Hello- we%26#39;re a (married)couple of artists from San Francisco visiting Chicago this summer on the way to a wedding in Mpls. We%26#39;ll be using public transit to get around Chicago and wonder if anyone can offer hotel advice. We are looking for something well located and good value for the $$. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Mel
downtown hotel for Aug 6-9
What would be your max budget per night?
downtown hotel for Aug 6-9';Good value'; can vary greatly from person to person. A specific hotel budget would be more helpful. We%26#39;ll be happy to help.
';Well located'; hotels is easy. Just about all properties here are located near public transit. Visit transitchicago.com for public transit details. A CTA visitor pass might come in handy for your visit. You can order them ahead of time.
Thanks much for your responses!
Our budget is low: $100-$150/night. We%26#39;d like to stay somewhere nice, funky or otherwise known for last minute specials rather than stay at some super chain hotel. That said, clean and quiet rank as most important-- street noise is ok, but not the sounds of neighbors snoring....
Best,
Mel
I%26#39;m seeing on easyclicktravel.com what appears to be the Whitehall for $125 and the Hilton Towers on South Michigan Ave. for $150 on one deep discount service.
On Hotwire, I%26#39;m seeing what appears to be the W City Center (4*, Loop, fitness/business/hi-speed internet) for $102. I%26#39;m also seeing what appears to possibly be the Millennium Knickerbocker (4* North Michigan Ave/Gold Coast/Water Tower area) for $136, although I%26#39;d go with the Whitehall over it.
If you are interested in any of these, please let me know and I can go into more detail to point them out on each opaque service.
Easyclicktravel and Hotwire are two deep discount services. Hotwire is a service that offers a set of listings for your dates that show rate, amenities, zone (general location the hotel could be in) and star rating. It does not tell you the hotel until after purchase and, at that time, there%26#39;s no refunds and one cannot change the reservation at all. That%26#39;s what allows the service to offer some pretty deep discounts on hotels. Easyclicktravel.com offers ';off-the-record'; listings, as well, although in the majority of cases, these are refundable (you have to check the fine print with each.)
The W City Center is probably Chicago%26#39;s biggest ';love it or hate it'; hotel. If you look up reviews, you%26#39;ll see positive reviews next to negative or very negative reviews. The hotel has a very dark style, both in terms of lighting and color, which people either find relaxing or irritating. The rooms are on the smaller side, as the hotel was previously an older property that was renovated by the W chain. However, rooms do include a DVD player and the W Bed, which is my favorite of the hotel chain beds.
The hotel lobby (';The Living Room';) turns into something of a nightclub at night, with music going - the works. It%26#39;s quite a scene. The area around the hotel is more of a business district. During the day, it%26#39;s not a far walk to the Art Institute, Millennium Park, State St. Shopping and the Sears Tower (the Sears Tower is the next block over.) Michigan Ave. shopping and the Museum Campus are further out, but still walkable on a nice day. However, the problem around the area is at night: when the business day is over and the workers head home, this area gets quite quiet.
If the Hotwire listing is in fact the W, it would be quite a big discount over the regular rate. However, I would definitely read the reviews first. If you look up the W City Center on tripadvisor and click the ';Candid user photos'; link on the W page, you%26#39;ll see several of the photos I took there.
The Whitehall has a great location just off Michigan Ave and right in the middle of the Michigan Ave. shopping area. It is an older boutique hotel that gets some very mixed reviews, although reviews have improved a bit in the past couple weeks. The location is terrific, though.
The Hilton and Towers is a very nice, very historic 4* in the South Loop area. The $149 price on easyclicktravel.com is a good price but this is definitely not a central location in the South Loop. There%26#39;s not a whole lot directly around the hotel aside from college buildings and apartments. However, if you walk about 1/3 of a mile through Grant Park, you%26#39;re at the museum campus. The Art Institute is about 1/2 mile North on Michigan Ave. This is another area where it%26#39;s going to be very quiet at night.
thanks for your responses- I did not see the hotels that you mentioned posted on easyclicktravel.com - perhaps just too late in the day and missed them? We are probably going to see art galleries mostly and the museum, and we don%26#39;t mind taking the El /trains /public transit. Is there another area to consider outside the South Loop?
Also, any hybrid vehicle rental agencies in Chicago (we%26#39;re driving around after we leave town).
Many thanks,
Mel
You%26#39;d have to score a pretty good deal to meet your budget, but I love Hotel Monaco. It is a very short distance from the El and several bus stops (we flew into Midway and took the El in - it was ok with just one bag a person but wouldn%26#39;t do it with several bags). The hotel is funky and very cool. You can have a goldfish sent to the room to keep you company. If you decide to try it, ask for a room with a window seat. It was almost the size of a single bed with great cushions and amazing views. It is also within walking distance to some shopping and restaurants (as are most hotels in the area).
wow- the hotel monaco was pretty pricey- and this is saying a lot after just returning from japan. but it looks like a nice place when we have big $$.
i%26#39;m definitely still open to hearing any other thoughts on locations that are public transit accessible though we%26#39;d prefer to stay downtown/loop area.
also, if anyone has heard of a place to rent hybrid cars (for when we leave town) we%26#39;d love to know about it.
thanks- it%26#39;s currently Very cold in SF- looking forward to some warmth in the midwest this summer....
Are you open to a b%26amp;b...really more of an apartment, actually, since they don%26#39;t serve breakfast. The Flemish House is lovely and they are showing the garden studio available for $155. It%26#39;s not downtown, but it%26#39;s in the gold coast neighborhood which is just north of downtown. A really beautiful neighborhood and a bit away from the kinda sterile michigan avenue crate %26amp; barrel and mall scene. There are fun restaurants and cool boutiques. It%26#39;s a transportation mecca, just a few blocks from the red line, which would zip you to the art institute and a block from tons of busses, which would do the same. You might appreciate getting a taste of more than ';tourist'; chicago...tho admittedly it%26#39;s farther away from the museums than other hotels.
Thanks for all of the help! I%26#39;ll be looking in to your suggestions- we still have some time yet.
Hi,
I%26#39;m going to suggest taking a look at the website:
www.biddingfortravel.com
It shows what people paid for hotel rooms using priceline.com
I believe people sometimes find a nice downtown hotel on priceline for about $125. Good luck!
T
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