Priceline Hotel: 4* Chicago (Airport OHare ORD South) Hyatt Regency

[JeanA]

I'm staying overnight with my 13-year-old daughter in Chicago on Sat. August 7th -- just realized through this board that Lollapalooza's happening then (we're not going). We have a reservation at Joe's crab and steakhouse on Sat. evening so I'd like to stay near there, but we'll have a car too and are leaving from O'Hare in the late afternoon of August 8th.

Right now I'm seeing a 4.5* in the Mag. Mile/Streeterville area for $152+ -- is that a good deal?

It seems my choices are:

(1) stay downtown, pay a fortune for parking, drive to airport

(2) stay downtown, drop off car on Sat. night when we arrive and take a cab to the airport

(3) stay near the airport, drive to and from dinner, and turn the car in when we leave on Sunday.

Much as we'd like to "do the town," we'll be there for less than 24 hours. We'd love to see the city but maybe cruising around by car on Sunday morning is a better option?

Questions:

Is downtown likely to be lively on a Saturday/Sunday in August?

How much does it cost to cab from downtown to O'Hare?

Will Lollapalooza make getting into and out of the area difficult?

If I choose to stay near the airport, does it matter if I stay South or North?

The dinner will be a splurge so if I can save $$ on lodging that would be ideal...

Any advice welcome!

Jean

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

A lot of varied thoughts:

1. Lollapalooza is very busy, but is generally contained within where it is in Grant Park. Aside from right around that area, it should not cause traffic to be significantly effected within the majority of the rest of the Loop.

2. There are a lot of people downtown on Saturday/Sunday, but parts of the Loop area (essentially South of the river) that are mainly business-oriented can be very quiet. There may be more people out and about on this particular day at times heading to the concert. Otherwise, I've stayed in the Loop on weekend mornings and there was no one around.

3. It's expensive to cab it downtown from the airport - $35-45. I'd far rather recommend driving to a nearby Metra station (metrarail.com) and taking the Metra train (which are more comfortable than CTA trains) downtown. I'd recommend the Metra trains, which are a comfortable way to get downtown.

4. If you stay by the airport, there are good options both North and South, as well as in the surrounding North burbs (such as Arlington Heights.)

5. If you are primarily interested in staying downtown, the 4.5* Mag Mile (fitness, business, restaurant, internet - this could be the James, Conrad or Intercontinental, but I'm guessing the IC is the most likely) for $152 would be a good deal, as these are busy dates. However....

6....If you are looking to save money, there are some really terrific options outside the city. For example, on HOTWIRE I'm seeing a 4.5* in the ORD South area w/Shuttle, Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Golf for $79, which would likely be the newer Intercontinental O'Hare. So for a similar quality hotel, staying by ORD will save nearly half.

7. You could likely fit in a couple of sights - it would depend on what you would be interested in seeing. I'd also be happy to suggest a long drive if you are looking for a sightseeing drive.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches, and let me know if you have any questions.

[JeanA]

Thanks so much Aaron, all great tips. I'm still dithering -- I don't suppose there's anything to be gained by waiting 'til the last minute?

Jean

[AaronJB]

There may or may not be; if occupancy levels come in higher than expected due to the concert, prices may rise further. However, if demand isn't as high as expected, I don't think there's a great deal of possible downside to downtown rates, given that the concert is going on. Prices are still steep downtown, but there's a few very nice areas outside the city where prices are substantially cheaper.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[JeanA]

Hi Aaron:

Thanks so much for your help. I held out until 2 days before our visit (Sat. August 7) but realized that there were really and truly no affordable deals in town. So I bid $45 for a 4-star near the airport (Hyatt Regency) and it was accepted. Good deal!

I'm amazed at how much traffic there is in Chicago!

Anyway, wanted to thank you for your encouragement and let you know about my win. I'll put it on the Priceline board too.

I did use the PRICELINE link on your site to make the bid.

Jean

[JeanA]

4* Chicago (Airport OHare ORD South)

Hyatt Regency O'Hare -- one night (8/7 - 8/8)

$45

I waited until two days before our stay to bid.

Used the PRICELINE link on this site to make the bid.

Forgive me if this is in the wrong format -- my first Priceline hotel win!

It was a nice stay but traffic in Chicago is really heavy, even on weekends!

Jean

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Very nice deal for this ORD property during a very tough date in the city due to Lollapalooza.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the site's PRICELINE link.

Hope you enjoyed your stay.

[thereuare]

While not Downtown, glad you were able to find something affordable for this stay.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Hope your stay was a good one.