Priceline Hotel: 4* Chicago (NMA-River North) Hotel Sax

[mfritz]

Looking at a couple hotels that appear on Hotwire for one night, July 7. Looks like a 4* Loop property shows up to be The Wit. Another Mag Mile is a 3.5* that appears to be either the Doubletree or Wyndham. The other property I may be interested in is a 3* Mag Mile which I think could be the Inn of Chicago.

While I visit Chicago on a regular basis, I've not stayed at any of these hotels and was wondering your opinion. All are located in areas that I am just fine staying in. A few weeks ago when I went to Indian Garden on Ontario and happened to walk past the Inn of Chicago. Seemed like it may be an ok property. Was on State by The Wit and thought it looked like an interesting place to stay as well.

Care to share any thoughts about these 4 properties? Would really appreciate it!

[thereuare]

What are the prices of each... as that may also play a factor as to which one of the above is the best value.

I'll let AaronJB answer regarding which hotel above is best based upon any of these which he is familiar with, but if he doesn't see/answer this thread after 24 hours feel free to add a reply to put it back in the queue.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[AaronJB]

The Inn of Chicago is a former Best Western in an old building that was renovated. The property is well-located, but the reviews still continue to be so-so.

The Doubletree (and I would guess that the Doubletree is most likely, as the Wyndham has not been reported as a win in a while) is a very nice Doubletree property (previously a Holiday Inn, then an indie property, then redone as a Doubletree last year) located near the lake. Some rooms at the Doubletree have decent views of the surrounding area. If this was the Wyndham, I've had customer service issues with that hotel, but I think the property otherwise (in terms of the rooms, public areas, location, etc.) is one of my favorites.

Finally, the Wit is certainly a property that I've wanted to visit - it looks to be another successful boutique offering by the Doubletree brand, and both reviews and articles have been quite positive. The Wit location in the Loop (although North Loop, not far from the river or the River North area just over the River) is not quite as good as the Doubletree - there's not going to be a lot going on in this area later in the evening. During the day it's just fine, though, and there are CTA "L" and bus stops right nearby.

I'm quite surprised that the Wit is $99 regular rate, because rates at comparable properties for these dates are higher and more along the lines of average for Summer in the city. Still, while the Wit price on HOTWIRE isn't a steep discount, the rate is an excellent price for a hotel that has otherwise been considerably more expensive on many dates in the Summer, and sounds quite nice.

Out of the above options, I'd go with the Wit.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE, PRICELINE or Orbitz.com links to start your purchases and searches.

[mfritz]

Thanks Aaron.

This is a great help. I've had my eye on staying at the Wit too as it looks like a pretty cool place. The location doesn't bother me at all. I like the Wow Bao close by, and the shopping a few blocks south on State is fun too. I've been trying to visit a few restaurants in that area too and even went to a little cupcake bakery, "Sugar Bliss" in the blocks around there too. It's always fun to try new stuff in Chicago and staying in different areas pretty much forces you to do that!

I'll let you know what I end up doing.

[mfritz]

Wit rate disappeared when went to book, so ended up trying PRICELINE as all HOTWIRE rates increased across the board for this date. Went through BB link to PRICELINE and bid on 4* Michigan Avenue for $75. Was awarded Hotel Sax on first bid. Never stayed there so don't know anything about this hotel. Guess I'll find out soon enough!

[AaronJB]

Congratulations on your success. :)

This is an absolutely A+ deal for this property, which was recently taken over by the Thompson boutique chain (Roosevelt in Beverly Hills, Gild Hall and a number of others in NYC, etc). It was previously the House of Blues Hotel (the HOB is still next door.) The hotel has gained a lot of positive press - I believe it was on the Conde Nast Traveler hot List either this year or last year. There's also:

[mfritz]

Thanks Aaron! I'm glad to hear the hotel is great. I've actually eaten Bin before and really liked that, so I'm looking forward to this get away. Now to concentrate on my next visit, which I've already started a post on. Thanks for your help!