Abba

I've been trying to reserve two 4* rooms for three nights (Sept. 28 - Oct. 1) in the Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park area. I have used the free rebid strategy (using Skokie-Evanston-Niles and Midway as my free rebid zones) and have so far bid up to $125. I've been hesitant to add the "North Michigan Ave./River North" zone because we're reserving for four people and planning to use a roll-away or air mattress on the floor for the fifth, and I'm afraid the likelihood of getting a smaller room might be higher in the "North Michigan Ave./River North" zone. Should I just take my chances on "North Michigan Ave./River North"? Any other tips? We have a decent cancellable backup plan in Evanston, but we were hoping to get a deal on something downtown.

The Swissotel is lovely. I was maid-of-honor for a friend who booked via Hotwire for the night before her wedding and the night of her wedding. The room was quite large, by Chicago standards, and the staff was very accomodating to having 3 people in a room booked for two, and even went out of their way to provide treats for the newlyweds the next night. The hotel is a bit hard to get to by car ... we found driving North on Michigan Ave. was the best way to approach it. (but a breeze on foot) Parking was a bit pricey, but overall we had no complaints.