Hotwire Hotel: 4* Chicago (Magnificent Mile-Streeterville) Sheraton Chicago Hotel and

[akutak]

First time poster, though I've read the forum a lot... great stuff!

I've found a hotel in Chicago on HOTWIRE that I believe to be the Inter-Continental, [4.5*, Mag Mile, "smoke free rooms, fitness center, restaurants, business center, high-speed internet access",] for 12/30 - 1/1 at $129/night. I was curious... to those who have booked this hotel on HOTWIRE, which rooms in the hotel were you assigned? The Inter-Continental has a main building and a historic tower, standard and deluxe rooms.

I ask because the Hotel's website has standard rooms in the main building for $119, Deluxe Rooms in the main building for $139, and King rooms in the Historic Tower for $149. If the historic tower is way nicer than the main building, I'll spend the little extra at the hotel's website to guarantee that.

Any advice? Thanks in advance!

[akutak]

If it helps, I'm looking for a romantic getaway, just me and the wife for New Years... hoping to impress.

[AaronJB]

I've stayed at the Intercontinental via HOTWIRE and got a regular room (PRICELINE and HOTWIRE reservations are eligible for regular/non-upgraded rooms, although sometimes people luck out.)

The Intercontinental is a very nice property that's in a terrific location and is a nice mix of historic (and the hotel does have a pretty fascinating history) and modern touches. I've seen the historic tower rooms, and while they are a bit nicer, I don't think it's worth the upgrade.

The one upgrade that, personally, really stands out in my experience, is a view room at the Westin River North. That's a really nice hotel right on the river, and the view rooms are on the South face of the building. The room that I got - which was on a high floor - offered what I would call a "classic Chicago" view, looking South towards the Loop, but also offered a stunning view West down the river. There was not much of a view East, but the room next to mine I think probably had a very good East view, but maybe lacked much West view.

Expedia has Deluxe rooms at the Westin RN for $177 on sale, and coupon code FESTIVE10 should take $10 off.

The other view upgrade at the same price range is $169 for a Lake View room at the Blackstone Renaissance. I haven't stayed there, but it looks quite nice. The only issue with it is that it's pretty far South in the South Loop.

The non-upgraded hotel I'd suggest is the Burnham for $139 via Expedia, and then FESTIVE10 takes $10 off each night. The Burnham is in the middle of the Loop - that's a beautiful, historic boutique in the Kimpton chain. The smaller, boutique Burnham may offer more personalized service than the larger Intercontinental, which may be good for a romantic getaway.

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

[thereuare]

Let us know whatever you decide to do for this stay or if we can be of further help.

If you don't go with PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, and choose to book direct, please check our support page where we have links to most of the major hotel chains and online booking agencies (including Expedia, InterContinental, Westin, etc)

THANKS! and good luck!

[travel57]

We stayed at Intercontinental, booked through hotwire, and wouldn't go again. Very poor customer service, tiny, tiny, tiny room for 3 people. The would charge us another $50 plus tax to "upgrade" to a regular room. Bell hops watched us struggle with child and luggage, and never offered any help. Front desk cold and disinterested. My friend stayed there last year for business, and had a similar experience. Our roomed faced another grey building, that's it for view.

We just returned last night from a hotwire stay at The Wit, and it was beauiful, lovely rooms, and customer service was terrific. $94 a night, it was perfect.

[thereuare]

travel57,

Can you please follow-up your previous Hotwire hotel thread with what you did for that stay. (was that when you won the InterContinental??)

Please remember to follow-up your threads with whatever you end up doing for the stay, even if you choose to book direct, cancel your trip, etc.

Thanks.

[akutak]

Thanks for the help all!

I ended up waiting too long and missed the deal on (what I assumed was) the Inter-Continental. However, I did end up booking a hotel through Hotwire, using your links, for those dates, December 30th - January 1st:

4*, Magnificent Mile-Streeterville

Non-smoking, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Hi-Speed Internet, Business Center

...for $119/night avg. for the 2 nights, and got the Sheraton.

It was a nice hotel, with a clean and comfortable room and bathroom, and helpful, courteous staff. All in all, it was a good, sufficient hotel. I was not overly impressed, and for 4* maybe I expected too much. It was nice, but I was not blown away.

Thanks again for the help and I"ll definitely be using this site again and recommending it to friends.

Peace!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Sorry to see you missed out on the InterContinetnal, but glad you were able to pick up the Sheraton at a great rate for New Years Eve.

Thank you for sharing your results and using the HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your purchase.

Hope you enjoyed your stay and thanks for helping to spread the word about BetterBidding! :)