MissPoofy

I am in the process of relocating to the Buffalo Grove area. Another year in a transition period where I'll be renting. Of course I am bound by the terms of my current lease which will be up in late August. I am looking for advice on how to (as a last resort) look into bidding on an Extended Stay (is it Extenda Stay?) type place. Has anybody done this type of thing in the NW suburbs of Chicago with good results? I am in the pre-shopping period of my journey of finding a new place to live, and always plan for the worst and hope for the best. In other words, if my dream place is not available, do I have a decent shot at staying at an Extenda-whatever via priceline or hotwire, by only spending roughly 30 to 45 dollars a night? I do not want to spend a year "settling" for a place. If it means putting things in storage for a few weeks up to a month, staying at a hotel, and then moving into my new castle, then it's worth the month of misery for a year of happiness. Thanks for any help in advance. Also, off topic, any advice about movers, etc. would be greatly appreciated. (And yes, I will be using the magical links from this site to do my purchasing of Priceline or Hotwire deals)... If I broke the rules of going off topic, please just delete my post. I understand. Cheers and Thank you! :)

I would suggest that you leave your car at the hotel and utilize the FREE shuttle. I would make arrangements with the front desk the night before, and you'll have a reserved shuttle waiting for you at the time you request. It takes "5 minutes" (really 10 minutes in rush hour) to get to the Belmont station. Allow 20 to 25 minutes and you'll be fine. Better safe than sorry. Make sure to take their phone number so you can call them and ask for a FREE shuttle pick up. I would NEVER EVER in a million years drive into Chicago. You don't need to, and I'm sure you don't want to spend 40 dollars a day to park. Good luck, I hope you have a fabulous time. Please find a whopping 30 minutes to work out at their gym... well worth it. Good stress release. Cheers my friend. -Miss Poofy

You could really do the entire trip without even having to bother renting a car, that is, if you're flying in. You may want to look into how much it would cost for public transportation to get to your hotel. It's not TOO far from O'hare. The hotel offers complimentary shuttle service to the Belmont train station. Also the free shuttle service goes to the Yorktown shopping area which has LOTS of great restaurants (granted, most of them are chains, but this is the suburbs). If I were you, I'd try to avoid renting a car, just because traffic stinks here. Let someone else drive you around. As far as the hotel, it's definitely on the plus side of 3.5* hotels in my opinion. You'll have access to a "real" fitness center, complete with locker rooms, and all amentities that are normal for a gym. It's not like the typical fitness center in a hotel which is usually just a couple of pieces of equipment. You got this hotel for a steal at 35 a night. Congratulations!

WOW, that's a really good deal. I see there is a shuttle to O'hare. I would imagine this would be commonplace with ALL 4 star hotels in the O'hare region? With the price of the hotel being less expensive than a taxi, or sedan rental from Naperville, and an early flight, this is a great option! I'll be bidding, starting at 35 dollars.

The dates are 5-29 through 6-01. Thanks again for providing this service! I was all set to just book the hotel via their website, then figured "eh, I'll check better bidding and see if by any chance someone has stayed in the Bangor area recently" sure enough, I was in luck! I definitely owe you guys a round of drinks. Cheers!

So happy to see two 3 star hotels are now a part of the Priceline world in Bangor Maine. I was SO sick of the dumps in Bangor and in all honesty was ready to pay full price for the relatively new Courtyard Marriott. First bid: 50 dollars accepted by Sheraton Four Points. Was hoping for the Courtyard Marriott, but this will definitely do. I will release dates when I have returned. 3 days totaled $172.92 after taxes and fees. VERY HAPPY! And as always I used the PRICELINE link provided by the wonderful people at Better Bidding. Next up on Miss Poofy's summer of '09 tour... Boston, MA. then Milwuakee, WI. Future dates TBD. :)

I hate to say this but... "Welcome to Chicago". I know that Aaron and others will disagree. I would LOVE to know where you live! I moved here from Florida, and it has been nothing but misery and torture when it comes to "hospitality" in Chicago. Maybe I am just unlucky, but in all honesty, it's nice to hear of someone else having trouble. I thought I was losing my mind until last month when I was fortunate enough to vacation in Florida. Then I was reminded of the truly "first class" world. And it's not just at the 5 star resorts, but at the holes in the wall, they treat you well. Again... "welcome" to Chicago... good luck finding that here. As far as deals in downtown Chicago, I don't really know of much. I am curious as to why you will have a car in Chicago. Are you driving here? Are you renting a car from the airport (please don't)? Don't rent a car. You are here for a convention? Why can't you stay outside of the city and take the Metra in? But then again, you mention you will be traveling with children. What do you plan on doing with your children when you are at a convention? If you are flying in here, don't rent a car, you don't need it. The public transportation from Ohare and Midway are fine. And once you are in the city, you would absolutely hate having a car, it's completely worthless. You are staying at a 4+* hotel, make the concierge earn their salary. Ask them how to get from point A to B. Then ask the bum outside of the hotel for good advice (give him a dollar or two and get the RIGHT answer). You'd be surprised. Oh, I feel for you. Again, the others would disagree. But from your statements, it sounds like you come from a friendly State. Please be aware that the sales tax in Chicago is absolutely ridiculous. 12 or so percent. Unless you like paying 7 dollars for a hot dog that is ruined with pickles and tomato slices on top of it, with the ridiculous poppy seeds, it will not be worth your money to eat in the city (let the flame wars begin!)... it's just not worth it. Take care, Miss Poofy :)

Thanks! Sometimes my brain has its moments :) A cooler should only cost two or three dollars. I would personally stock it with milk and orange juice, as to avoid a 6 dollar a glass of OJ in the morning at the Hilton restaurant. Keep the beers and sodas (that's "pop" for you Chicago people) out of the cooler to save space for things that need to stay cold all the time. Fill sink at night a few minutes before you want a drink with ice and water (better overall contact to the cans or bottles) and your beverage should be chilled in less than 5 minutes. I drive the better half nuts doing things like this, but trust me, it REALLY adds up in savings... especially when it comes to milk and OJ, wine, beer, soda, etc. Happy city camping! :)

You could buy a styrofoam cooler at any drugstore or convenience store for a couple of dollars. That could save you some money, assuming the Hilton doesn't nickel and dime you and charge you for ice by the cube. :)

I've stayed at the Hyatt in Lisle on two separate occasions, both times booked via PRICELINE. The room they put me in both times did not have the standard old-school style layout of a room. This room had one bed, a tv/stand in the middle of the room, and a sofa/seating area on the other side of the tv/stand. The tv can be turned toward the bed, or toward the seating area. Perhaps the sofa folds out into a bed, but even with that scenario, I would never ever stay in that room with 3 others. To be honest, it was a bit on the small side for two. I'm probably posting this too late to help you, so I'm sorry for that. Miss Poofy

Got lucky with an on-time flight. No bad weather. The hotel is eh. For the rate, you really can't complain. Although the bathroom is disgusting and am not looking forward to a shower in it. For some added info for people who are willing to take the risk... the taxi fare from RSW (airport) was 30 dollars. A+++++ service, pleasant driver with LOADS of knowledge. Mel's Diner on the property, excellent. Other than that, not too much around as far as night life. There is a HOPS down the road. Looking forward to checking into our resort tomorrow. :) Cheers! MissPoofy

Thanks! In all likely hood, we'll be stranded at the Chicago airport for the majority of the day anyway. Glad to be of help adding another hotel to the Hotwire list. You provide a fantastic service with these boards and have saved me a TON of money over the last year. Cheers! Miss Poofy

Located within the map of the above stated neighborhood, but not near the airport at all. Oh well. La Quinta Inn Ft. Myers 4850 Cleveland Avenue, Fort Myers,FL,33907 $51 After taxes and fees: $62.95 Complimentary breakfast pool(s) laundry facilities high speed internet access I used the HOTWIRE link from Better Bidding to begin my purchase. Not being near the airport will probably work out in the long run. I'm assuming that this hotel is near stores, restaurants, etc.

$40 and $42 rejected... again. Hotwire's 2.5* is up to $51. I'm getting scared...

Yes, it starts again tomorrow (Monday). I'm not sure if we are allowed to put a link to other forums, but, you may want to do a search for lastminutetravel.com and discussion. You'll find a bunch of flyer talk people discussing it. Beware, you'll want to practice practice practice. Spend a couple of hours researching it today. They went opaque actually a week ago at the start of this hotel for $1 campaign. So yeah, they have not rewrote all of the descriptions yet, so you can really take advantage of these deals by actually knowing which hotel is which! Keep in mind that during the 15 minutes where hotels are 1 dollar, a lot of the 5* and 4* resorts magically disappear in a lot of the popular destinations. Good luck! If you want more info, just send me a private message.

Be sure to ask for a renovated room upon check in. Parking for the Bucks game last weekend, when we were there, was $15 and self parking for 24 hours for hotel guests in the same garage was $20 with in-and-out privileges. If you do leave the garage, BE SURE to let them know you will be returning. We did not get a receipt until we asked for one, and I would imagine we would've encountered problems if we hadn't done so. Enjoy! Miss Poofy

Thank you Aaron! Maybe I'll look into the downtown location if I ever venture into the city again. :) All the best, MissPoofy

You're absolutely right and their prices overall are horrible. But get in this week (as was last week) on their hotels for $1. I won a 4 night stay at the Sanibel Harbour in Fort Myers, FL. You can win up to 7 nights for $1 at what they claim are 15,000 hotels nationwide. All you need to do is book during their 15 minutes a day when hotels go on sale for $1. Cheers, Miss Poofy

It was actually pretty cool. Definitely different. And of course, as always, nice to get away from Naperville for a couple of days. If anybody cares, because I did multiple searches on the hotel's bar, Furlongs, and came up with NOTHING... It's a typical hotel sports bar with very little emphasis on sports, and NO emphasis on horse racing as the name might imply. 2 pool tables, a dartboard, a few old tvs. 2 people there on a Saturday night at 5pm. You be the judge... I got my lousy ice tea to go. Fitness center enjoyable because it overlooks the indoor pool. No free continental breakfast. All in all, a decent stay, I'd give it a 7, maybe 8. Will NEVER book via Hotwire again the next time I need to be in Buffalo Grove. Maybe this hotel would be a good destination after a day at the racetrack all liquored up and not wanting to drive (of course). But besides the racetrack, it's near nothing. And now I'm off to planning my trip to Florida.... :) Cheers, Miss Poofy

Tenerifesharon, Thank you for the heads up. The hotel listed on Hotwire is listed in the Airport area. So it should have a free shuttle, and if not, it is only a couple of miles from the hotel. I looked at the bus service and there is a bus that goes from the airport to the Tanger Shopping Outlet, which is only a couple of miles from the Sanibel Harbour which we will be staying for the majority of our time. Supposedly the hotel shuttle goes to the outlet center. If not, a taxi from there shouldn't be more than 5 dollars. I just can't justify spending 50+ dollars a day for a rental car, plus taxes, plus insurance, if we really aren't going to be driving anywhere. Plus we'll be enjoying some cocktails, so driving won't be an option anyway. Thanks again! I also tried PRICELINE this morning (yes, I used the link from Better Bidding) and $39 and $40 was rejected. Plus the 2.5* in the airport area (most likely La Quinta, is up to $50. I'll try one more time tomorrow morning on Priceline, and then I'm going to book the HOTWIRE hotel if PRICELINE rejects me again. I have a feeling that rates are only going to rise. Maybe I am wrong? Cheers, MissPoofy

I THOUGHT there was a shuttle available via the HOTWIRE details. There was not, and the shuttle is broken. All is good because the only reason I needed a shuttle was because our vehicle was broken (wouldn't go above 45mph), but it fixed itself (who knows how) and was able to drive to the Indigo and to my destination in Buffalo Grove. The hotel is not that bad. It's a dump on the outside, but rather unique on the inside. I'm still trying to figure out why in the world the theme (that is overly done) is a seaside beach theme in the middle of Illinois. Amenities according to HOTWIRE: fitness center pool restaurant business center laundry facilities golf nearby tennis nearby Cheers! MissPoofy

I started by using the PRICELINE link provided by this site. Chose 2.5* in the Ft. Myers airport area. $37 rejected. Added 2* and did not include any other areas. $38 rejected. Will try again tomorrow, and keep going up from there. I'm basing my very low bid on the fact that HOTWIRE which I used via the HOTWIRE link provided from this site has a 2.5* in the airport area for $46. If anybody knows the area well, I'd like to know if there are any liquor stores, restaurants, or bars in the area. I doubt we will be renting a vehicle. Thanks! Miss Poofy

Thank you very much! The 100% non smoking will upset "Mr. Poofy", so I may go play around with Priceline. But this is great to know as a backup. And yes, Sanibel Harbour will be the "expensive" part of the trip, even though it only cost me 4 dollars :) But we definitely want to take advantage of everything the property has to offer. I definitely do not want to arrive Monday at 11pm or later due to a blizzard in Chicago, or worse yet, the next day. And now I will use the PRICELINE link to go do some research there. As always, when I am ready to making a booking, I will use the HOTWIRE or PRICELINE link. I'll keep you posted as to what we decide to do. Cheers! MissPoofy

Thanks Aaron. I sent you a private note explaining some things and edited my previous content as to not upset the masses. To everyone else wondering, the hotel does not offer shuttle service according to hotwire. I was wrong. I must've been looking at a different hotel listing's amentities. As far as Chicago, I'm just alergic to temperatures below 20 degrees. It's hereditary and I'm waiting for stem cell research to come up with a cure to correct my condition :) I have calmed down now and come to the realization that I will be wasting 100 dollars on cabs, or a rental car. Which defeats the whole point of all of this since I only live 35-40 miles away from the Buffalo Grove destination anyway. Cheers, MissPoofy

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