Priceline Hotel: Downtown vs. Suburbs

[elzingky]

Comming to Chicago the weekend of 9/28/12 to 9/30/12. I only need a hotel for the night of 9/29/12 to 9/30/12, however the debate is should I stay downtown or in the greater outskirts of the city. I am looking to spend $120 tops including taxes and fees priceline or hotwire tack on. Do you think it is possible to get something downtown for this price? I just tried priceline at $70+fees totaling to $88.

If I were to stay outside the city what section would you recommend where I could catch the CTA or Metra easily? I have my car parked at a friends house downtown so I can avoid the hotel parking fees. I already have bought the groupon deal for the CTA pass as well. I just need recommendations on where to stay that is close to a stop.

Thanks for the help

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding.

The issue with Chicago is that once you leave the downtown area, it's a ways until you get to outlying areas where there are a lot of hotel choices. The Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago and Evanston (the closest suburb) get filled with overflow traffic if it's a busy day downtown.

The problem with staying in the burbs and PRICELINE/HOTWIRE is that there's few hotels *right* by a transit stop (most of them are not far, but they aren't walkable); some hotels do offer shuttle, but there's no way to guarantee one when using either service. Having a car in the burbs opens up a lot more options.

I think you may be able to get a 4* in the Millennium Park Loop zone on PRICELINE for around $120-145 (you can try lower than $120 and start at $100, but I think under $100 is probably unlikely). Otherwise, these dates are quite expensive downtown.

In the North burbs, I'm guessing you're likely looking at $55-75 for a 4* and probably $45-60 for a 3.5*. Again though, these hotels may not be within walking distance to a Metra station or offer a shuttle. Metra fares unfortunately are not covered by CTA passes. Metra trains are quite a bit more comfortable than CTA trains, although they do not run as often and are more expensive (although there are weekend passes for cheaper.)

Let us know your thoughts and we would be happy to offer further suggestions.

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