Priceline Hotel: First time in CHI, where to stay?

[xikingix]

Taking a short weekend trip to CHI, any suggestions on where to stay? Just looking to walk around, eat, explore the city, and eat! I see Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area is a popular zone, good choice?

Thanks in advance.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Please provide the date/s of travel, your desired budget and star rating and we would be happy to offer suggestions.

Additionally, do you plan to be out later at night (nightlife, restaurants, etc?) That would steer my suggestion on where to stay.

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

[xikingix]

Hello,

Dates: 4/6-4/8

Star: 4*+

Budget: <$95/nt (I've already secured the Palmer House Hilton with a standard discount at this rate)

Looking for: Restaurants, sightseeing and ease of public transportation. Don't care much for nightlife.

Always use PRICELINE, thanks again.

[thereuare]

AaronJB is more local to the area than I am and i'm sure he'll comment further, but I would sooner recommend the NMA-River North zone which i think you should be able to get within your budget.

Let us know once you confirm which zone(s) you want to bid on and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board. (and please click each of these previous links before replying)

Thanks.

[xikingix]

Question, as I'm HHGold, am I better off staying at Palmers and receiving a complimentary upgrade to executive level with lounge access (if available) plus free internet? Looking at the win calender, it seems there may be potential to score the same hotel or similar for ~$70/nt, so we're talking ~$50 difference plus some taxes. Factor in, upgrades + additional amenities of my status, and we're probably even, perhaps slightly favored as the weekend doesn't seem to be too high of a demand for hotels.

Any thoughts on this hotel and location? Looking at the reviews, seems fairly split, not great or horrible.

I see River North is fairly close, any particular reason you would recommend River North over Millennium Park?

Thanks again, and as I always, I will continue to use PRICELINE. :D

[AaronJB]

The Loop area is closer to museums and does have some shopping on State St. However, a large portion of the area is business-oriented, and when offices let out for the evening, the Loop (especially parts such as the West Loop) can be quiet or very quiet at night. The River North/North Michigan Ave area to the North of the river has more going on at night (restaurants, etc) but is further away from museums (although public transit is easily accessed.)

The Palmer is a very large, very historic property with probably one of the most beautiful lobbies in the US. Unfortunately, the historic/grand feel doesn't really extend to much of the halls/rooms. It's a nice property overall, with a mix of rooms that lean towards the smaller side (not surprising, given the age of the hotel.) As for Hilton properties, if you can get the Drake for the same points/etc via HH as the Palmer, I think that's a preferable location and property (also quite historic.) The Conrad Hilton is quite nice, and I actually very much like the Homewood Suites Mag Mile. There are also two very nice Embassy Suites properties, too.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches. Please use the site's Hilton link on the Support Page if you go through Hilton.

[xikingix]

Thank you again for telling us to stay away from the Palmer, a colleague of mine ended up echoing the same sentiments after our travel. Unfortunately, the Conrad and Homewood Suites Mag Mile were both booked, but I was able to parlay my HHGold into a Hyatt Diamond Trial. We ended up staying at the Hyatt Magnificent Mile for $90/nt with my new status (Free Suite Upgrade + Club Access + 4pm Check Out + Internet), although the rate was great, the hotel was very underwhelming/in desperate need of a refurbishment. I was kicking myself after having brunch at NoMI in the Park Hyatt just down the street, it would have been well worth the extra $40/nt.

[thereuare]

Thanks for closing this thread with your decision... sorry to hear it didn't work out as well as you had hoped.

Please remember to follow-up your threads with whatever you end up doing for the stay, even if you choose to book direct, cancel your trip, etc.

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