Priceline Hotel: Chicago NMA or Mag Mile -- Oct. 13-16

[cairosteve]

Just looking for a little guidance. Looking to bid on a three-day stay in Chicago in mid October, and was hoping for a four-star near the action. Which zone is better -- the North Michigan Ave/River North zone or the Millennium, Loop and Grant Park zone? I guess when I say 'action' I mean good restaurants, nightlife, shopping, bars, etc. Any advice is appreciated.

[thereuare]

Personally i like the NMA area over the Loop, but you may want to have a local comment before moving forward.

[lindabobhat]

Agree with thereuare that NMA/River North is preferable for shopping, restaurants, nightlife, etc. Millennium Park/Loop is not a bad alternative if the price is right.

[cairosteve]

Been trying to get a hotel in Chicago for Thursday, Oct. 13 to Sunday, Oct. 16. Was looking for NMA or Mag Mile/Loop.

Bid $100 for 4*, rejected, and added another zone

Bid $120, added another zone

Bid $140 added another zone

Bid $160, added Boutique hotels

Bid $180, still rejected.

I know the Bears are home that weekend which isn't making this easier. I'm going to try again with three stars, but can't do it now because I don't want a three-star in some of the zones I picked. So how many days do I have to wait?

Any tips would be appreciated. Should I try for Hotwire?

Thank you.

[thereuare]

You can start bidding for 3* now... just close all open priceline browsers and start from a 'fresh' priceline screen, selecting only the 3* zone(s) you wish to bid. The other 4* zones won't be checked off since you're starting from a brand new screen.

[cairosteve]

The city is absolutely one hundred percent full on those dates, from the best I can determine. At least downtown, anyway. Priceline and Hotwire are both coming up with nothing, and individual calls to random hotels within a five mile radius of downtown are all booked.

They need to build more hotels there.

[AaronJB]

I was just saying the other day that Chicago could use a few more hotels. There were several dates (and stretches of dates) in the past 4-5 months where the city seemed booked solid. About a week ago, I was able to point someone in the direction of the Red Roof inn off Michigan Ave, which appeared to have availability for 10/14-16 (they were able to call the hotel and get a room for $145), but I doubt they still have any rooms.

[AaronJB]

Expedia has the Best Western in Evanston for $139 a night for the 13-16. Not the best hotel, but Evanston is awesome, and public transit that goes downtown (both the nicer Metra commuter trains and the "L" trains) are very close.

[webcambooks]

That's a bad weekend. 27.000 opthalmologists are in town, in addition to all the other stuff.

[cairosteve]

Ended up staying in Evanston by making conventional reservations. It's a long ride on the El, but what are you going to do?

[AaronJB]

There's plenty of great restaurants in Evanston and you also have the choice of getting a Metra train (metrarail.com) downtown instead of CTA, as the Metra trains do provide a more pleasant ride.

It is a bit of a trip downtown, but if you have to stay outside the city, I think Evanston's the nicest choice.