Hotel for Museum of Science & Industry

We are trying to plan a trip to Chicago to go to the Museum of Science %26amp; Industry when the %26#39;Star Wars%26#39; exhibit is there (Oct 6 - Jan 5). We%26#39;d like to go either in October or November.

Need advice:

1. Should we go Sat - Tues? or Fri - Mon?

2. What would be a good hotel to stay at? We%26#39;d like to go to Shedd and possilbly Navy Pier. We%26#39;re pretty picky about hotels - but would like to stay around the $200/night range.

3. We%26#39;d need 2 rooms - one with 2 adults %26amp; one child and one with 2 adults %26amp; 2 kids.

I%26#39;m familiar with Chicago. I%26#39;ve stayed on the mile as well as at the Hyatt McCormick Place - which was nice but I can%26#39;t seem to find a good rate there!!!

Thanks!

Hotel for Museum of Science %26amp; Industry

What dates are you planning? It%26#39;s difficult to make specific recommendations on hotels without knowing dates, as hotel rates can vary sharply from day-to-day.

Hotel for Museum of Science %26amp; Industry

If you can, hit the MSI on a weekday vs a weekend. Less crowds.

Good eats near the MSI:

Medici On 57th

1327 E 57th St

(773) 667-7394

You can read reviews and do dining searches at metromix.com and chicagoreader.com

Right now we%26#39;re thinking either Oct 25 - 28 or Oct 20 - 23

Oct 20-25

American College of Chest Physicians, Chest 2007

McCormick Place

Delegates: 5,000

Oct 24-27

Worldwide Food Expo

McCormick Place

Delegates: 33,500

I think it%26#39;s tough to find reasonable hotels for these dates as it%26#39;s quite a ways in advance. Hotels may lower rates between now and then (although the later dates may be problematic due to the larger convention.)

One you may want to consider for 10/20-23 is the Hampton Inn Majestic, which is a newer (it opened early this year) boutique-style Hampton Inn in the middle of the Loop area. You would get free breakfast included here. That%26#39;s $219 per night for these dates; you may want to reserve that as a ';back-up'; for the time being and keep an eye out for better deals as the weeks go by. If you get something better, you can cancel the Hampton reservation.