Priceline Hotel: 2* Chicago South (Hammond) Fairfield Inn And Suites Chicago Southeast/Hammond In

[Skeet]

I'm looking for a reasonable zone to stay in for a short visit with the family to Chicago on 8/11-8/13/12 and was considering Lincoln Park. We'll be hitting tourist attractions in and around downtown.

The problem is I don't see any successful bids listed anywhere on this site for Lincoln Park, nor do I see any hotels listed for that zone in the Priceline hotel lists here! Why the absence of data on this zone? Does anybody know if this zone is new???

Thanks!!

[AaronJB]

This zone has been available for a year or so now, but there are only a handful of hotels within the zone. Additionally, the lack of hotels within the zone leads to prices that often aren't competitive. There is one newer 4* property (Hotel Lincoln) that has been more reasonably priced when seen on HOTWIRE, but otherwise discounted rates at what few hotels have been seen in zone zone haven't seemed that great. Additionally, very few wins have been reported to the board as people commonly choose to stay downtown in one of the two main zones.

The only way I would recommend Lincoln Park would be if the Hotel Lincoln was showing at a reasonable rate on HOTWIRE - that property is well-located in Lincoln Park and would not be a horrible walk (it's a bit on the long side, but quite nice) on a nice day to the top of the Michigan Ave area. Otherwise, I would recommend staying downtown.

What would be your desired budget per night for this stay, and how many people are in your party?

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

[Skeet]

Thanks for the info!

There will be 2 adults (+3 kids, but they're young and we travel with little beds for them...) I'd like to keep it under $75/night.

We're driving, and one thing that has me concerned about the downtown area hotels is paying for hotel parking. I've seen a comment or two in reviews that mention $40-$50/nt. hotel parking fees, which would blow out any savings we got on the room. :o If we stay farther out I suppose we'd have to pay to park downtown when we drive in, but I wonder if we should consider zones like Skokie or O'Hare? We'll be entering and leaving Chicago from the south, but I've heard south Chicago isn't so nice... Don't know how accurate that is -- maybe Chicago South area is OK.

Thanks for the help!!

[AaronJB]

The Lincoln Park properties will still cost a high rate for parking - the Lincoln is $45. Parking at Navy Pier is $20-25, I believe - but parking at downtown hotels is $40 to as high as $65.

$75 is, unfortunately, probably not going to be enough for downtown for these dates, as rates are definitely on the high side. I often highly recommend the North Suburbs - Skokie is fine, although there are a couple of iffy hotels in Skokie. I recommend Northbrook/Glenview/Deerfield and I do see what appears to be the Embassy Suites Deerfield on HOTWIRE for $68 for these date - let us know if that would be of interest. That property is only a couple minutes drive from a Metra station. Let us know your thoughts and we would be happy to offer suggestions.

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

[Skeet]

HOTWIRE is only showing one hotel in the Lincoln Park area, at $193. Yikes. Since we're driving in from the south on Saturday evening and leaving to the south on Monday morning, the north suburbs you mentioned probably won't work so good for us. Time to adjust strategy...

I'm looking at Chicago South now, thinking we'll drive into downtown for the day on Sunday and park at Navy Pier or nearby. The zones in Chicago South that look reasonable are 1, 2, & 4 (Hammond, Holland-Lansing, and Markham). I'm thinking we can bid 2-1/2* and meet our budget easily and not likely have to pay for hotel parking that far south. No rebid zones for 2-1/2* in that region, but we've got a few days for PRICELINE bidding.

Your thoughts? Are those zones in a reasonably safe area?

[AaronJB]

Unfortunately I'm not too familiar in detail with those areas. I do often recommend the Oak Brook/Downers Grove area SW of the city - very nice area and the large amount of hotels in the area often results in solid discounts if there's nothing going on (convention, etc.)

I see what appears to be a possible match for the Westin Lombard and Stay Inn Lombard, as well as a possible match for the Holiday Inn Express Downers Grove, with prices between $47-85.

Would this area be of interest, and if so, would any of the above be of interest? Please let us know and we would be happy to point out some of the possibilities in the zone.

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

[Skeet]

I was looking for something in Chicago South with easy access to downtown Chicago from the suburbs. I bid 2* on 3 zones: Hammond, Holland-Lansing, and Markham-Oak Forest.

Rejected at $55, then a win on this hotel at $60.

From the looks of the hotel website this appears to be a very nice 2*. Free breakfast and free parking. I can't resist checking a hotel's website to see what I saved, and this room would have run us $130 for these nights. Thanks Negotiator! :D

As always, started bidding with the PRICELINE link.

[Skeet]

The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to avoid Monday morning Chicago traffic as we check out, heading east toward Indiana and Michigan, by staying to the south of Chicago.

I bid 2* in the Hammond, Holland-Lansing, and Markham-Oak Forest zones, and got a win at $60. We managed to stay within our budget, avoid hotel parking fees, and will get free breakfast as a bonus for staying at a cheaper hotel! :-)

Thanks again for your help, Aaron -- much appreciated!!

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success.

Definitely a nice win for this Fairfield property, and glad the hotel will work well for your travel plans. Let us know if you have any city questions.

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

Enjoy your stay.