Citygal

You were CORRECT again!!! (You've never been wrong in your guesses for me!) Funny thing is that the deal was "HOT" as they said...and it kept jumping up in price. They ended up paying $113 plus the $13 per night resort fee but they are THRILLED with having a chance to stay at the Sofitel. Thank you again for your invaluable service!! Mary

Hello again!! After some delay due to work schedules, I discussed this with our friends and they would like to stick with the first option of the Hotwire 4.5 star which WAS $105 this morning with the $13 resort fee...which now looks to be $106. However, when I clicked "continue" with this choice, it said "Book now, the last person got the W. Chicago Lakeshore." I've been bragging to our friends about this amazing board and how I'd love to help them sometime when they come to Chicago and now they're excited about the Sofitel...so could I trouble you to scan and see if you still think it's the Sofitel? BLESS YOU!! FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby, Children's activities, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower. I just counted and scanned the amenities compared to your list above, and I do think they match. Is your guess still the Sofitel? YOU'RE THE BEST!! Mary

I hear 'ya. We've never stayed at that hotel and it looks glorious. I'd love to give them option B if possible. Using "PRICELINE EXPRESS Deals" I also see the following if you could indulge me with your guess. (It does say "bed choice.") Then they can choose!! 4*, Mag mile / gold coast.... $90 Business Center Restaurant Fitness Center No Smoking Rooms/Facilities Rated 8.0 out of 10 or higher. Many thanks!!

Just starting the process and see where it says "this hotel charges a resort fee of $13 per night." When did this start occurring in Chicago? Shall we look at another option and see if they don't have resort fees?

They desire a King bed and it looks like they'd like me to book for them...so I'll just do it on my end using your link above as always. Thank you so very much for your reply in such a timely fashion! Mary

Hello board! I'm helping some friends from out of state find a great hotel in downtown Chicago for their stay 4/13 - 4/16 (3 nights) and would love your assistance / recommendations / comments on a guess or any other suggestions of similarly-priced options. They would like a bed choice and free wifi, and I think I found a great deal and would love your guess as to which hotel!! I see: >> HOTWIRE -- "Hot Rate" 4.5*, $105... Magnificent Mile - Water Tower area. 95% recommend. Amazing! (4471 Trip Advisor reviews) AMENITIES: Complimentary Free Internet Amenities Boutique hotelBusiness centerChildren's activitiesFitness centerGolf nearbyPet friendlyRestaurant(s) >>>I also see a Hotwire choice for a little less money, $95, 4*, same location...but no bed choice or mention of free internet. Thank you!!! Mary

We decided to grab the 4* with a guess of "The Felix" and you were CORRECT once again!!! Thank you so very much!!! Looking forward to a windy-city holiday getaway.

What a THOROUGH reply, Aaron!! Wow!! You offered even more than I was asking --- thank you!!! If you were to choose between those properties, which appeals to you the most? We know exactly where the Felix is as we've stayed at the Godfrey a few times now and we love that neighborhood, but are completely unfamiliar with the others. Being budget minded at this time of the year, we may be leaning toward the Felix due to the price, however. :) Thank you, Mary

Hi again....we always look forward to the expertise on this board!! Planning a trip to Chicago to see the Christmas decorations for the nights of 12/15 & 12/16 and would love a guess as to these 3 RIVER NORTH hotels we see via BB Priceline.....and what your personal comments and suggestions are on what to choose!! Thank you so very much for any help you can offer! >>>>4*, RN, $52....Bed Choice, Business Center, Fitness Center, Non Smoking, Restaurant >>>>3.5*, RN, $64....Free Internet, Business Center, Fitness Center, Non Smoking, Restaurant, Swimming Pool >>>>3*, RN, $59....Business Center, Non Smoking, Restaurant Regards, Mary K.

THANK YOU for your guidance again!! You were correct on your guess of the GODFREY!! We used your PRICELINE EXPRESS link and booked it just now. We've stayed there a few times before and really like it a lot. Happy Holidays!! Mary

Hello again....we're thinking of buzzing to Chicago for a night this week, (12/21, for two people), and I see 3 great River North options that I'd love help identifying! Looking at Hotwire on this site...and see: $58, 4-star, River North: Free Internet, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower $60, 4-star, River North: Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower $68, 4.5-star, River North: Free Internet, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Internet access, Spa services I hope I included everything you need!! As always, thank you for your AMAZING service!! Mary

YAHOO!!! Many thanks for all of your time and help with this reservation!! After another consult with hubby, we decided to shorten our stay by one night and save a little since the room rates were more than we anticipated. I re-read your comments above and compared the amenities of a 4.5 River North property that popped up for our revised two-night stay, to the hotel list on this site. (HOTWIRE) I was LUCKY enough to score "The Godfrey" which was actually my guess! :) Woo hoo!! I'm very pleased! We stayed there shortly after they opened and enjoyed it very much! Our rate was $183 for the following amenities: FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Internet access, Spa services, for the nights of 8/11 and 8/12. **On a side note, when I made a decision to choose that $183 option and clicked on "continue," it took me to the reservation page, and a pop-up said, "The last guest got The Godfrey" -- which further excited me that my guess was correct. Thank you again for so much guidance with this trip -- you provide a unique and valuable service!! Mary

I've been tossing these options around all day and found the Trip Advisor reviews for the "Dana" to contain quite a few people speaking of hiccups with keys, elevators, staff, and temperature of the room. I don't want to monopolize your time, but I am feeling so undecided on these choices. Would it be too much trouble for you to see if there's anything new this evening? I see 5 possibilities through Hotwire Easy, when I choose 4 or 4.5 star, but gosh if that Hyatt Place (3*) popped back up, we'd grab it. Some of these 5 may be ones that showed up this morning, but honestly all of the amenities listed from a comparison standpoint, make my head spin! You can probably glimpse at it and immediately differentiate what's what!! I'd rather not choose the Allerton, and the Knickerbocker seems just so-so to us. Guess we've been spoiled with the above mentioned hotels that we have already tried!! Tonight I see in our price range: $166, 4*, MP, FULL AMENITIES: Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Spa services, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower $168, 4*, WT, FULL AMENITIES: Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower $168, 4*, WT, FULL AMENITIES: Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower $172, 4*, RN, FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower $181, 4*, RN, FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower If this request is getting too involved, I completely understand and we will just figure something out on our own! You have already been so helpful!! Thank you, Mary

Back at this project this morning. Had to unexpectedly leave yesterday before we could make a decision. Of course, with my luck, I no longer see what you believe is the IC for $161. :( We also decided the inconvenience is not worth what was yesterday's savings of $38, so we will stay put for all 3 nights (8/11, 12, & 13). After reading some reviews about the Hyatt Place (River North on Illinois?), if that hotel could possibly be recognized among the choices, I think it would suit us well. I've mostly been using your Hotwire easy view link because it's so easy to navigate. Even though it's only a 3-star property, it looks lovely and the first dozen reviews I read are good. Could you make a guess for me on that one? IF you see another listing that is amazing, please let me know! (trying to cap at $180, but a tad flexible.) Thank you so very much! I hope this paragraph includes everything you need from me.

It actually looks fairly easy to identify that listing is the IC at 4.5 stars, RN / WT, because the other listings I'm seeing at 4.5 stars seems to say "Boutique hotel" and IC is certainly not a boutique hotel, correct? If I did everything correctly, it appears we would save $38 by splitting the reservation.

You are so kind to offer all that feedback! Hmmm...what to do, what to do! I was really hoping to see the James or Godfrey pop up as a likely guess for those prices, but the IC looks like a nice choice. (I talked to my husband and he's not real keen on switching hotels, if that should be the end result of splitting the request, but I would be curious to know how much we could save. I may play with it!!) So from the possibilities above, I think we may choose what's likely the "Intercontinental." We toured it a few years ago and it's certainly HUGE with a fabulous location. I just read some great reviews on it as well. Much appreciation!!

Done. (closed that previous thread -- my error in leaving it open) For the stay next week, we are looking to cap at $179 unless you tell me there's a fabulous-to-die-for hotel offered in the $180's. ;) Ideally something wonderful for less than $179 would make our wallets happy!! We love "River North" for location because there's a lot to walk to / from at night safely, but there are some hotels on Wacker near Michigan we have thoroughly enjoyed as well, and that's also a great location. I can't think of all the names...a Hyatt, Wyndham (old 71), and a ?Hilton...? (near Wyndham on Wacker). We LOVE the Residence Inn on Dearborn (breakfast is a perk), and have stayed at the Godfrey, which was lovely. Not interested in the Doubletree (River North). We thought that was a tired property. We're fairly open and would love suggestions! I have looked briefly at the amenity sets and tried to compare to the Hotwire and Priceline hotel lists, but it makes me dizzy! LOL! Yes, I always use your embedded links when I book or hunt around. :) Thank you!

Ahhh...see that I didn't "close this thread" as you prefer. So sorry. In the end, we decided to stay put and bite the bullet for the extra $$ since my friend I stayed with was recovering from knee surgery and wasn't looking forward to the extra hassle of switching hotels. As always, the hunt / investigative work is made so much easier with the help of this panel and you are much appreciated!!

As always, I appreciate the wise guesses of this panel. :) Looking for a 4 or 4.5 star hotel for 3 nights (8/11, 12, & 13). River North is great, but also Wacker near Michigan is wonderful! This is what I see if you could give me a guess as to which hotels they are! These were Hotwire Easy View listings: $168 / 4* - Magnificent Mile / WT: FULL AMENITIES: Boutique hotel, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower. $179 / 4.5 * - Downtown RN: FULL AMENITIES: Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access. $168 / 4* - Magnificent Mile / WT: FULL AMENITIES: Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower (***Looks very similar to the other $168 / 4* above, except amenities differ a little.) $153 / 4* - Navy Pier-Millennium Park: FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower LASTLY -- I see two, 3* properties "River North" that include breakfast that I'm curious to know if either could be a Residence Inn or SpringHill. Here is their info. $167, 3*, RN -- FULL AMENITIES: Free breakfast, Free Internet, Business center, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower $177, 3*, RN -- FULL AMENITIES: Free breakfast, Free Internet, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Business center, Internet access Many thanks for any guesses you can offer!! :) I hope I haven't forgotten to give you any important info! Mary

Much appreciated, "thereyouare and AaronJB!" With regard to the Marriott we chose for our first night, it's the one on Dearborn. We've stayed there before as a group, and loved it. Great location, rooms are lovely, and the breakfast is a definite perk! Expensive, but splitting it. SO, thanks for mentioning what you believe to be those secret hotels to be! Between Hotel Chicago, Hotel Palomar, Intercontinental and that particular Hyatt, which do you think would be the best experience? Going for location, up-to-date rooms, & spaciousness. My knee-jerk is to concentrate on the Hotel Chicago just going by past comments from this board, location, and price point, but I would love to hear your recommendation(s)!! Regards, Mary

We are holding rooms at the Residence Inn for the first night for the entire group -- going with a sure thing! The breakfast is a plus, and everyone can use their Marriott points. For the second night, (6/19), my friend and I are going to switch hotels! (The others head home.) So, it's just the two of us, and we would desire something 4-star, close to the River. North of the River is good, but a location just south of it would be okay too -- however, we want to avoid the business district. Looking for something that might be in the price point of $150 - $170? (Ballpark) I see a 4.5 star for $165-ish on Hotwire that says 100% satisfaction! Wow! Would you have time to peruse the choices and give a couple of guesses for us? Much gratitude! Mary

We would hope to keep it maxed at $200 / night but it's looking more and more like we will have to book the regular way because a bunch of the gals don't want to risk getting double beds and putting two of us in one of those. :( I think I will close this thread for now and call it futile! I will look forward to the usual trip with just hubby and myself when we LOVE to find a bargain in Chicago, and will perhaps call on the board's expertise at that time. Thank you for everyone's efforts. It's just getting too complicated!

Back to this thread after a bit of down-time with pneumonia. First of all, I always appreciate anyone's help and advice and would never "waste anyone's time." My original search was for a core group of us ladies with tickets to a Chicago event.....which quickly grew to include 2 more ladies, so we ordered more tickets to the event, and now need an additional hotel room which needs to be for a 1-night stay instead of a 2-night stay like the other room. So this is what we'd like: (Via Hot.wire search, 4 - star MMRN or MMWT) Room 1: Searching for "4" people in order to get 2 beds, hopefully not double beds. (Dates of 6/18 & 6/19 - 2 night's stay) Room 2: Searching for "4" people in order to get 2 beds, hopefully not double beds. (Dates of 6/18 - 1 night's stay) I worry that if I book one room and then go back to grab another one for the second group of ladies, the booked option may not pop up and then we wouldn't all get the same deal at the same hotel? I see what looks to be a good option at MMRN, rated 90% satisfied for $166, and that would fit our budget well. Thoughts? Opinions? Hope I'm not forgetting anything -- TIA, Mary

I'm very intrigued with "The James" at that rate and just wrote to the other girls to see what they think. Here's the deal: We are going as a group of 5 gals...and desire 2 rooms, but we need two beds in each room. Do you see if there's a bed choice on that hotel?

Thanks much! You're always so helpful. I definitely don't want the office-heavy area...so thanks for that tip. I will check on the "James" amenities, location, etc..., as I'm not familiar, but right now I'm seeing on Hotwire, $158 MMN, Water Tower a 3.5 star with free breakfast, free internet, and a business center. Do you have a guess on that one? Otherwise I see a few around $160 - $170ish that look interesting. We can go with River North so as to avoid the possibility of something in the business district, unless you see something that looks pretty solid as a good guess on the south side of the river. We have been lucky to get the Renaissance, and the Hyatt before...loved them both! Much appreciated!!