Priceline Hotel: 3* Chicago (Greater Chicago) Holiday Inn Downtown

[Frogger85]

A late post... but since I have not really seen this hotel posted.

I was looking for downtown but could have stayed in the suburbs so I was bidding low.

This was a very busy weekend in downtown Chicago, so I thought I would not get

anything..it was a tough bid. I was not going to go lower than a 3 star hotel.

Anyway...I started with the 4 stars/NMA River North with a bid of $41..shot down pretty fast...added the 3.5*'s with

Mil/Loop/GP at $48...again pretty fast rejection...added Franklin Park (nothing higher than 2 * there) went to $51..

no luck but the no took a little longer...tried Lincoln Park upped it to $55...another long rejection...

Since the rejections were taking longer I thought I might be getting closer so I kept going... though I know $55 can

get you a pretty nice hotel in the suburbs. Back to the bidding.

Went to $57 plus Evanston zone..it took like 2 minutes to get a no...Next time I dropped to 3* and only went up to

$58...long wait then got the offer pending page/check your account page..still no...went to the Midway Airport North

Zone (only 1 star hotels) $61 offer...got the check your page again..no...tried Greater Chicago Zone $63...check

your page/no dice...So I was down to my last bid I went $65 with the addition of the Hyde Park zone...This time

I got the check you page after 20 minutes. So I walked away and check around 30 minutes later...Bid of $65 accepted

by Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites Downtown Chicago.

Sorry for the long description but this was a strange bid. Since I've already gone...thoughts on the hotel.

First, this is not the Holiday Inn on the River Bend. This Holiday Inn is by the Willis/Sears Tower.

This hotel is pretty much 3 stars:

Pros:

Very good staff (the hotel was really busy) polite, explained stuff without having to be asked (example: that

if you used the self-park lot below the hotel it would cost you $17 for 24hrs instead of the $30 Valet that is only

good till 4pm the next day). While I was checking in a group of tourists (from China I think) seemed very confused about

incidental deposits. The staff stayed polite and kept going over it with them. (this was like 10 minutes during a

very busy time). Prior to going I looked up this hotel on Trip Advisor and the staff got high praise in the reviews and

I saw nothing that would disagree with that.

The rooms are very large, the bed really good (a bit of a surprise), HDTV, nice desk/work area, and very clean.

The Pizza Restaurant (Aurelio's) is inside the hotel. I got a carry out pizza. Pizza was good..price was reasonable.

Parking: As I wrote above...$17 for 24hrs is a good deal for Chicago.

Cons:

The hotel is showing age, feels like the early 90's at best. Like I said the hotel is well maintained but the decor

is really outdated.

The bathrooms are strange. While the have nice towels soaps ect.. it's like a locker room. The divide between

the sink/toilet and the shower is the shower curtain. They share the same floor. I have never seen anything

like it in a hotel. Like I said it's like a locker room. Might have been a good idea in the 80's or something but

most people will really dislike it.

I'm going to put location in the cons because I think most people will want to be closer to stuff. This is not

were the action is. The Willis/Sears Tower is right there but Millenium Park is a good 30 minute walk. A good grasp of

Chicago Public Transportation would help if you stay here and don't want to walk far. This hotel is at the very edge

of the loop.

All and all a solid hotel..you could do worse..I would think you might be able to win with $45 this time of year.

Based on the Holiday Inn Website this room would have been $159 on the night I stayed. So it was

a good deal using the PRICELINE link.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Glad your stay worked out okay and thank you for providing your bidding history. Can you confirm the zone under your account information? This property has been reported in the Greater Downtown zone previously.

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

[Frogger85]

Congrats on your success. :)

Glad your stay worked out okay and thank you for providing your bidding history. Can you confirm the zone under your account information? This property has been reported in the Greater Downtown zone previously.

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

My account says Greater Chicago now, but I know that at the time of the win it was Mil/Loop/GP because I

was surprised I won a hotel in that zone. I thought it would be Evanston. Priceline must be able to go in a change/update

even old wins. I know it was Mil/Loop/GP because I have never won in Greater Chicago. I took a look at the

Greater Chicago Zone map and it's right on the edge now.

Also the Greater Chicago Zone now has a 4 Star option on the name you own price,

The Hyatt Regency McCormick Place is in the Greater Chicago Zone now. Guess that's takes

the guess work out off trying to get that one. On the flip side, makes using Greater Chicago as a rebid for 4 stars

a risk if you don't want the Hyatt Regency McP. I see there's a couple new wins for this one, the person that detailed

their bidding added the Greater Chicago Zone after the Loop and NMA Zones. Since the 4 star was already used they

would have been bidding on the Hyatt, might not have know it.

You might start seeing more Hyatt wins. Same may go for the Holiday Inn.

Both are still listed as Loop/Grant Park on Priceline's retail side.

Regards

[Frogger85]

Self-Edit...I see the Hyatt Regency is listed under Greater Chicago on wins, looks like people must first

post it as Loop/Grant Park but then it gets corrected.

Anyway, I guess I was like most people and assumed the Hyatt was in the Loop.

But the Holiday Inn was listed in the Loop at the time of my win.

Thanks