TorontoGal2012

Update: I just booked my backup hotel - Di Rienzo Pantheon Palace for $200 CAD per night. Only 3* rating, but looks lovely and is in area 6.

Please help with when to start bidding for the best deals? And what hotels to expect to win at around what cost? I’ve never booked through Priceline for another country before, wondering how the star rating compares to Canada/US? Should I lower my * rating? Also, any tips on which hotel to book as a back up with full cancellation privileges? Thanks as always, haven’t had much opportunity to travel lately but I always recommend your great site to friends.

Nice score! I'm jealous ;). I'm traveling at about the same time and got River North for $126/night from my winning Priceline bid. Enjoy!

I ended up going with the NMA-North River zone as thereuare suggested. I was offered $154/night for the Millenium Park Loop zone, but rejected it. My successful bid was $126/night (with $10/night in rewards - so this bid is equivalent to $136 according to Priceline) and I won the Mile North Hotel (formerly Affinia). Using the rewards was a bit frustrating, as I got a lot of errors that required me to restart my browser several times. However, I got a few free rebids out of it, so it wasn't all bad ;) Overall, very happy with my win - it's about a 40% discount, which I think is great for a summer stay downtown in a 4*. (I'll start a new post that details the win including the change of zone.) Thanks everyone for your help - I could not have won such a deal without you! :)

Hi, I'm considering adding a bid on NMA-North River Zone if Millenium Park is rejected, as suggested by thereuare, but I'm wondering how this location compares? It seems like it wouldn't be ideal to end up in the northernmost section. I've never been to Chicago, so I'm open to any comments. I'm mostly interested in art and architecture for this trip. Thanks again, T

Thanks so much for your help. So as an initial exercise, I bid as mentioned (4* up to $95) - using the PRICELINE link provided - but without success. I also closed the window and restarted the bidding process for 3 1/2* up to $85 (using the 4 rebid zones available), again without success. Now that I've got the hang of it, I'll try again tomorrow and provide an update. Happy Thursday, T

First, I want to thank the site admins and users for all your great info. I'm a newbie and your posts have been such a great help. I'd like to confirm what I learned before I put in my bid (it's a 4 night vacation so it's important I get this right!): To bid on a 4* hotel in Chicago and keep it under $100 per night, I will (currently) have 6 rebids available. So my 1st bid will be for a 4* in Millenium Park, Look & Grant Park (where I WANT to stay), bidding $65, and if this bid fails make the following additional bids until (hopefully) I win a bid: 2nd bid - add Franklin Park and up bid to $70 3rd bid - add Hyde Park and up bid to $75 4th bid - add Lincoln Park and up bid to $80 5th bid - add Midway Airport Area and up bid to $85 6th bid - add Midway Airport North and up bid to $90 final available bid - add Skokie Area and up bid to $95 Thanks again and in advance for your comments, TorontoGal2012