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

[xlinefl]

My daughter and I will be taking the “great train trip” this Christmas holiday. We are flying from Florida and Virginia to Portland, OR, where we take an overnight Amtrak to Essex, MT for 2 nights. It’s then on by train to Chicago for the night before catching the train to New Orleans for the New Year and returning home. I believe our train arrives at Union Station in Chicago and we would like a hotel, not too far by taxi from the station and with a choice of top walking distance restaurants. We arrive late on a Monday afternoon, which being Monday will probably limit our choices for dinner. Our plan for the day will be to visit the Science Museum and sample Chicago cuisine before boarding the train at 8PM. My question - I will be searching hotels on PRICELINE and wonder what PRICELINE areas I should be bidding on. Any advice?

[AaronJB]

Good morning. :)

A few notes:

First, sounds like an incredible trip.

What are the dates of your Chicago stay?

Union Station is in the West Loop; the Loop is primarily a business district (especially the West Loop) and later at night, that area gets very quiet. The better area for restaurants would be in the River North-NMA area, which is just on the other side of the river. If you stayed at the far North end of the River North-NMA area, a cab to Union would still only be about $8-10. Union Station is a very nice place to wait - I'd say get there about 30-45 minutes before your departure, and there are newsstands and some restaurants in the station although hours vary. One recommendation re: Amtrak - load up before getting on the train - definitely get snacks and drinks before boarding. While there is the dining car, it's nice to have options easily available for a quick bite during the journey.

Let us know the date/s of travel and then we would be happy to offer further suggestions regarding bidding.

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

[xlinefl]

Thanks. Will aim for NMA area. We arrive 12/27, around 4PM. Although we have sleeping compartments on train, we will want shower first thing. However, hopefully we will find a good wine shop near whatever 4* hotel the gods at Priceline send us to before our real dinner and real bed. I am an obsessive researcher, but welcome meal suggestions, having only been to Chicago once before 30 or more years ago, and then only for a day. Next morning, a Tuesday, we will be looking for a brunch type meal, before checking out of hotel and heading for science museum. After museum we would like to sample some Chicago pizza before retrieving our luggage (which will have wine and snacks for train), and heading for Union Station. Meals (can only imagine) are included in our Amtrak ticket, so we will have "dinner" on board. With 3 days in New Orleans, we'd better watch what we eat in Chicago. Do not want to have to buy second seat on plane ride home from New Orleans.

[AaronJB]

There are some higher-end wine stores, but there's also a Trader Joes in the downtown area. If you have not been to a Trader Joe's, it's a fun chain of small natural food stores that has really (really) good prices. TJ's would be a good place for additional snacks for the train. Their products are largely their house brand, but they're quite tasty. Trader Joes is famed for having really inexpensive wines - and a wide variety - in the single digit price range. and in some cases as low as $2.99/$3.99. Yet, these wines have gotten good reviews. They also have higher-end wines that are still pretty reasonable. The House of Glunz (http://thehouseofglunz.com/) is Chicago's oldest wine shop in the Gold Coast area. There's also quite a few other wine store options, as well as a nice wine section at the Whole Foods downtown. Bin 36 is a wine bar next to the House of Blues by the river, and that's a fine place that is focused on educating about wine; they also sell wines, there. I wouldn't eat there, but it's a nice place to stop for wine.

Bin 36 store: "THE MARKET - In the Market, guests can purchase bottles of wine from our selection of 50 glass pours, as well as a variety of wine accessories, stylish house wares, BIN 36 exclusive-blend coffees, freshly cut flowers and more. In the evenings, interactive offerings might include a corkscrew or decanting demonstration, wine comparisons or a tasting that breaks down the flavor components of a wine varietal.

Good to hear that you are in a sleeping car on the train. Coach is a little tough, especially for more than one night.

The period between Christmas and around NYE is not a busy one in Chicago.

A couple of recommendations:

On HOTWIRE...

There is a 4.5* in the Mag Mile/Streeterville area w/fitness, business, restaurant, internet, smoke-free for $109 (the price you see may vary.) This is possibly the Intercontinental, which is a very historic property right on Michigan Ave. The property has a fascinating history, but modern touches and a great location right on North Michigan Ave.

Thru PRICELINE...

If you are flexible with which property you may end up with, you could probably get a 4* in the NMA-River North area for these dates for around $65-70. I'd start bidding for a 4* NMA-River North at $65.

In terms of restaurant recommendations, let me know what types of food you would be interested in and I would be happy to offer suggestions. One note regarding pizza is that I wouldn't go with Uno's or Due's; I would instead suggest Lou Malnati's or Giordanos.

If you mean the Museum of Science and Industry, I will note that that museum is a good trek South of the city; relatively easy to get to, but it takes some time.

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

[xlinefl]

Started 4* NMA-River North at $40 a few days ago increasing by $1 each time. At $45 PRICELINE offered room for $60, which I took. Not entirely pleased with Felix given reviews. Bad news is we are arriving for night as break in Amtrak train trip from Montana on the way to New Orleans and will have had a roomette. Would have liked a room bigger than our train compartment. Good news is some reviews said they had great shower, which will be great improvement over Amtrak shower. Given some of the fabulous deals I've had with PRICELINE, I'm not too upset. Hotel website price for that date $116

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and glad you find some aspects of this property will work for your needs.

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

Enjoy your stay.