flat with modern touches and free street parking. Our location is unbeatable, just a few buildings off of Andersonville's famous Clark Street! We live upstairs and maintain the unit ourselves. We're glad to answer questions or offer recommendations. You can easily spend your whole stay in Andersonville or explore our iconic city via quick Uber rides or public transportation. Find video tours and stay in touch on Insta @airBnBalmoral

Our apartment sleeps up to six people in three bedrooms: a large bedroom with a king bed, and two smaller bedrooms with a queen bed and two twin beds. Each bedroom has closet space for storage and either a luggage rack or piece of furniture for your suitcase.

Good lighting is a passion of ours :) Many of our rooms have Hue Smart lights--all dimmable for whatever vibe you want!

There's a large living room area with a beautiful sunroom looking out onto the residential street. There's a desk in the sunroom if you'd like to get a little work done as well as fast wi-fi throughout the unit. You can use our streaming services (we have nearly all of them) on the 55" TV. We love plants! And while most of our favorites live upstairs with us, we've left a few to keep you company.

Our dining room seats six around the table for dinner or included table games. Ticket to Ride is our favorite!

The kitchen is fun to cook in -- granite countertops, 5-burner chef stove, in-wall oven and microwave, basic cooking gear, and a super quiet dishwasher. There's also a small kitchen table in this space. We provide a Kcup coffee maker with pods, creamer in the fridge, and a few other snacks and drinks to get you started.

We love living here and we love sharing our space with guests. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

We have a simple, private backyard with a grill. You're welcome to use it if you want! We'll have outdoor furniture in the summer which you're free to use.

We (Diego and Philip) live in the 2nd floor apartment. We'll let you know if we're traveling, but normally we'll be around and are glad to answer questions and offer recommendations.

Parking is free our street and all nearby parallel neighborhood streets. It's usually easy to find a spot on our street except maybe late at night and during busy weekends. However, you'll find a spot with a little patience. Or you can park on a nearby side street.

Uber and Lyft are available for a quick ride around the northside or downtown. The Clark Street bus stops right by us or you can walk (15-20 minutes) to the Red Line train to get downtown.

In summertime, you can rent a Divvy bike nearby to bike along the lakefront or to get to nearby neighborhoods. You can rent at one Divvy station and return it to any other station throughout the city. If you happen to bring your own bike, you can easily store it in the apartment's back sunroom.

We love the charm of our vintage building, but with its age comes creaky floors. We do our best to be quiet on the 2nd floor, but you will likely hear us moving around above you. And while we don't have Central AC, we do have super quiet and efficient Midea inverter window units that keep the unit nice and cool in the summer.

We're just a few buildings off of Clark Street, the main commercial zone of Andersonville. You'll have easy access to incredible restaurants, locally-owned shops, and a great local gym (Cheetah Gym).

Some of favorites spots to check out:

Restaurants/Cafes

-Defloured Bakery (right next door) 

-Fiya (Mediterranean; great patio!)

-Pizza Lobo (amazing outdoor space)

-Understudy Coffee & Books (adorable)

-Calo Ristorante (we love the grilled seafood platter)

-Lady Gregory's (cozy; consistently delicious food)

-Little Bad Wolf (the best macaroni & cheese, ever; also great burgers)

-Lost Larson (gourmet pastries)

-Kopi Cafe (unique floor seating area in front; cute shop in the back)

-Penelope's Vegan Taqueria (authentic Mexican flavors; you barely notice that there's no meat)

-Taste of Lebanon (great for a quick lunch; cash only)

-Woolly Mammoth (truly odd assortment of vintage and antique objects)

-Bar Roma (great happy hour)

-Kilwin's (ice cream, fudge, treats, DELICIOUSNESS)

Shopping

-Cowboys & Astronauts (men's clothes and housewares)

-Brown Elephant (resale/thrift)

-Play (lovely toy/game shop)

-Buffalo Exchange (we check to see what's new throughout the week)

-Andersonville Galleria (local art/crafts)

-Women & Children First (excellent book store)

-Gethsemane Garden Center (incredible variety of plants; fun to even just look around)

Theater/Performance

-The Neo-Futurists (experimental theater; a Chicago institution; long-running weekend late show)

-Chicago Magic Lounge (a beautiful speakeasy with nightly shows; close-up magic at your table beforehand; truly a unique experience)

Popular Chicago Summer Events

-Renegade Craft Fair - May 18-19 (amazing arts/crafts street fair in our neighborhood)

-Midsommarfest - June 7-9 (lively street festival on Clark St in our neighborhood)

-Pride Fest - June 22-23 (in Lakeview neighborhood)

-Pride Parade - June 30

-Lollapalooza - Aug 1-4

-Northalsted Market Days - Aug 10-11 - LGBTQ community street fair in Lakeview neighborhood)