Priceline Hotel: New to Bidding - 3 1/2* or Higher - Chicago

[ppaola]

Hi there,

I am going to Chicago for my honeymoon from 11/11 thru 11/17.

I am looking for hotels near subway stations, as we will get the CTA pass for the whole week.

From what I looked on the map, the Loop area has the most subway stations, so I would probably be getting a hotel near one.

Is there any other area near downtown with great transportation?

I am looking for a 4* hotel, but it could be 3 1/2* if cheaper, and I was hoping to pay $150 top!...

I have no idea if this price is reasonable... Can anyone help me???

Also, how does the bidding work? Can I start with any value? Or is there a minimum? For example, would I be able to bid around $100 for something like that? I never used Priceline before, so I have no idea where to start

Thank you very much!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding.

Congrats on your honeymoon! :)

Unless you are going out towards outlying areas, there's not a tremendous need to use public transit in Chicago - the downtown area is not that giant, and it's fairly easy to walk from one area of downtown to another, and both zones do have access to bus or train, and while some hotels in the River North-NMA zone are not as close to the "L", they are close to buses on Michigan Ave. I wouldn't choose one of the two downtown zones on transit access, but would focus more on what you are going to be doing. The Loop area is closer to the museums (although it's still a definite walk), but there is less in the way of shopping/restaurants/nightlife compared to the River North/NMA area.

There is no required minimum to start off with when bidding - what to start with really is a matter of evaluating regular rates and then starting off with a reasonable number. $150 may be difficult for these dates, although 3.5* is definitely within range.

I do see what appears to be the Hotel Indigo on HOTWIRE for these dates - that is in the Gold Coast area, which is at the far North end of downtown. However, it's a very nice area that is a couple minutes walk to the North end of the North Michigan Ave area. It also offers a good deal of restaurants and nightlife. The Indigo is on a pretty block where the restaurants and nightlife are half a block South, and in the blocks to the North, there are very beautiful and/or historic houses. The houses last for 5-6 or so long blocks, and on the other side of that is Lincoln Park. It's not that much further North to Lincoln Park Zoo. The Old Town area is also not far, as well - that offers a variety of shops and restaurants, as well as the Second City theater.

The other nice thing about the Indigo location is that there is a subway station pretty much around the corner - a couple blocks away.

If you would like the Indigo, I'd be happy to point out the listing that would potentially be the Indigo on HOTWIRE, or you could try bidding on PRICELINE. Please read this thread - I've Never Used Hotwire or Priceline - which offers more detail on both services.

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

[ppaola]

Thank you very much for all the tips!

I believe we could stay on the gold coast if it

[AaronJB]

The issue with PRICELINE is that you could wind up anywhere within the zone. With HOTWIRE, you can make an educated guess as to which hotels are showing. While much of Chicago is quite walkable (although with Chicago Winters you never know how much you're going to feel like walking - the weather could be nicer than expected or worse than expected - the weather's unpredictable in Chicago), with HOTWIRE you can attempt to make an educated guess as to which listings are showing and possibly be nearer to a particular area or nearer to something like transit.

It is extremely easy to walk from the Gold Coast area to the top end of the Michigan Ave area (Water Tower Mall, Hancock Observatory), and pretty decent to walk to much of the rest of the NMA area and the River North area. It's not a bad walk to the Loop (South of the river) on a nice day, but if it's not a nice day, I'd suggest public transit (or if you want to cover a lot of ground quickly.)

When searching for these dates, I'm seeing a 3.5* in the Gold Coast-Lake Shore Drive for $129 (you may see a slightly different price.) My guess is that this is a new amenity set than has been previously reported for the Indigo.

Boutique Hotel

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-Speed Internet Access

Golf Nearby

Tennis Nearby

Spa Services

Accessible for the blind

Accessible for the deaf

Accessible path of travel

In-room accessibility

Accessible bathroom

Handicapped parking

Roll-in shower

If you would like to bid, let us know and let us know if you have any questions about this or other HOTWIRE listings before making a purchase/bid.

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