Priceline Hotel: Chicago Pride Weekend 6/22-6/25

[Rachcu13]

Hi,

New to Chicago. Only been once so I need help in the bidding process. I saw in another post there are several rebid zones for 4* hotels, but I'd be happy with a 3.5 or maybe even a 3* in the area North of Downtown. Desired Budget = $100 a night, but realistic budget maybe $140? Fri-Monday Night - 3 nights.

Zones I'd like to Bid:

1. North Michigan Ave/River North

2. Millennium Park/Grant Park

3. Lincoln Park (but there is only a 2.5 star here, so not sure of my options)

4. Greater Chicago (how easy would it be to get around, take train to pride festivities taking place at Northalsted?)

My last posts about NYC plans were a bust, so now I'm thinking Chicago!

Thanks in advance.

Rachel

[AaronJB]

Please provide follow-ups for your prior NYC Priceline and Austin Priceline threads (post what you decided for those threads in those threads, then reply to this thread.)

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

[Rachcu13]

I don't typically provide follow-ups if I'm not successful, but I posted them like you asked. My NYC trip was cancelled because my girlfriend broke up with me, and I never won any bids so that's a good thing. My Austin Trip I never won anything either, so I'm 0-2. When I actually am successful, I will have no problem posting.

Can you help me now?

[thereuare]

I don't typically provide follow-ups if I'm not successful...

This makes the board 'sloppy' and leaves other users reading your threads wondering if you were ultimately successful but didn't post, canceled the trip, booked direct, etc... please help keep the board better organized and the most useful for everyone by following up your threads.

As far as your Chicago zones, if your plans mostly take you 'downtown' then the NMA-River North is the most ideal, followed by the Loop which is certainly do-able at the right price (but less convenient than NMA and gets a bit quiet at night)

Do you want to stick with only the NMA zone at first OR bid both NMA and the Loop and have whichever is cheaper be the one to accept your bid? Did you want to bid for a 3.5* up to your limit, then if rejected try for a 3*... OR is your goal the least expensive 3* or better for this trip? If you are successful i think you'll need to be closer to your $140 figure than your lower end of the range $100 figure... is it ok to bid up to $140 at this point in time?

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

[Rachcu13]

Will close out threads in the future, didn't realize that was the way to go.

OK, so I've done some research on location and Google Mapped the listing of hotels in the NMA/River North area. I feel like the Loop is getting too far from where I want to be. Ultimately, as a last resort, it would work. The gayborhood of Chicago is more north near Lincoln Park, so I want to be able to take the Subway pretty easily to that area for the pride type activities.

The NMA/River North Hotels 3* 3.5* and 4* all look acceptable, but I really don't want to go over $400 total if possible for 3 nights. Might be a stretch, but I guess it's worth a try. I started bidding at $65 today just for fun for 4* in NMA, and went up to $80 with no luck. Only did 4* and added all 6 rebid zones increasing by 3-5$ each time. Fail.

Thanks again for the help.

[thereuare]

... I really don't want to go over $400 total if possible for 3 nights.

What does this translate to in terms of a per nite bid amount?

I started bidding at $65 today just for fun for 4* in NMA, and went up to $80 with no luck. Only did 4* and added all 6 rebid zones increasing by 3-5$ each time. Fail.

Rates can change, but at least at the moment i don't think this is going to get you close. Have you checked rates for these dates thru traditional booking channels (try MAPS and HOTELS.com)... rates are a bit higher than usual (perhaps due to Chicago Price Weekend??) and therefore the ultra-low rates that we see during the slowest of times in Chicago will not likely be enough.

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

[AaronJB]

The Red Line subway and Brown Line "L" both head North towards the Lincoln Park area from downtown. Depending on exactly where you're going, if you take the Brown Line, you may have to change to the Red Line at Belmont and then go further North. The Brown Line goes around the Loop and the Red Line goes through both the Loop and NMA areas.

The trip up North is not terribly long at all from either zone, but it's a little less from the NMA area.

Rates are on the high side for these dates (although not usually so for the Summer period) and I'm guessing (although how much depends on star rating and zone) you're likely looking at over $100.

Rates in Evanston (the first city North of the Chicago border) are also expensive, unfortunately.

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

[Rachcu13]

Thanks for the information about the Subway. I see the Red Line on Google Maps.

Looks like the festival and most activities are in the area of N Halsted St & W Waveland Ave, or in the Lakeview area. I noticed there is a Lincoln Park zone, but is there a different zone on Priceline or Hotwire I should consider since it seems like these locations are pretty far north of Downtown?

I live in Denver, so the Downtown area is not huge, when you stay downtown, you can pretty much walk within a 1.5 mile radius to anywhere decent like bars, coors field, pepsi center, etc, but Chicago seems much bigger and I just don't know the areas.

I have tried looking on the usual sites, but rates are $200+ for most hotels. I'd like to avoid this if possible.

[AaronJB]

The Lincoln Park area seems far North of the city, but it's really so, so easy to get there from downtown on the "L". The corner of Waveland and Halstead is very close to the Addison Red Line stop (where people stop for Wrigley Field, which is right next to the stop.)

The problem becomes if there's a game going on during these dates, which will run up the hotels nearby - the Best Western Hawthorne (which is right there) is often either full or so expensive for what it is during the Summer that one can usually get a better value downtown. HOTWIRE has no availability for these dates in Lincoln Park, but there is a 3.5* in the Loop for $140 and a 4* in the NMA area for $157.

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

[Rachcu13]

Closing this thread. Decided to say at a friends Condo North of Town. Thanks for all the advice. Can't wait for the trip.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for closing the thread. Enjoy your stay.