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

[TorontoGal2012]

First, I want to thank the site admins and users for all your great info. I'm a newbie and your posts have been such a great help.

I'd like to confirm what I learned before I put in my bid (it's a 4 night vacation so it's important I get this right!):

To bid on a 4* hotel in Chicago and keep it under $100 per night, I will (currently) have 6 rebids available.

So my 1st bid will be for a 4* in Millenium Park, Look & Grant Park (where I WANT to stay), bidding $65, and if this bid fails make the following additional bids until (hopefully) I win a bid:

2nd bid - add Franklin Park and up bid to $70

3rd bid - add Hyde Park and up bid to $75

4th bid - add Lincoln Park and up bid to $80

5th bid - add Midway Airport Area and up bid to $85

6th bid - add Midway Airport North and up bid to $90

final available bid - add Skokie Area and up bid to $95

Thanks again and in advance for your comments,

TorontoGal2012

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding! (and we're glad to hear you're finding the information here useful)

Yes, the strategy above is valid and you have your current re-bid zones correct... but always double check them just before bidding.

However, i will add that i think your $100 budget will likely fall a little short for a 4* hotel in this zone for these dates. You can (and should) certainly give it a try, but if rejected, i would consider including the NMA-River North zone should that also work for your needs, as i think pricing there is a little better at the moment (although still may require a touch more than your current $100 maximum bid)

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

Let us know how your first round of bidding goes and then, if necessary, we'll have a look at your options from there.

Good luck!

[TorontoGal2012]

Thanks so much for your help.

So as an initial exercise, I bid as mentioned (4* up to $95) - using the PRICELINE link provided - but without success. I also closed the window and restarted the bidding process for 3 1/2* up to $85 (using the 4 rebid zones available), again without success.

Now that I've got the hang of it, I'll try again tomorrow and provide an update.

Happy Thursday,

T

[AaronJB]

Thank you for keeping us updated and please let us know if you have any city/hotel questions.

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

[TorontoGal2012]

Hi,

I'm considering adding a bid on NMA-North River Zone if Millenium Park is rejected, as suggested by thereuare, but I'm wondering how this location compares? It seems like it wouldn't be ideal to end up in the northernmost section. I've never been to Chicago, so I'm open to any comments. I'm mostly interested in art and architecture for this trip.

Thanks again,

T

[AaronJB]

Public transit is easily accessible and there are a few great examples of architecture on the North end, including the Charnley-Persky House (http://www.sah.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=Charnley_Home&category=CharnleyPerskyHouse), which was one of Frank Lloyd Wright's earliest works. The Art Institute is a must - I'm not so crazy about the Museum of Contemporary Art, but maybe that's just me.

There is definitely more going on North of the River at night - the Loop can be (especially West/South Loop) very quiet at night.

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

[TorontoGal2012]

I ended up going with the NMA-North River zone as thereuare suggested. I was offered $154/night for the Millenium Park Loop zone, but rejected it.

My successful bid was $126/night (with $10/night in rewards - so this bid is equivalent to $136 according to Priceline) and I won the Mile North Hotel (formerly Affinia). Using the rewards was a bit frustrating, as I got a lot of errors that required me to restart my browser several times. However, I got a few free rebids out of it, so it wasn't all bad ;)

Overall, very happy with my win - it's about a 40% discount, which I think is great for a summer stay downtown in a 4*.

(I'll start a new post that details the win including the change of zone.)

Thanks everyone for your help - I could not have won such a deal without you!

:)

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received a great deal at this property and are pleased with the results... we're happy to have helped!

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

Enjoy your stay.

[AaronJB]

This is a terrific, terrific result. The location is awesome, and it's an easy walk to the Museum of Contemp. Art (I'm not crazy about it - I liked it more when it was at its old location, but if you are coming for art and architecture, it's literally a couple of minutes walk from your hotel.) It's also a long (but pleasant) walk to the Art Institute straight down Michigan Ave. Please let us know if you have any city questions at all.

Enjoy your stay.