shelleycj

While it is tempting to not include the kids in the party count, I definitely don't want to risk the possibility of not having 2 beds. Plus-I'm always afraid karma will bite me in the butt. ;) With respect to our budget, I would ultimately like to be under $120 a night. As far as using Hotwire vs. Priceline, I'm more comfortable with using Hotwire to ensure enough sleeping space. Bottom line, I'd like to spend less than $120 a night ($85-95 in the NMA-River North area would be perfect if we could get it), include 4 in our party, and use Hotwire. Your help is very much appreciated.

Also--would it be "wrong" to just say there are 2 adults, and then request 2 double beds and "sneak" the kids in??? :P

I really don't want to risk Priceline and potentially only having one bed. We have decided, however, that we'd rather stay downtown to be closer to the things we want to do. We have a friend in Glenview that will let us park our car at her townhouse, so we won't have to worry about a parking fee in the city. While doing some online searching today, I found a $110 rate at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown-River North on lastminutetravel.com. I think that's a good deal, as the regular rate on the Marriott site is $249. What are your thoughts on that hotel?

Thanks so much for the information. In your opinion, would it be more cost-effective to stay downtown and pay for parking but not have the Metra expense, or to stay in the burbs and take the Metra to the city and not have the parking expense? If we wanted to stay somewhere with a lake view, would that be considered downtown? There are 4 of us traveling, including a 17-year old and a 13-year old, so we'd have 4 train tickets wherever we went. I mostly want convenience, but obviously price is important. I've used HOTWIRE in the past, but the bidding on PRICELINE kinda confuses me. Your help is SO appreciated, because I've been so frustrated with this whole hotel thing that I've about ready to forget Chicago and go somewhere else!

Since we will have our car, I'm thinking we will want to stay outside the city and commute to avoid parking costs and hassles downtown. I edited my initial posting, which might provide more information on our stay. As far as our budget, I'd like to keep it under $100 per night, if that would even be possible.

I am new to this and am wondering if it's too early to be looking for a hotel for a July 15 through July 19 stay. We will have a car but would like to have easy access to the Blue Line. I've been told that the Rosemont area is great, and when I search Hotwire for a Rosemont, IL hotel, the first option is a 3 1/2* hotel in the Northbrook - Glenview - Mt. Prospect area for $61 per night. Do hotels in this area have easy access to the Blue Line? I'm so confused...