Hotwire Hotel: 3.5* Chicago (Magnificent Mile - River North) Doubletree Mag Mile

[orangeblood82]

Looked at some pricing on Hotels.com and Hotwire...hyatt regency is at $149; Club Quarters is at $189; Wyndham Blake at $191; etc. I looked at the calendar of wins and saw that the Renaissance was won for two of those nights at $100.

I don't know what to expect on this weekend and am pretty flexible on the location (so long as it's in one of these two spots)...I would prefer a 4* but the 3.5* look pretty nice too. Any suggestions on where to start in regards to price?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Please click each of these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links, then reply to this thread and we'll have a look at your post above.

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

Thanks.

[orangeblood82]

Thanks. I clicked both links-once logged in, once not. Thanks for any insight!

[thereuare]

We will start lower, but for a 4* for this complete stay i'm guessing you may need to be somewhere in the $120-$140 area... is this within your budget? What is your maximum bid for a 4* hotel before lowering your star rating and trying for a 3.5* property?

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

[orangeblood82]

I'd like to stay around the $100-110 range and would rather take the cost savings with a 3.5 star rather than get much higher at a 4*. When it gets down to it, the 3.5* look pretty nice themselves and we won't be spending much time in the room other than sleeping and getting ready. Is $100 or less feasible for 3.5 you think? I may go up to $120 for 4 but think that'd be my max..

[AaronJB]

Most of the 3.5*'s in the River North-NMA area are very nice - the Allerton is older, but in a terrific location. The 3.5*'s in the Millennium Park-Loop-Grant Park area aren't bad, but more mixed and are in some instances not conveniently located. You could try $85-95 for a 3.5* in the River North-NMA area or Millennium Park area (although I'd more highly recommend the NMA area at the 3.5* level, but I think it could definitely take as much as $100-110 for a 3.5*.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches. Please let us know if you have any questions.

[orangeblood82]

Thanks for the input...okay I started my search today and started out doing the following:

4* for NMA @ $75...added Franklin Park @ $80....added Hyde Park @$85....added Lincoln Park @ $90....added Midway Airport Area @ $95....added Midway Airport North @ $98...finally added Skokie and tried @ $100..No luck. I am going to try again tomorrow or perhaps have my wife try later with her account. I can't decide if I should try this method again for a 4* in Millenium Park/Loop or go for a 3.5* in NMA again..

I used the PRICELINE links posted on BetterBidding to make my bids.

[thereuare]

I can't decide if I should try this method again for a 4* in Millenium Park/Loop or go for a 3.5* in NMA again.

Ultimately this is something you'll need to decide based upon your plans and the second choice of location would work for this trip, what you expect from your hotel, how often you use the room, etc, etc. However, if it makes your decision any easier at current prices i'm doubtful that sub-$100 would be successful in the Loop zone either.

At the moment i think you would need to be near the high end of the guessed range of $120-$140 to be successful for a 4* hotel, and i'm not seeing too much price difference in the 4* and 3.5* properties, so $100 may not be enough for a 3.5* hotel either.

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

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

[AaronJB]

The Allerton in the NMA area is a bit older, but it's in a great location. Otherwise, I think the 3.5*'s in the NMA area are very nice. If you're not going to be in the room a lot, I even thik a number of the 3*'s in the NMA-River North area are nice or quite nice.

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

[orangeblood82]

Thanks to both of you. I went ahead and tried for a 4* in the Millenium/Loop area...started at $85 and went up to $115 in $5 increments. At this point, after looking at the hotels, hearing what Aaron had to say and realizing I'd rather spend more $ on sightseeing/dinners than the hotel, I think I am going to try for a 3* in NMA. Looks like I only have three rebid zones (but I guess I could always use the upgrade to 3.5 and 4 star to get two more rebids?). What price do you think we are looking at for a 3* on NMA? Thanks again for your help and sorry for all the questions..trying to get the hang of this!

I used the PRICELINE link on this site to access my search/trial runs today and will again tomorrow...

[thereuare]

... I think I am going to try for a 3* in NMA. Looks like I only have three rebid zones (but I guess I could always use the upgrade to 3.5 and 4 star to get two more rebids?).

Correct, only 3 re-bid zones at the 3* level, but i'm not following your approach... if unsuccessful at a 4* hotel why immediately drop to 3*, why not try 3.5* first? Also, i'm not sure what bids you intend to make when increasing to 3.5* or 4* hotels.

What price do you think we are looking at for a 3* on NMA?

Unfortunately i don't think you're going to save much by lowering to the 3* level... i still think you're likely looking at $100+. You have a little time so you can try whatever maximum bid you'd like, but at the moment i think you're looking at over $100/nite. If you let us know your maximum bid and confirm the zone(s) you're willing to accept at the 3* (or 3.5* level if you decide to go that route) we will suggest a strategy for you to follow.

I used the PRICELINE link on this site to access my search/trial runs today and will again tomorrow...

THANKS!

[orangeblood82]

Thanks "thereuare", I am new to this so I assumed that if I started at a 3*, that I could "add" 3.5 as one of my changes for a rebid (same for 4*) but I just realized that they are automatically included at 3*.

I would like to stay around $100-110 so if that's possible at the 3* in NMA then I'll try that. I did go all the way up to $120 in NMA for 3.5/4* with no luck. I would go up to probably $135-40 at this point for a 4* in NMA, a little less than that in Millenium Loop.

I have a room reserved on points right now in NMA so there's a point where I just go with that..

[thereuare]

You're current only bidding NMA and not the Loop, correct? (if you're also bidding the Loop don't bid the following, instead post back and we'll revise accordingly)

When bidding 3* in Chicago you have THREE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select 3* NMA...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* NMA and re-bid zone2...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* NMA and re-bid zone3...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* NMA and re-bid zone2 and re-bid zone3...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $110

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[orangeblood82]

Thanks again. I tried that method and went up to 110 with no luck. I then moved back over to 4* and started at 125 and 130 with no luck...was about to do 135, but noticed hotwire hotel for 3.5* for those dates at $133...anyone have an idea of what it is?

[AaronJB]

Please provide the full details of the 3.5* listing (complete list of amenities, zone, star rating) and we would be happy to take a look and try to ID.

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

[orangeblood82]

Still searching..of course the Hotwire hotel I mentioned went up in price about 14 seconds after I typed my message! I have gone up to $155 for 4*, $150 for 3.5 and $145 for 3* with no luck...

On Hotwire There's a 3.5 star for $160 with the following details:

Mag Mile - River North Area

6.1-7.5 miles from city center

recommended in 90% of hotwire reviews

High speed internet access

business center

pool

fitness center

and a 4* in the Water Tower area with these amenities:

Smoke Free Rooms

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-Speed Internet Access

Accessible for the blind

Accessible for the deaf

Accessible path of travel

In-room accessibility

Accessible bathroom

Roll-in shower

Any ideas on these two?

[AaronJB]

Are you also seeing restaurant with the 3.5*?

The 4* would be a possible match for the Allerton or possibly a new amenity set for the Whitehall.

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

[orangeblood82]

yes, it looks like the 3.5 * has restaurant. sorry about that.

[AaronJB]

My guess for the 3.5* would be the Doubletree.

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

[orangeblood82]

After all that, I ended up going with the Hotwire rate I mentioned at $161...Aaron, you were right it was the Doubletree...Thanks for the head's up!

I figured I may as well spend $161 instead of using the asinine amount of points required to stay three nights downtown..

I used the Hotwire and PRICELINE links each time I made a bid and search. Thanks for all of your help!

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Very nice deal for this property during a busier period. Certainly a nice location, as well.

While Lakeview is an upgrade at this property, some rooms may have decent views of the surrounding area - higher floors and possibly on the W/NW part of the building. It may be worth trying at check-in with something along the lines of, "I know lake view is a paid upgrade, but if there was any way I could get a high floor room with at least partial view of the city, I'd greatly appreciate it."

There's also a large Dominicks Grocery on the opposite corner (cheaper snacks/drinks to take back to the hotel.)

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

Enjoy your stay.

[orangeblood82]

Thanks for the tip. I will try my best...may send my wife up there to see if she can work any magic!