Priceline Hotel: Lincoln Park??

[AHOY Matey]

I noticed that on priceline chicago there is a section for lincoln park, but on the priceline hotel list for this form there are no hotels listed for lincoln park? I am struggling to find a room anywhere in downtown chicago area for this Saturday night (6/17). I have tried River North, and the loop up to 200 bid on priceline a night with no luck. What's the story with Lincoln park? Is that a decent area and what kind of hotels might i find there?

[AaronJB]

There are VERY few hotels in the Lincoln Park zone, and no hotels have been reported to the board. When Lincoln Park hotels show up on HOTWIRE, downtown hotels generally provide a better value for the money, and the lack of competition in this particular zone may make for less aggressive discounts.

There is a Days Inn in this zone, a Best Western (although the BW is almost always sold out with people who want to stay by Wrigley in the Summer) and about 4-5 independent properties. Lincoln Park is a very nice area, but the hotel selection there is limited (at best.)

Unfortunately, I'm seeing no availability in Lincoln Park or Downtown for Sat. night. Expedia has every single hotel downtown showing as sold out, with the exception of a sky-high $789 for the Hyatt.

I would be happy to suggest alternate areas outside the city - are you driving in?

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

[AHOY Matey]

We are flying in from out of town. We are staying in the city tomorrow and Friday, but are currently homeless for saturday (the 17th) night. We currently dont have car access, but if we had to stay in an area outside the city i would consider renting a car. What area's might you recommend? We've never been to Chicago before.

[AaronJB]

Unfortunately, there are also no hotels available in the 'burbs right outside the city (Skokie, Evanston), either. There are hotels further out (Glenview, Northbrook, Deerfield.)

I do generally highly recommend staying in the North 'Burbs - there are a lot of nice restaurants and some sights (Chicago Botanic Garden and Ravinia Music Festival - the latter likely being quite insane this weekend due to a pair of sold-out Sting concerts) in the area - but without a car (or taking a cab everywhere, which adds up.) it's difficult to get around and renting a car for one night does not seem worthwhile - a car rental + hotel for the burbs would most likely be more (and possibly quite a bit more) than a hotel at O'Hare.

Unfortunately, I think the best option for one night in this situation would likely be staying by O'Hare. There is a 4.5* in the O'Hare South area on HOTWIRE for this date (7/17) for $75, which would likely be the Intercontinental O'Hare. If you are staying at the Westin for the next night, there is a 4* in Airport ORD O'Hare North showing on HOTWIRE w/Shuttle, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Golf for $75, which is either the Hilton or Westin - unfortunately, there is no way to know which the listing may be.

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

[AHOY Matey]

The entire city of Chicago was basically sold out that night (7/17), so there were not many bargains to be found. To avoid staying at an airport hotel we were lucky enough to find a cancellation at the Talbot hotel in Chicago, but we had to pay a high price ($360 plus tax and fees). But the hotel is really nice and the location was great for our plans that day and evening.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for the follow-up.