Priceline Hotel: Traveling for business, looking for best hotel options

[mdfree04]

I'll be traveling to Chicago and looking for a hotel the nights of October 2nd and 3rd. I'll be flying in/out of Midway and have to travel to both the north and south sides of town, so downtown seems like a compromise. I was looking into the Loop and River North areas since even though this is business, I'll still have some free time to kill. I'd prefer easier access to the freeways to get to my meetings w/ limited headaches. I'm getting reimbursed for the hotel and need to keep it around $200/night and would love to get the most hotel for my reimbursable buck. Any recommendations for zones? Can you get a 5 star mid week for $199? Will I end up just over paying for a 4 star? Any advice would be appreciated.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding.

5* for $200 or under unfortunately looks unlikely for these date/s, but a 4*/4.5* for under $200 should be no problem - I'm seeing what appears to be the new Thompson (was the Sutton Place, currently under renovation and will reopen in October, so will be a fresh property) for $136, what may be the Swiss for $141 and what may be the Public for $138, among other options. The Thompson (4.5*) would be recommended, and in the case of either the Public or Thompson, you could take nearby Division Street straight West to the Expressway. The Gold Coast is a few minutes walk to the top end of the NMA shopping area and the Gold Coast offers a wide variety of restaurants.

Let us know if any of these options would be of interest (or if not, are you looking for something in particular in terms of hotel?) or if you have additional questions.

You could likely get a hotel for cheaper via PRICELINE bidding, but then it becomes a matter of being willing to accept ANY 4* in the zone/s you bid on.

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

[mdfree04]

I'm intrigued by the Thompson, but wish there were more pictures to go off of. What do you know about it? Public looks solid too, but after reading a few reviews, there seem to be suspicions that Hotwire customers get some less than desirable rooms. Ever heard any complaints? Both seem like a good area with lots to do, so thanks for the recommendation.

[AaronJB]

The Thompson was (up until a few months ago), the Sutton, which was a very nice property. The Public used to be the Ambassador East, which was one of the most famed historic properties in the city, complete with a photo wall of the stars who visited there when the property was the premiere place for visiting celebs to stay (and the restaurant was the main hangout - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pump_Room,_Chicago.) I haven't stayed in it since it became the Public, but I did stay in it when it was the AE and thought it was - while not modern - a neat older property. It was bought by Ian Schrager, who was the co-creator of NYC's first boutique. The Chicago Public may be the first in a new chain. From what I've read, the property has had a significant facelift, although rooms are still going to be small and probably still retain some older aspects from the Ambassador East.

The Public is about 4-5 blocks North of Thompson, so both are very close to each other, with the Thompson offering the slightly better location of the two, given that it's in the middle of the Gold Coast restaurants and a few blocks closer to Michigan Ave.

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