Priceline Hotel: Need advice - Dwtn Chicago 6/28-7/2

[SDmamma]

Hi - I'm a newbie and very happy to find this website! I am bringing a group of high school girl scouts to Chicago for a trip the end of June. We want to stay on or VERY near Michigan Ave. We will have from 5-7 people. We'll be coming in on the Amtrak and so we would like to be in the main area for walking around and accessing public transport.

Is it too early to book our rooms? I am hoping for something around $25-30 per person per night. That would be around $150 for a room that would sleep 6. Am I way out of line?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

You won't be able to use PRICELINE or HOTWIRE for a room to accommodate 6 people... most 'standard' hotel rooms only accommodate up to quad occupancy (and some only double occupancy)

PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy so i don't that will necessarily be a good option for you for this trip. HOTWIRE does allow you to search for up to quad occupancy per room, but unfortunately searching 2rooms/2adults/4children only shows hotels which are quite a bit higher than your budget (start at ~$150/nite per room)

AaronJB is local to this area and may be able to suggest a deal on an oversized room thru a direct purchase or some other option(s)... i'm sure he'll add a reply once he see this thread. However, the 'deal' may differ depending upon if you're 5, 6, 7, or 8 people... when will your head count be firm?

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

[AaronJB]

This is generally at least a somewhat busy time for Chicago, due to the Taste of Chicago and just general Summer crowds (as well as a convention or two at times.)

In terms of everyone in one room, I think that will likely be problematic in that there are only a very few hotels in the city that will allow 6 in a room; I'd say 95% (and probably more than that) generally have a max occupancy of around 4. Additionally, HOTWIRE only allows one to search for/indicate four in a room. If you reach 7 people, then you really have to look at two rooms.

$150 would likely be no problem in the suburbs, but the issue becomes trying to get everyone there and back, which is time and train fare (and more than that, many of the suburban hotels are hard to get to if you're not driving.)

Just to confirm, are you interested in one or two rooms?

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

[SDmamma]

Hi - Thanks for the replies. We will have 5 people. 2 adults and 3 teenagers. We'd like to be in one room and within walking distance of John Hancock, Water tower, etc.

[AaronJB]

Unfortunately, PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy/1 bed and HOTWIRE only guarantees 4 to a room. The other issue is that a lot of properties in Chicago have a max occupancy of 4.

In terms of regular rate options downtown, the cheapest suite option that I see on Expedia is $269 for the Omni for a Premium Suite. That is superbly located right in the middle of the Michigan Ave. shopping area, but unfortunately, expensive.

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

[SDmamma]

Hello - I have a total of 7 people coming to Chicago June 28- July2. We will be arriving by Amtrak. I would like a hotel in the 'downtown' or loop area, something accessible to public transportation and/or walking distance.

Does Priceline only guarantee rooms that sleep 2? We would have 3 in one room and 4 in another ... should I not attempt on Priceline?

[AaronJB]

PRICELINE only guarantees 1 bed/double occupancy - if you need more than one bed (and that can be 1 + sofa or two beds), then I would suggest HOTWIRE, where you can indiciate the amount of people in the party. How many adults/children in the group of 7?

Are there any HOTWIRE listings of interest when searching for these dates?

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