Hotwire Hotel: Magnificent Mile Hotel ID

[jamey]

Hello! I am new to this site and thinking about trying to use hotwire for a hotel (I have successfully used priceline in the past, and have only been disappointed a few times). That being said, I am planning a trip to Chicago December 20-23. It's a surprise 18th birthday trip for my daughter and I! She's been to chicago once in 8th grade with school. I lived in Sheboygan WI many years ago and would take trips to Chicago with friends over the weekend but that's been 20 years ago!

Was wondering if you could help me to ID these hotels:

Magnificent Mile Area - River North - 4 star - 90% recommend - Regular price 119 - hotwire secret hot rate $78

Amenities : Pet friendly, fitness center, restaurant, indoor pools, pools and business center

Magnificent Mile Area - North Water Tower - 4.5 star 100% recommended - regular price $144 hot rate $95

Amenities : smoke free rooms, restaurant, internet access, fitness center, business center

Not sure if you need accessibility information or not. Thinking I would see what the possibilities (I know no guarantee) on the 4 star and then decide if I want to bump it up to a 5 star. It's her 18th Bday and it would be great if we have a great hotel too. However, I would love to get a great hotel and save the money so it gives us more to spend shopping or on her first spa day!! Thanks in advance for your help!!

I promise if I decide to use HOTWIRE or PRICELINE I will absolutely post what hotel I got and will access via links on this website!

[jamey]

Also - if you are familiar with the area, please feel free to suggest any areas other than Magnificent Mile that you think would be worthwhile for us to look into. Of course we plan to get some shopping in! But also Blue Man Group and some nice meals and spa! Maybe drinks in Hancock Tower bar.....mocktails for her of course!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please do include the all amenities that HOTWIRE associates with each of these hotels, including any 'accessible' amenities, in your posts. You can use our BiddingHelper.com tool in order to see the complete set of amenities within the search results.

This is what i'm seeing for the 4* River North property:

Pet Friendly

Indoor Pool

Fitness

Pool

Restaurant

Business

Hi-Speed Internet

... if this is the full list of amenities my best guess for this one would be the W Chicago Lakeshore or the Sheraton, although i'm not certain of either as it's not an exact match for previous reports of either. You may want to wait for AaronJB to comment his thoughts as he is local to the area.

For the 4.5* Water Tower property i'm seeing:

Free Internet

Smoke Free

Fitness

Restaurant

Business

Hi-Speed Internet

Blind Accessible

Deaf Accessible

Travel Accessible

Room Accessible

Bathroom Accessible

Roll-in Shower

... my best guess here would be the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower.

I'll also add that i'm seeing what i believe to be the InterContinental Chicago for $75/nite if this property is of any interest.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[jamey]

Thank you! I was thinking the 4.5 star one was the Sofitel. You are correct, that was the full list of amenities (unless I am missing something) for the 4 star. I just saw a notification that someone got the Felix hotel on that one, when I went back to look at it. The Intercontinental is on my list of hotels to consider. The W (I haven't checked out) but the Sheraton and Felix I am thinking are a no go. Are you ever given an option to upgrade a room that you book thru hotwire when you arrive at the hotel? Just wondering! I am literally the worlds most indecisive person! I'll see what AaronJB recommends as well. Thank you so much for the reply!

[thereuare]

Sometimes you're able to get an upgrade just by asking, sometimes there is an additional fee, and sometimes you're not able to upgrade at all (either as per hotel policy or there is just no alternate accommodations available)

If there are 4* hotels that you're trying to avoid, why not go for the InterContinental which is on your 'want' list?

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

[AaronJB]

I think it becomes a balance of nice hotel and savings that can go towards other things like nice meals during the stay. Are you going to be in the hotel a lot? You mention 5* - that is an option but I will note that this is a moderately low period for rates and you will both spend significantly less and get more value at the 4* level for this period.

You mention upgrades - there is no guarantee of an upgrade via HOTWIRE or PRICELINE. You can ask, but the hotel has the right to say no or charge an upgrade fee. The only upgrade that I've found in the city where I thought I'd pay full price for this was a very high floor river view room at the Westin River North. The room had a clear view up the river looking West. It was a postcard-worthy view. Lake view (upgrades at the Drake, Thompson, Sheraton, W, Swiss) is nice, although you're not going to see a ton at night. Otherwise, I'd rather just go the HOTWIRE/PRICELINE route (and if I get an upgrade, great, if not, money saved can go towards other things.)

There are a few regular rate properties of interest. The Amalfi is $117 on sale on Travelocity, plus coupon code DEAL10 takes 10% off. That property offers free breakfast (on each floor) and evening reception. The Sax (which used to be the House of Blues Hotel - the HOB is still next door.) is $99 on Expedia, although with the 10% off, the Amalfi would be more compelling with breakfast and evening reception.

There are a lot of great breakfast options downtown, but if the idea of breakfast right there at the hotel is appealing, the Amalfi is a 4* with breakfast and generally strong tripadvisor reviews. Plus, the coupon on Travelocity.

Staying in or near the River North area (Sax, Amalfi) would be appealing, given the huge range of restaurants and nearby subway stop. You are a bit of a walk West of Michigan Ave, but not far. As you know with Midwestern weather, location/convenience can be a big plus in the middle of December.

Speaking of subway, I will note that while Michigan Ave has a ton of shopping (and there's some shopping in River North as well), you may want to consider browsing around Lincoln Park, which is an easy subway ride North. Lincoln Park is more 20-30-somethings and as a result, there are more stores (boutiques, high-end thrift, etc.) Michigan Ave is very nice to browse around, but some of the stores in Lincoln Park may provide better values and/or more hard-to-find clothing and generally a different experience than shopping on Michigan Ave.

I'm guessing the 4* Mag Mile on HOTWIRE may be a new amenity set for the Sheraton. The positive for the Sheraton is a chance of a decent view, but it's very much a business/convention hotel and not one I would suggest for a special occasion.

The Sofitel would be a very fine choice. The Intercontinental does get more mixed reviews - it is an older hotel with a neat history and great location. I enjoyed my stay there and I think it's a "uniquely Chicago" hotel with one of the first public pools on a high floor, but tripadvisor reviews continue to seem a little bit on the mixed side. It is a gigantic hotel and is not going to provide boutique-like personalized service, but it is a superb location and I would rather suggest the potential Intercontinental than the potential Sheraton.

I'm seeing what appears to be the Intercontinental on PRICELINE Express for $73, plus FALL5 takes another 5% off. Let us know if this is of interest and we would be happy to point out the listing.

The Westin Michigan Ave is showing at $79 on the regular rate side of PRICELINE. I liked the River North more out of the two Chicago Westins, but this property is square in the middle of the Michigan Ave area and is still nice.

So, I think the Sofitel or Amalfi are interesting options around the $95-110 mark, while the potential Intercontinental and Westin Michigan Ave are interesting options around $75. You will not get any views of note at the Amalfi. You may get a decent view at the Intercontinental, although you run the risk of getting on the North side of the property which is just looking right at the next-door building. The Sofitel may have some decent views on higher floors.

Additionally, please let us know if you have any city questions.

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

[jamey]

Thank you AaronJB for your valued assistance. I was just checking out some regular hotel rates just to do some good comparison shopping and actually found a few nice rates, considering booking thru the hotel. Of those, the Talbott, Hotel Monaco and The James are running a few specials.

The Talbott is running $529 (taxes and all) for our 3 night stay. Just a deluxe king room, but their rooms are pretty nice.

Hotel Monaco is running $393 for King Deluxe and $463 for a river view King (also including taxes)

The James is running $483 for a Studio King Suite (they have a free night promo and this includes taxes)

The James actually stands out to me the most! I am pretty sure the location would be great for us. I love that all of their reviews talk about impeccable service (even for people who used priceline or hotwire). But, even their direct rate seems pretty good considering the room upgrade.

I do like the Intercontinental. Initially, I thought I would just go for the Drake as I do like the history of the hotel etc. I LOVE the pool at the Intercontinental and a certain grandness about it. I noticed in a few of the reviews that people who used priceline/hotwire were given terrible rooms and attitudes from reception. That is a concern for me. If it were just my husband and I, I would care less. But with this being a special occasion for my daughters 18 birthday, I would hate for that to dampen the trip. I can deal with that stuff, but my daughter is a little less easy going than I....lol.

Does there appear to be any offers for the James currently that we could priceline/hotwire? I feel comfortable using either for this property. Or, with the free night would I just be better off still paying a little more but getting the studio King?

Lastly, as mentioned the Talbott and Hotel Monaco are running specials as well, which make both of them very attractive. The Talbott having a slight edge over Hotel Monaco being it's #3 on trip advisor.

So - guess I would ask if all three are options - does one definitely stand out over the others...... Are there hotwire / priceline offers that will even get me below these prices(I realize no 100% guarantee I would get these for sure) or should I just choose and book directly thru the hotel? Thank you! Sorry to be a pain! All three of these come in below what I was expecting to pay for the Drake (except for Talbott (which is a total of $45 more)) and they are all three better rated properties than the Drake as well. Thanks for your help!

[AaronJB]

Are you driving in? If you are driving in, the Ritz has a deal with free parking.

The pool at the Intercontinental is a junior olympic sized pool, so unfortunately it's more used for exercise/lap swimming, but if you just go in the pool area, you can really feel the history and how having this gigantic pool on a high floor was a huge accomplishment when it was originally built in the late '20's.

If you are looking for more personalized service, I think the Sofitel for around $100 is a really, really good deal and puts you in a terrific location. The Talbott is essentially around the corner from the Sofitel and while the Talbott is a warm, cute and really solid property, I just really wouldn't think twice between that and the Sofitel and would go for the Sofitel for quite a bit less and then use the difference for a nice restaurant visit (or two.)

The Sofitel is showing this morning for $358 w/taxes included on HOTWIRE. That property is right by the core of the Michigan Ave area, but is also an easy/couple minute walk to the Oak Street shopping area/Gold Coast. There are also a couple of great breakfast options nearby, as well as a cheaper coffee/tea option in the very popular Capital One Cafe (http://www.yelp.com/biz/capital-one-360-caf%C3%A9-chicago-2)

The James and Monaco are very nice properties and the the idea of a river view is very appealing (again, I'm more for river view than lake view, especially in the Winter - there's just more activity along the river during the day and the streetlights along the river are lit up at night), but $70 for the upgrade feels quite steep. If it was notably less than that it would be of more interest. In nicer weather, the difference in location between the James and Monaco is not really a big deal. However, the somewhat more convenient location is a plus in the middle of Winter. I don't think you could really go wrong with either, but I do still think that the Sofitel is a better value via HOTWIRE and would offer a very nice experience, great location and the difference can be used for other things.

Unfortunately, in the 4.5* spot on PRICELINE Express and HOTWIRE, I'm seeing the Intercontinental (I'm also seeing the Intercontinental when searching for 2a/2c - searching for four people sometimes leads to different results.) You could bid at the 4.5* level on PRICELINE for the NMA-River North area, but I would think the chances of getting the Intercontinental are high (although I think you could probably get it for $65-70.)

Is there a style of hotel - hip/trendy, sleek, quiet, etc - that your daughter would prefer?

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

Please use the site's Support Page for regular rate purchases and searches.

[jamey]

Thank you again AaronJB! We are flying in, so parking will not be an issue. I actually thought about driving up but never know what kind of weather we'll get and don't want to get stuck driving in a lot of snow. Plus, between the gas and parking it really isn't much savings to drive instead of fly! The cost for a regular King room at Hotel Monaco is $393 (thru hotel) and the King thru the James $366 (thru hotel) which would be comparable to the room at Sofitel.

I think if my daughter could choose a hotel, she would definitely like something hip/trendy/cool/unique. I could see her liking the Hard Rock too. I am seriously the most indecisive person ever! If this trip wasn't coming as a surprise, I would just ask her which place she prefers....but that would take the fun away! I would just like her to be a little wowed! Jamey

[AaronJB]

Let me take a look around and see if there is anything else available. Be back shortly.

One new idea: The Radisson Blu Aqua is $129.98 via Travelocity with city view. That is a slick new building (which looks like waves on the outside, no less) by the river. That was not available this morning.

Travelocity has one room left for $197 at the Ritz Carlton (2 nights, 1 free.)

Will keep searching.

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

[AaronJB]

The MileNorth is now showing again on Expedia for $112 (350-400 SQ FT room), but $128 for a city view and $139 for a loft suite (650 SQ FT.) The Public is also $123 via Travelocity, but my concern is that it's a little too out of the way if weather turns particularly cold (although hopefully the Winter this year will be like the last couple.)

Finally, I'll also suggest Travelzoo, restaurants.com and Groupon for cheaper options on some great restaurants.

The other thing that I often recommend is the Kendall College Dining Room, which is a higher-end dining option that is cheaper because it is effectively a testing ground for the high-end culinary college's students. (http://www.yelp.com/biz/kendall-college-the-dining-room-chicago)

If you have any city questions, please ask.

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

[jamey]

Hi AaronJB! Just wanted to say thank you for all of your help and the info you provided in my earlier posts. I ultimately decided to go ahead and book directly at Hotel Monaco. They had a great cyber Monday special that actually made them much more affordable! I am so happy to have found this website. I will definitely be using it in the future! Thanks again and happy holidays!

[thereuare]

Glad you found something that works for your needs and budget.

Thank you for closing this thread with your decision.

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

Have a great trip!