Priceline Hotel: 4 star NMA 7/25-7/29?

[Majikow]

Hi,

My fiance and I are going to Chicago for our first time and were looking to stay near the Magnificent Mile. We were thinking the NMA area would be great for doing everything we wanted to. I put off getting a hotel for awhile and now I have less than 2 weeks. From shopping around, it looks like rates are pretty high, especially for Fri (7/27) and Saturday (7/28). We'd like to get a 4 star, but could probably live 3 or 3.5 if it saves us some money (i.e. more than $20 per night).

Hotwire rates for 7/25-7/29 are:

4 star Mag Mile North - Water Tower $132

3.5 star Mag Mile - River North $157

3 star Downtown - $120

When I split up the dates I get:

Hotwire 7/25-7/27

4 star Mag Mile - Water Tower $103

4 star Downtown - $112

3.5 star Mag Mile - River North $133

3 star Mag Mile - River North $104

3 star Downtown - $97

Hotwire 7/27 - 7/29:

3.5 star Mag Mile River North $184

4 star Mag Mile Water TOwer - $171

3 star Downtown -$130

Would it make sense to split my dates up on Priceline, or should I try for 7/25-7/29?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I figured since Lollapalooza was the week after, we'd have no problem getting a hotel room, but clearly there's something going on in Chicago that I missed.

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.

[Majikow]

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.

I have clicked both of the links and will use the links to do all my priceline bidding. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[AaronJB]

What would be your desired budget per night, and are you looking for anything in particular from a hotel (style, etc)?

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

[Majikow]

What would be your desired budget per night, and are you looking for anything in particular from a hotel (style, etc)?

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

I'd like to try and keep it less than $125 if possible for a 4 star. I'm also not against getting a 3 or 3.5 star if it saves me a good deal (like more than $20 per night).

We won't be spending a lot of time in the room, so as long as the hotel has a decent location, I'm pretty open.

[Majikow]

Tonight I used the link and bid up from $85-120 for 4 stars, starting with NMA and using my free re-bids with no luck.

[thereuare]

What is your next move...

Do you want to bid up to your $125 limit? Lower your star rating? (if so what maximum bid to use?) Consider including the Loop in your bidding?

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

[Majikow]

Not sure. I'll probably bid up to $125 tonight for starters. Will I have a better shot as the date gets closer or is that just looking like an expensive week/weekend?

[thereuare]

Nobody can say if rates will come down in the next 10 days... or move higher, but for a further discussion on this subject see the 'Bid Early or Close to Check-in' link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

From the SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID rates you've posted above it's easy to see that the mid-week rates are lower than the weekend rates, so there is likely something happening in town over the weekend that is making rates for these nites higher than usual... we're also close enough to your arrival that it's not as if hotels are arbitrarily keeping rates high because they have lots of time on their hands to fill the rooms.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes and/or how we can be of further help.

[Majikow]

I ended up booking the Radisson Blu Aqua through Otel.com for like $175 a night w/taxes included. I figured with the high prices on Hotwire and Express Deals that I couldn't save much by going through Priceline at this point, and I've been wanting to stay at the Radisson Blu anyway.

Thanks for all your help.

I'm still most likely going to book a room at O'Hare on Priceline for the night before we fly and I'll use the links on here.

Thanks again.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for closing the thread - enjoy your stay. Please let us know what you decide regarding the O'Hare stay and if you have any questions.