Priceline Hotel: 4* Chicago North Shore (North Shore) Renaissance

[PopKart]

I am planning a trip for the first year anniversary for me and my boyfriend, the plan right now is to drive to Chicago and stay downtown for the labor day weekend there(unfortunately our anniversary is around that time. ) I am really having a lot of trouble bidding for the right hotel and I would appreciate everyone's help here :)

Budget: I hope I don't have to go over 100 per night for any 3 star hotel, or up to 120 for a 4 star hotel, both before tax. (Is it too unrealistic?)

Time: 9/4-9/6

Location: Right now I am aiming at Millennium-loop-Grant Park or River North. Since we are staying for a relatively short time, we want to avoid spending too much time on driving.

Hotel: 3 stars and up.

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I tried about 2 weeks ago and went up to $120 and did not even get a 3 star. I tried again from 3 days ago, started with $80 and still did not get anything for $120. Could someone please help me to come with a reasonable price to bid here? please please please.... I am planning the trip as a present to my bf, and if this does not work out I probably have to go with the alternative, getting him a pair of shoes, which is so much less cool...

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Happy (early) anniversary! Just to confirm, have you bid up to $120 for a 4* in both downtown zones?

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

[PopKart]

Thank you :) I guess yes, but I am new to PRICELINE, so just making sure Im not mistaken. Here is what I did:

$80, loop and river north, 4 star, rejected

$100, loop and river north and free zone 1, 4 star, rejected

$100, loop and river north and free zone 1, 3 star and 4 star, rejected

$120, loop and river north and free zone 1 and 2, 3 and 4 star, rejected.

Thank you so much for your help :)

[AaronJB]

In the meantime, a couple of alternative ideas:

1. The Hilton Indian Lakes Resort is $101 on Expedia, and coupon code RELAX10 takes

$10 off = $91. The Eaglewood Resort is $103 on Expedia and you can use the coupon, as well. Either of these would be a good quieter choice in a nice environment.

2. The North burbs would be cheaper and offer free parking. Lots of nice restaurants in the area, and some great sights nearby (the Ravinia Music Festival, which gets some big touring acts playing there - and the Chicago Botanic Garden, both of which are right near each other) I'm guessing you'd be looking at $50-60 for a 4*. You could drive downtown or take the train.

3. I'm seeing what would appear to be the Sheraton downtown for $112 on HOTWIRE, so I'm a little surprised that $120 was not accepted for a 4* in the NMA-River North area on PRICELINE. I'd think you could get a 4* bid accepted for less on PRICELINE based upon that. Keep in mind if you're driving to downtown you're looking at at least $25 a night for parking.

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

[PopKart]

Thank you so much for all the advice! :) Yeah it appears to be very odd to me as well, especially after seeing so many posts here that got 4 stars for 80 bucks. I guess I did not take into account the parking fees. Would you recommend some hotels from the North burb area too? I have never been to chicago and don't know that area very well. Thanks :)

[AaronJB]

In terms of downtown rates, they can vary significantly and even from day-to-day. While $80 may be enough for some dates, some days may require $100 or even $150. $112

Both of the resorts mentioned above are in the West burbs.

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You could try bidding for a 4* in either of the main North suburban areas - the Deerfield or North Shore zone.

HOTWIRE has one option at the 4* level in Northbrook (which would likely be either the Westin or Renaissance) for $74. I'm guessing you could possibly score a win between $45-50 (I'd be surprised if it took more than $55) for a 4* in either the North Shore or Deerfield Zone. There aren't too many possibilities - the Westin and Renaissance are the "known" 4*'s in the North Shore zone, while I believe the Hyatt Deerfield may be the possibility at the 4* level in the Deerfield zone.

The North Shore and Deerfield zones are quite nice areas - some of the hotels are isolated, but it's not a far drive to shopping and restaurants. I will say that the North Burbs do not offer nightlife like downtown does (bars, etc), but there are a lot of restaurants open. It's probably about a 45 minute drive downtown and about a 35-40 minute train ride, depending. The suburban trains do run less often on the weekend, but you can buy a weekend pass that will work for the Metra trains and is cheaper.

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You could try bidding for a 3.5* in the Skokie-Evanston-Niles zone, which is a bit closer to downtown. The 3.5* possibilities are the Hilton Orrington and the Doubletree Skokie. The Doubletree definitely does get mixed reviews on tripadvisor, but it's in a very nice area. I'm guessing a likely acceptable range for a 3.5* bid in this zone for these dates is $40-45 - I'd definitely try $40. You will face a parking charge if you were to get the Orrington, but it won't be as expensive as downtown.

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Or you could keep trying for a 4* in the River North-NMA area, as I'm really surprised you weren't getting accepted at the $90-100 mark, given the rates I'm seeing.

Please let us know if you have any questions before bidding.

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

[PopKart]

Thank you soooooo much! Those are super helpful tips! I'm so glad I found this forum and thanks again for being so patient and answering all my questions in detail :) I have a much better picture now in terms of available options. If I cannot get a good enough deal to stay downtown, I will just go for one of the hotels in the suburbs. They seem to be very nice as well :)

[AaronJB]

No problem at all - the suburbs would be a quieter option - you could go to the small, quaint town of Long Grove (with the famed Long Grove Confectionery Candy Store) in the North burbs, have a morning walking around the Chicago Botanic Gardens in the North Burbs (which is beautiful and free admission, but expensive parking) There's some nice restaurant options, too, and you could either drive or take public transit downtown. The downtown area would be great for nightlife, but the burbs would be more quiet/peaceful with easy access to downtown.

Again, definitely ask any questions about hotels or the area.

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

[PopKart]

Thanks to AaronJB and betterbidding, I got this nice hotel in the Chicago north suburb area for $52 for the first anniversary with my boyfriend. A 4* hotel for $52 per night, while Expedia still has it for $109/night, I cannot complain. Plus they offer free parking. Thank you all so much!

Bidding history:

Went up to $90 for *4 in downtown, rejected, gave up(considering there is parking fee).

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$45, 4*, North shore, rejected but was offered a free rebid(not have to change any condition) if I offer a price of 55, so I figured the deal price must be below 55.

$50, 4*, North shore and free zone1, rejected.

$52, 4*, North shore, free zone 1 and 2, accepted.

[yellowdog]

PopKart

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Great to see that you got something that works for you.

Enjoy your stay and have a nice anniversary :)

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.

[AaronJB]

Glad to hear you were able to get a great deal! :)

Some thoughts:

1. Barnaby's Pizza is directly across the street. While not the best pizza in the world, the pizza is still pretty good and it's been there for decades - it's something of an instituion. There are plenty of other pizza options further away.

2. The hotel is on Skokie Blvd. Head North on Skokie Blvd about a mile and a half and there will be a mall on the East side of the street, with stores like Petsmart and Garden Fresh Market. There is a Trader Joe's in that mall, which is a great, great place for cheap snacks/groceries.

3. When you walk out of this property and onto Skokie Blvd, walk North on Skokie Blvd. to Dundee. Then walk East on Dundee over the expressway and continue further for a brief distance. You will quickly get to a point where you will see - on the other side of the street - a large gate that says "Chicago Botanic Garden". This is the walk-in entrance. The Botanic is absolutely beautiful and quite a nice place for a stroll. There is a cafe and large building where you can take a break, as well. If you can walk over to this entrance, you'll save $20 parking (the drive-in entrance is on the other side.) There is no admission cost. I believe there is a shuttle at this property, and if so, they could probably drop you off at the garden entrance.

4. There are a lot of very nice/fancier restaurants in the area - if you want to use the money saved on hotel and parking for a nice dinner, let me know what you are looking for and I would be happy to offer suggestions.

5. Long Grove is a really quaint, historic village about 15-20 minutes away - it's a cute place to browse around. http://www.longgroveonline.com/

6. If you drive South on Skokie Valley to Tower and then East on Tower, you'll go through the pretty Skokie Lagoons and eventually reach Hibbard Road. Drive South on Hibbard until you reach Skokie Road; continue South on Skokie and you will reach Old Orchard Mall - can't miss it. This is a very nice, higher-end outdoor mall that offers a lot of Michigan Ave-ish stores.

6a. Drive North from your hotel on Skokie Blvd. to Lake Cook Road. Take Lake Cook Road West briefly and Northbrook Court is visible on the South side of the street. This is a very high-end mall that offers a lot of boutique/designer stores, and is an indoor mall.

7. Hackney's in Glenview on Harms is a local institution, as well - that's a restaurant over 70 years old that's tucked away on a residential street. You can find the Food Network "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" segment on the restaurant at this link. They have very good burgers, and are famed for their onion ring loaf (a giant loaf of onion rings stuck together.)

Please let me know if you have any questions and if you would like any other area recommendations. Have a very nice anniversary. :)