Hotwire Hotel: 4* Chicago (Gold Coast) Sutton Place Hotel-Chicago

[the midwesten]

Not sure if this is appropriate for this site. Going to be heading to Chicago 08/12-0814 and wanted to make a good parking strategy. Last trip resulted in a $33 a night parking garage downtown. We want to find a garage along one of the trains that is cheaper, like $10 a night. I'm guessing free parking is probably not going to happen. We will be coming up through Indiana, so something south of downtown would be best.

Any help would be appreciated and of course we will use the better bidding PRICELINE link when we go to book our room.

[AaronJB]

There really isn't free parking downtown - the Best Western River North is really the only hotel that offers free parking, but it has not shown up as a PRICELINE or HOTWIRE listing, although what is *thought* to possibly be the Best Western has been seen on some searches recently (no one has actually purchased and confirmed.)

Parking is $20ish at Navy Pier + city tax. There may be some free parking possibilities in neighborhoods, but they aren't long-term and would not be something that I would recommend. Evanston - which is a very nice college town just North of the Chicago border - has parking garages for $13, but + train fare or driving downtown and you might as well park at Navy Pier.

You could look at Midway Airport, although it really depends on rates downtown - rates really don't look particularly bad for these dates (as Summer goes) downtown, so I'd try to stay downtown if possible rather than having to take the CTA out to Midway and back.

What would be your desired budget per night?

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

[the midwesten]

It would be sweet to score a $10 or $15 per night garage somewhere within a 10-15 minute train ride to downtown. Some internet searches suggested Chinatown may have cheaper garages. Not expecting free without having to drive way out in the suburbs. But if we could get down below $15 we'd definitely go a little out of our way and take a train. We'll be taking trains once we get there anyway, so why not use them to save a little dough.

Hotel wise we will stay downtown. Expecting to get a hotel for $85 a night (have seen some Hotwire rates for that recently and we usually do better with priceline) or better. Paying money for the convenience of a downtown hotel is justifiable, but paying $35/night to have our car 2 blocks from the hotel is not needed. Just looking to get a strategy before driving up, so we can efficiently find a spot without driving around for hours.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

[thereuare]

As the parking seems to effect where you'll leave your car and not which PRICELINE's zones to bid on, i would get your hotel room first and then figure out the best parking garage relative to your hotel this way you can take into consideration specifically which trains lines are most convenient to your hotel. It then becomes a much easier task as you see which trains stop near your hotel, then look at a train map and follow it out of town, seeing which stops along the way offer parking at a reasonable rate. Also, if you expect to pay $15/day the Navy Pier at $20-$25 doesn't seem like a bad deal and saves the time and expense of commuting into the city.

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

[the midwesten]

That makes sense. I think there is a 99% chance we'll stay in one of the two priceline downtown zones (our limit would be $100/night and Hotwire has 3 hotels under $85), but I suppose those can vary a bit on location. Once we have an actual hotel I will reply to this post with the details. $20 is better then the $35 last trip, but it just seems like if downtown (Navy Pier) is $20, slightly outside of downtown could be had for $15 or less. I was thinking Chinatown, since it is somewhere we'd checkout anyway.

I appreciate the response(s) and will update this thread once I have better information.

[the midwesten]

Tried Priceline at 3.5 stars up to $83, then figured it was worth the extra $14 (total) to know a little more about what we were getting. Never stayed at this place, but it had a 95% approval rating on Hotwire. Next step, finding affordable parking.

[the midwesten]

Booked a room from Hotwire (The Sutton Place in the Gold Coast area for $90). Still unsure of the parking strategy. Ideally I would like to pay under $15 a day as opposed to the $40+ the hotel surely charges. Willing to ride a train from wherever. Coming from Ohio through Indiana. Thanks!

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Very nice deal for this well-reviewed Gold Coast property - plenty of restaurants and nightlife nearby, as well as easy access to NMA shopping.

Can you confirm the amenities that were showing with this listing? This information is available under the trip information in your HOTWIRE account.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[the midwesten]

Amentities:

Boutique Hotel

Business Center

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

High Speed Internet Access

[AaronJB]

Hopefully parking will work out okay - I'll recommend Original Pancake House across the street as a nearby breakfast option.