W City Center or W Lakeshore?

If you're staying at City Center, the area around that hotel is really very quiet at night. If your group is looking for nightlife, the W City Center is not a particularly good choice.

These are some bars you might want to read about on a website like metromix.com or timeoutchicago.com

English on North LaSalle Street

ZED451 Rooftop bar on North Clark Street (@ Superior)

LuxBar on East Bellevue (one block north of Oak) between State Street & Lake Shore Drive. This spot is pretty much surrounded by bars (Tavern on Rush, Elm Street Liquors)

Rockit Bar on Hubbard Street, between Dearborn & State

The hotel itself probably has the best bar in the area...otherwise you should check out Poag Mahone's or Elephant and Castle...both of these are pubs and probably more like happy hour places...if you want a lot of late night action you'll need to take a cab up to Gold Coast area...English wouldn't be too far and is even walkable if you're used to long walks.