Hotwire Hotel: Help - Where to stay in Chicago and still get to Arlington

[Notlost]

Traveling to Chicago Aug 25 to 29, 2 adults and 2 kids. Flying into Midway and planning to spend one day at Arlington Racetrack, and the rest of the trip visiting the Field museum, Willis Tower, Museum of Science, Art and Planetarium etc..

The question is where to stay and how to get around.

1) Rent a car, stay near Midway with free parking but lots of time sitting in traffic driving back and forth to downtown?

2) Stay downtown, forget the rental car but how to get to Arlington (safely and easily with 2 little ones)?

3) ???

Looking for hotels that are clean, with breakfast and internet , 2 1/2 to 4 stars, willing to go as high as ~$130 a night, but not if I have to add another $30 every day for parking.

Help!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Why not stay downtown and just rent a car for the day you need it (or if the day of or after arrival, rent a car for just that 24 hours period to get you from the airport to hotel, then from hotel to racetrack, then return the rental car)

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[crito]

Here are a couple of key facts.

First, on the minus side, Midway is not a nice area to stay, and you will not find really nice cheap HOTWIRE deals there (as you would in the Rosemont area around O'Hare).

Second, on the plus side, Midway to downtown is easy. You can just take the El. It would be nuts to drive, IMHO. It would be hard to get to Arlington from there, but I guess you could rent the car for just the one day for that purpose.

If it were me, I'd do a HOTWIRE search particularly in the MagMile/Streeterville area. You'd be near everything you want to see downtown, and that area also contains the Metra station -- and you could take Metra to Arlington.

[AaronJB]

If you're planning to stay a full day at Arlington and rent a car, you could stay out that way for that night as hotels would be cheaper and parking would be free at properties out that way. Additionally, there aren't many hotels downtown that offer free breakfast and it's not uncommon to not see any of them showing on HOTWIRE for downtown when searching. There is no way to search for free internet on either discount service.

If you went the route of staying downtown, the Metra trains (which are a bit more expensive than CTA, but nicer) would be easy enough to get out there - there is an Arlington Park station: http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home/maps_sc...ARLINGTNPK.html

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[Notlost]

Thanks for the great advice. Looks like car rentals from Midway are pretty cheap so I'm leaning towards renting a car for all 4 days we're in Chicago. Mostly for the flexibility, even if we don't need it everyday.

Assuming we have a car, where outside the city is the best place to get a deal on a hotel? North suburbs? Ohare? Somewhere near a Metra station would be a nice bonus if we decide to ride the train downtown and back.

Thanks again.

[thereuare]

In terms of staying outside the city, i'll defer to AaronJB (or anyone else who knows this area well and cares to comment)... i'm sure he'll reply once he sees this thread, but if he doesn't see this thread by the end of the weekend feel free to add a reply as that will put it back in the queue to be reviewed.

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

[AaronJB]

If you want to stay out by Arlington, I'd suggest staying around Schaumburg, Arlington Heights or Elk Grove Village. There are a number of properties around Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. The concern with this is that it becomes pretty far to get downtown. However, plenty of hotels and unless something's going on, very reasonable prices. I wouldn't stay around O'hare for concern of getting a hotel that charges for parking, which a number of them do in that area.

The other suburban option would be the North Burbs, which I think offers some nice sights (the Chicago Botanic Garden, which - despite the name - is in the burbs) and the Ravinia Music Festival (which attracts some big name acts throughout the entire Summer.) The train ride in is also a bit shorter from this area than from the far West burbs. There's also plenty of restaurants and shopping. Some properties in the North burbs do offer a shuttle to the nearby Metra station/s. Do note that the Metra trains do not run as often on the weekends (every 2 hours or every hour, depending), but run more often during the weekdays, including express trains during the morning and evening rush. The Metra trains (metrarail.com) are definitely a nicer ride though, and one can get weekend passes + I believe kids are free with paying adult (if I remember correctly.)

In the North Burbs, the Taste of Highland Park is on 8/26-28; that's not extensive or anything, but it's a nice gathering of some local restaurants. Link That's in the North Burbs.

Let us know which sounds more appealing, and let us know if any HOTWIRE listings sound appealing in either area when searching.

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