Priceline Hotel: 4* Chicago (North Michigan Ave - River North) Hotel Felix Chicago

[Maleficent]

Hi there,

Similarly to my Boston stay this will be my first time in Chicago and I'm eager to pack in as much as I can. I'd also like to possibly hit the bars at night and Aaron has suggested I stay north of the river. That's absolutely fine with me.

I'm looking for a 4* the same as Boston and my stay dates will be 12/12 - 12/14. Do you have any suggestions on what to start off on and perhaps any other areas worth bidding for? Many thanks in advance! I will of course use the Priceline/HOTWIRE links.

[thereuare]

What is your maximum bid for this leg of your trip?

Assuming it's the same/similar to your Boston trip (~$120) your budget shouldn't be an issue. However, before bidding...

HOTWIRE is currently offering a 4* hotel in the Mag Mile-Streeterville zone for just $68/nite (your price may differ by a few dollars) with Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness, Smoke Free, Hi-Speed Internet, Business. These amenities are common for the area but these match previous reports for the Hotel Felix, Hotel Palomar, and Hotel Sax... given price and these 'likely/possible' hotels, is this of interest or do you want to try bidding on PRICELINE? (if the latter, let us know your maximum bid so we don't go higher than you're willing to pay)

As well, if budget is less of a concern, i'll also point out that there are 4.5* hotels offered in the NMA zone with 95% user recommendation for $125/nite (i'm guessing the Sofitel) and a 4.5* in the MagMile zone with 100% recommendation for $106/nite (i'm guessing the Conrad Hilton or InterContinental).

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[Maleficent]

I'd like to pay a max of $80/night for the Chicago stay as it seems to be quite a bit cheaper than Boston. While a 4.5* would be lovely I will be out of the hotel for most of the day so a 4* will suffice nicely. I also don't mind bidding with Priceline, the lowest possible price means I have more to spend on shopping etc.

Should I stick to the North River zones or should the Millenium Loop be considered too? I don't mind getting the subway etc but not too sure how late they run at night etc. Any advice would be great.

[AaronJB]

Location-wise, if nightlife and being out late is a must, then I would definitely stay North of the river. Chicago is not massive and it's easily walkable, but the concern with the Millennium Park-Loop-Grant Park area is that the West Loop and South Loop can be pretty empty at night, and possible hotels in that zone (primarily the Renaissance Blackstone and Hilton Towers) can put you pretty significantly away from nightlife. The South and West Loop can also feel pretty empty after dark, especially the more business-heavy West Loop (once the offices empty out for the day, the area can also feel empty.)

Trains run at all hours (and cabs are frequent and it wouldn't be terribly far from North of the river to any particular hotel in the Loop area), but I really do recommend staying North of the river for those who plan to be out late at night - I do think it's worth a bit more to stay North of the river if one is going to be out at night than stay South for a bit cheaper and have to walk, cab or take the subway.

The Gold Coast area has a number of bars and restaurants, but I'd more highly recommend the River North area (which is sort of the SW quarter of the NMA-River North area on PRICELINE), which has a much wider variety of restaurants and plenty of nightlife. As for shopping, the primary points of interest are the Michigan Ave area and the State St area, although the Lakeview/Lincoln Park area has a lot of boutique-y thrift stores and other less chain store-y shops of interest.

As for the River North-NMA zone, I'd start with $50 and move up by $5's.

I will note that there are a couple pretty good regular rate deals for these dates although a little over what you desired to bid - the Embassy Suites Lakefront is $87 on Orbitz, and coupon code ORBITZ5 takes 5% off. That would offer a suite + free breakfast/evening reception (and a nice location.)

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

[Maleficent]

Many thanks for all your advice! While the suite was lovely and had great reviews I felt it would be a bit wasted on me.

I've just won the Hotel Felix for $62 and whilst it's a mixed bag review wise most complaints are about room size. Being from the UK I'm used to our small hotels anyway! The breakdown is as follows:

Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $62.00 (USD)

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Guests Per Room: 2

Number of Nights: 2

Room Subtotal: $124.00 (USD)

Taxes and Fees: $27.30 (USD)

Total Room Cost: $151.30 (USD)

I saw from AaronJB that there's a whole foods nearby which will be good for snacks etc. Can I use your advice some more and ask the best way to get from ORD and perhaps some nice restaurants you recommend? I'll be on my own so don't have to impress anyone, just some good pizza would be awesome! Thanks again and I also used the PRICELINE links for all rebids.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

While the reviews may be mixed, i'm sure for $62 it will likely represent a good value given the location and convenience.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board. I'll let AaronJB follow-up with transportation and restaurant suggestions since he's local to the area.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Have a great trip.

[AaronJB]

I actually think this is a pretty good location - it's not too far from Michigan Ave, it's not too far from River North and it's not too far from the Gold Coast. If it's late or particularly cold out, it's a very quick cab ride from these areas to this hotel.

In terms of ORD, the cheapest option is to take the Blue Line "L" from ORD to downtown. If you want, you can take the Blue Line to Jackson, then transfer there to the Red Line and head North on the Red Line to the Chicago stop. At that point, it's definitely not a bad walk to the hotel. Or, if it's a nice day you could take the Blue Line to Clark, then walk up Clark and that will take you through a good portion of the River North area on the way to the hotel. Or it wouldn't be a bad cab ride from the Clark Blue line station to the hotel. I definitely don't have much experience with limos, but occasionally local limo companies do pop up on local deal sites such as Groupon or Living Social. Taxi would definitely be pricey from ORD. The most reasonable option would be the Blue Line to Clark and then walking or Blue Line to Red Line transfer at Jackson, then Jackson Northbound to Chicago.

Uno's and Due's are popular pizza options, but I'm not a real fan of either (just my opinion) - I think Giordano's and Lou Malnati's are more enjoyable options (and more enjoyable experiences, in terms of atmosphere.) Quartino's is an Italian place that's close to your hotel that offers pretty good pizza, as well. Another nice pizza option nearby is La Madia.

Please let us know if you have any other city or general questions.

[Maleficent]

Thanks very much for the advice, AaronJB. Hopefully if the weather isn't too cold I'll take a walk up as I think it's a great way to explore.

Thanks again to both of you for all your advice, now it's just on to enjoying the sights. Happy holidays to you both.