Priceline Hotel: 3* Chicago (NMA-River North) Ambassador East

[redheadj]

I've bid daily on priceline for about 4 days and have been stalking hotwire, but to no avail. I am hoping to stay in one of these two areas, and really don't care too much about the hotel level, as long as it's 3* or up. I've even dropped it to 2.5, but still no luck. I've bid up to $138. I've seen on this board people have won the 12/13 for 4* for $60, and the 15/16 for the same, but I haven't seen any luck (recently) with the 13/14. The sat/sun combo is tough. I do see that someone won it for $62, but that was a few weeks in advance. Sunday looks like the easy day - Saturday is the killer. Any advice? Thanks!

[redheadj]

I'm also considering bidding with the Monday attached (i.e. 13-16) even though I won't be there on the Monday. Has anyone done this? Does it matter? I think I might get a better rate if I attach the Monday, and end up paying less in the end. Thanks for input!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Are you driving in?

Downtown for 11/13 is extremely busy and HOTWIRE rates are significantly higher than normal.

You will almost certainly have no problem for 11/14 only, but 11/13-15 is going to be very difficult, and 11/13-16 is still going to be difficult due to the extent of the price of 11/13.

I think if you are driving in, you can find something cheap (and with free parking) outside the city and then take public transit in for the first night, then move downtown the second night. It's not optimal, but it would keep your average down.

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

[redheadj]

I know, I thought the same thing. Sat is so expensive! Eek! Thanks for the input - unfort, we're not driving and would really like to stay downtown. I might try to stay downtown and just bite the bullet. We'll see how high I have to bid. I went up to $150 and didn't win.

[redheadj]

My travel buddy has also been bidding, and today we won! For $140/day we won the 3* Ambassador East Hotel. 11/13-11/15.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

For a very difficult time period, this is a nice win; while this is not a particularly centrally located property, it is in a very nice location - it's a historic property in the Gold Coast area, just a couple of minutes walk North of the North end of NMA shopping. Decades ago, this used to be "the" property for visiting celebrities, and some suites are named for the celebs who have stayed there. The Pump Room restaurant in the hotel is fairly legendary. The area around the hotel has a good deal of restaurants and nightlife.

Additionally, there is a big Jewel a couple of blocks away on the corner of Clark/Division. Great choice for snacks/drinks. There's a subway station right there, too.

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.