Chicago in October?

What%26#39;s Chicago like in October? Is it a good time of year to visit or whould we go somewhere else instead? We visited Boston a couple of years ago in October and had a wonderful time. This year I%26#39;d like to go to Chicago as it%26#39;s somewhere hubby has always wanted to visit. If we decide to visit, where should we be considering in terms of area in which to stay? We%26#39;d hire a car for at least some of the time and may split the trip over two bases. This is all very preliminary enquiries at the moment and the help of those who know Chicago will be much appreciated. (Let me know if you want to know about South East England!!)

Thanks

Angie

Chicago in October?

Chicago is wonderful in October. It%26#39;s not too hot, not too cold, and the Fall colors (depending on when exactly you%26#39;ll be here) should be in full swing or at least getting started.

Chicago hotel rates can vary sharply from day-to-day, and where to stay depends on budget and dates of travel. Most tourists do stay in the Michigan Ave. area downtown, which is just to the North of the river. However, staying in the Loop (downtown South of the river) is also fine - that area lacks nightlife, but is closer to museums.)

If you want to spend some time right outside the city, the North suburbs are a very nice place to stay - these are upscale suburbs with nice shopping areas and pleasant downtowns. The Chicago Botanic Gardens (chicagobotanic.org) is also in the North suburbs, and would be a very pleasant place for a stroll in October.

Further out, you could head up to Lake Geneva, which is in Wisconsin.

If you let me know which dates you are considering and budget, I%26#39;d be happy to suggest some hotel options.

Chicago in October?

Thanks. We%26#39;ll be travelling in the fortnight commencing Saturday 6th October. We%26#39;d spend around 拢100- 拢150 a night, which at current exchange rates looks like something around $200-$300. That sounds a lot in dollars, so maybe I%26#39;ve go that wrong. A decent 3 or 4 star hotel is our preference, not too small and not too large! We like to be within walking distance of as much as possible, so city centre (is that what%26#39;s meant by downtown?) is fine.

There%26#39;s a large church at/called Willow Creek, which we%26#39;d quite like to visit. I think they have lots going on on a Saturday. Any idea how far out of town it is?

Thanks for your input.

Angie

Willow creek is in South Barrington.

Depending on when you go it could take more or less time from the city. You will need a car to get there.

On Sunday morning it will take about an hour. Maybe 1.5 hours to get there.

On weekdays/rush hours. I would give myself 2 hours to get there.

It really is a very crazy big church.

But at Christmas and Easter they do lovely performances. With choirs and plays, etc...

%26lt;%26lt;Thanks. We%26#39;ll be travelling in the fortnight commencing Saturday 6th October. We%26#39;d spend around 拢100- 拢150 a night, which at current exchange rates looks like something around $200-$300. That sounds a lot in dollars, so maybe I%26#39;ve go that wrong. A decent 3 or 4 star hotel is our preference, not too small and not too large! We like to be within walking distance of as much as possible, so city centre (is that what%26#39;s meant by downtown?) is fine.

There%26#39;s a large church at/called Willow Creek, which we%26#39;d quite like to visit. I think they have lots going on on a Saturday. Any idea how far out of town it is?

Thanks for your input.

Angie%26gt;%26gt;

Happy to assist. :-)

The concern with the 6th and 7th of October is that the Chicago Marathon takes place during those dates and that is one of the worst/most expensive weekends for hotels downtown, given all the people coming in to participate, as well as family members/fans who want to watch the runners. Hotels for these dates are already filling up with people coming in for the event and while there are a couple *just* under $300, most hotels for this weekend are already $400+

I found a large Willow Creek church located in South Barrington, IL. That is a NW suburb located just to the Northwest of O%26#39;hare airport.

My thought is to maybe stay out in that area on Saturday the 6th and Sunday the 7th. An inexpensive option not too far from the church would be the Courtyard Marriott Schaumburg, which is currently showing an $89 rate for your dates. The Church and this particular hotel would be about 25-30 miles outside of the city.

So, while staying outside the city is often cheaper, in the case of this particular weekend, that%26#39;s especially true.

Prices for downtown Chicago hotels are expensive in general, but you will likely see some especially high rates because you are booking in advance. My suggestion is to lock in hotels for your dates now in refundable reservations (make sure to read the fine print that the reservation is refundable) in your price range. If better deals open up, you can cancel the refundable reservation and move to another hotel - but, if nothing better comes along, at least you have a place to stay.

If you wanted to move downtown after the marathon weekend, on the 8th, you do have a lot of options. There are two main areas of the downtown: the Loop and the River North/North Michigan Ave area. The River North/North Michigan Ave. area is further from museums, but has a good deal of nightlife, shopping and restaurants. The Loop area has little in the way of nightlife, some restaurants, a smaller shopping area along State St. and is closer to museums. You can easily walk (or take public transit) from one area to another.

You could potentially do something like this (trying to find the most reasonable rates that are currently showing)

10/8-14: 3* Hampton Inn Majestic ($199 hotels.com for 2 Queen beds; while you don%26#39;t need 2 queens, it%26#39;s all that%26#39;s showing as available and I figure the 2 bed room may have more space) This is a newer (it opened early this year) boutique-style Hampton Inn property located above the historic LaSalle Bank theatre. It%26#39;s also right by State St. shopping, near public transit and an easy walk to Millennium Park and the Art Institute. If there was something going on at the LaSalle Bank theatre during your stay, that would certainly be a close distance. You also get free breakfast here.

For 10/14-20, you could choose the 4* Monaco, which is right by the river for $268 a night via monacochicago.com. That is a fun boutique hotel that offers such amenities as a free wine reception for an hour at night and a goldfish that can stay with you in your room. The North Michigan Ave. shopping area is a few minutes walk NW across the river, while the Loop area is to the South.

Another option for 10/14-20 that is further North right by the center of the North Michigan Ave. shopping area would be the Talbott, which would be $246 a night via talbotthotel.com for 10/14-20. There is construction going on next to the Talbott (a condo being built), but hopefully it would be complete or nearing completion by this time. Reviews lately though have not complained about any noise and, if you%26#39;re out during the day, it wouldn%26#39;t be an issue. The Talbott is a very nice, cozy, European-style boutique located a block and a half from Michigan Ave. shopping.

You could also choose to spend a few days elsewhere. Lake Geneva is a pretty resort town with a lovely lakefront area (http://www.lakegenevariviera.com/), and you could pass by some of the outlet malls (Gurnee Mills, Vernon Hills) on the way North. You could possibly do Lake Geneva for the 6th-9th. That%26#39;s about a 100-120 minute drive North, depending on where you%26#39;re starting.

Additionally, once your trip gets closer (late August, early September), you may want to consider discount services Hotwire and Priceline. These are two deep discount, non-refundable services. However, this far out, I would go with refundable reservations.

Just tossing out ideas.

http://www.willowcreek.org/

Thanks for all the info. We could easily travel a day or two later to avoid the marathon dates. Booking a hotel on a refundable basis is a good plan- hadn%26#39;t thought of that, so thanks for the suggestion.

Angie

The beginning of October would be a great time to come...if you get close to the end it gets a bit colder and rainier...it seems like we always have cold and rain on halloween. Youw ouldn%26#39;t need to worry about snow though.

Willow Creek Church also has various branches throughout the city...if you don%26#39;t need to see the church itself but just want to take int he atmosphere you may want to consider that. They recently opened a branch in the south loop and are advertising heavily. The church is on the far fringes of the northwest suburbs and would be an absolute minimum of 45 minutes from downtown

btw...greg%26#39;s travel times would be excellent times to plan with...they may be a conservative and would factor in a bit of a buffer time of getting lost or unexpected traffic...it%26#39;s an easy drive and a straight shot