Hotwire Hotel: 4* Chicago (Downtown - Millennium Park - Grant Park) Swissotel Chicago

[pbj23]

Wife and I are looking to stay downtown August 31st to Monday September 2nd. Looking to save money. I would like to be in millennium park area or mag. mile area. Don't really care on hotel, just a decent one for the money. Do you suggest HOTWIRE or PRICELINE? I will most definitely use the HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to book this trip! I will update this forum as well after I book. I found this on hotwire:

Dates: Aug 31 - Sep 2

4* Millennium/Grant Park

$133 (other sites 259)

Recommended by 95%

Indoor pool(s)

Fitness Center

Pool(s)

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-Speed Internet Access

Tennis Nearby

Spa Services

Accessible for the blind

Accessible for the deaf

Accessible path of travel

In-room accessibility

Accessible bathroom

Roll-in shower

[thereuare]

PRICELINE is usually a little cheaper than HOTWIRE, but HOTWIRE gives you the ability to know a little more about the hotel beofre your purchase (amenities, user reviews/satisfacation, etc) and you can also often use this information to take a guess as to the hotel you may receive before your purchase.

Which is 'best' depends upon your needs for this trip... if you simply are looking for the lowest price then PRICELINE is usually the better option, but if there are certain amenities that you're looking for (hotel has a pool, offers free breakfast, etc) then HOTWIRE is usually the better, although slightly more expensive, option.

My guess for the 4* property above is the Swissotel, downgraded from the 4.5* rating since it was last reported to the board.

Let us know which service you think better meets your needs for this trip and we will take it from there. If you think PRICELINE is best going forward, let us know your maximum bid and we will suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[AaronJB]

This listing has not yet been ID'd/reported to the board and is a bit of a mystery - it's believed that the Swissotel may be offering regular rooms at the 4* level and may be offering different rooms at the 4.5* level. Along with the Swiss as a possibility, I've thought the Fairmont MAY be a slight possibility, as well. Or this may be a different property not yet reported to the board. Still, given rates for these dates, the listing does seem like a good value and I'm seeing a 4/5 tripadvisor rating on the detail page, so reviews are good overall.

Are you looking for a particular kind of/style of hotel at all? I'd be happy to note other HOTWIRE recommendations if you are looking for something in particular.

PRICELINE is usually a little cheaper than HOTWIRE, but HOTWIRE gives you the ability to know a little more about the hotel beofre your purchase (amenities, user reviews/satisfacation, etc) and you can also often use this information to take a guess as to the hotel you may receive before your purchase.

Which is 'best' depends upon your needs for this trip... if you simply are looking for the lowest price then PRICELINE is usually the better option, but if there are certain amenities that you're looking for (hotel has a pool, offers free breakfast, etc) then HOTWIRE is usually the better, although slightly more expensive, option.

In terms of PRICELINE, please let us know what your max bid would be if you would like to go that route. If you are not looking for a specific hotel or specific kind of hotel and are more interested in a reasonable price (especially if you're not going to be in the hotel a lot), then PRICELINE may be the way to go. That said, if you want to be in the Mag Mile area or near it, I'd bid in the River North-NMA area only, as if you bid in the Millennium Park-Loop-GP area, you may wind up at the far South end of the zone. There are a lot of potential 4*'s in the River North-NMA area - the two lesser possibilities are the Allerton and the Felix. The other 15 "known" possibilities are nice or very nice.

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

Lastly, let us know if you have any Chicago/city questions.

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

[pbj23]

We are attending a wedding on 8-30 in Libertyville and will be staying up there for the night. Since we are in town, my wife and I would like a short getaway. We have an 18 month old daughter who will be back at home. So basically, this is just an opportunity trip for us. I just want to stay downtown somewhere. Is it too far to walk from the south of grant park area if we get a hotel down there? We are just 30 so we don't mind walking. For Priceline, max bid would be in the 140 to 150 range. I don't really care about the amenities, however, the pool would be a plus but definitely don't need it. Do you think Priceline would get us into river north for around 120? I will wait for your reply but might just pull the trigger on the Hotwire tonight if it is still there. That way you guys can know for sure what that hotel is!

Any info on Chicago would be wonderful. We stayed 1 night a few years ago. Saw the bean. Went to a piano bar. I see the Jazz Fest is in town (which is also why i might just pull the trigger?). Are the museums worth it in your opinion? I know everyone is different. Navy Pier? What else? We really aren't hard to please and are just wowed by the buildings!

[thereuare]

Do you think Priceline would get us into river north for around 120?

I think $120 would be near the low end of the expected range but something closer to your $150 maximum bid would be 'very likely'. Any strategy that we suggest would start low and gradually increase, so only need to focus on your maximum bid.. not where to start.

Should $150 for some reason not be enough, or if you're willing to pay a little more than your current budget, i will add that HOTWIRE has what appears to be the Conrad Hilton for $164/nite and it gets excellent reviews with a 4.5/5.0 TA rating.

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

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there (i'll leave it to AaronJB for any 'things to do' or any additional thoughts he may have for this stay, but wanted to at least answer some of your questions above so you could at least start to consider that information)

[AaronJB]

A few odds/ends notes:

1. Are you staying in Libertyville via HOTWIRE or PRICELINE? HOTWIRE and PRICELINE often offer really nice rates in the North burbs. Libertyville is cute and has a few nice restaurant options. I really like Lake Bluff to the East as well, which has a very nice take-out restaurant called Wisma, which offers organic/local to-go options (sandwiches, soups, etc. Website: http://wisma.us/) Lake Bluff is very cute and you can literally go South from Lake Bluff through all of the North Burbs one-by-one. There's also a route along the lakefront, too. Or you can take the expressway in. I can go into detail about different routes if you like and would be happy to suggest restaurants both in the burbs and downtown - let me know specifics about what you are looking for/likes/etc and I would be happy to offer some recommendations.

-HOTWIRE has a 3* in Vernon Hills for $65 for 8/30. If you want to stay further South (in Northbrook, for example), I think you could probably get a 3.5* in the Deerfield or Northbrook area for as little as in the $45-50 area. It would be a drive North to Libertyville, but then it would be closer to the city. Just another option.

2. Chicago is very walkable and there's a lot of public transit. If you wind up in the South Loop, it's not awful if you want to walk to North Michigan Ave (it's just straight up Michigan Ave), but it's a definite walk, or you could use transit. At night, these areas are pretty quiet - you may want to take a taxi back if you stay out late in the more active River North area.

3. If you are going to be out late at night, I'd stay in the River North-NMA area; there's more going on and you don't have to take a taxi (which is an added cost) back.

4. If you're not familiar with Libertyville, it's just North of Vernon Hills, which has a ton of medium/large malls, as well as things like Target, Wal-Mart, etc. Giant outlet mall Gurnee Mills is a shortish drive North and then the Premium Outlet Mall is just over the border in WI.

5. I really dislike Navy Pier, but that's just me. It's overpriced, offers little of interest (views) and is really a tourist trap. I'd much rather recommend trying different restaurants in the River North area, a river tour, going up to Old Town/Lincoln Park Zoo (right near each other), taking a long walk through Lincoln Park or many other things. I really do recommend the Zoo, which is free.

6. Museums: the Shedd Aquarium is very nice, but expensive. I don't think you're going to have a real issue at the end of August, but you may want to try going to the Shedd early. I just don't think it's as enjoyable if it's crowded. The Field Museum is fine, although I'm not a fan of the Adler. I do think the Art Institute is a must.

7. I think you're probably looking at $125-140 in the River North area for a 4*, although I'd start lower. A 4* in the Millennium Park-Loop-Grant Park area would likely take less, although not substantially.

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

[pbj23]

Thanks guys! I went ahead and booked and it was indeed the Swissotel. This should be a perfect location for us. I did use your HOTWIRE link to make this purchase! Thanks for the advice. Aaron, I will probably ask you some questions about both downtown and Libertyville, Vernon Hills area. I will use your HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to purchase that as well and will start a new thread so people can find that easily. Thanks again!

I haven't done much research on Swissotel... What do you know about it?

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received the hotel you were hoping for and are happy with the results. This property gets very good reviews, but i'll defer to AaronJB for any additional details as he knows this area best.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your purchase.

Enjoy this leg of your stay.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

The Swiss is a very nice hotel just a few blocks or so East of the Michigan Ave. bridge. At that point on Michigan Ave, walk North and you're into the Michigan Ave area, walk a few blocks South and you'll get to Millennium Park/Art Institute. Additionally, a few steps West of your hotel on Wacker, you should see a staircase down across the street. Take that down and you'll be on Columbus. You can continue North on Columbus (sort of a quieter, alternate walk to the Michigan Ave area rather than walking up Michigan Ave. You'll also pass some nice restaurants this way.)

Lake view is a paid upgrade at this property, but I'd inquire if there was any way you could request a high floor to get some kind of either city or river view. There is also a Mariano's Fresh Market around the corner at 333 E Benton. This is an option right nearby for snacks/drinks to take back to the hotel. The Mariano's markets are nice - there's also one in Vernon Hills (and the parking lot at that one is almost always near-full.)

I'd really recommend using PRICELINE or HOTWIRE for Vernon Hills - the North burbs are often pretty cheap on the discount services. Please start a new thread and we would be happy to offer our thoughts.

Please feel free to ask questions about the city or burbs in this thread or the Vernon Hills thread.

Thank you for letting us know about the change in star rating for this property so that we can update the site's Hotwire Hotel List.

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

Enjoy your stay.