Hotwire Hotel: 4* Chicago (Magnificent Mile Area - River North) Hotel Sax

[jnemmons]

I need help identifying this one. I am thinking it is either the Sax or the Felix but I am wanting to avoid the Felix.

2/14/14 to 2/17/14

$75 per Night

75% Recommended

I used the BiddingHelper.com and it come up with the following amenities:

Boutique Hotel, Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Restaurant(s), Business Center, Internet access, Accessible for the blind, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Great site!!!! Thanks so much!

[AaronJB]

I'd guess the Felix.

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[jnemmons]

Thanks so much!! I will be avoiding that one if possible!!!!!

[AaronJB]

Please keep us updated with what you decide and if you have additional questions.

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

[jnemmons]

Quick question. Has anyone actually stayed at the Felix? What is it like? I just heard that the rooms were small.

[AaronJB]

I haven't stayed there, but this property used to be an independent budget hotel. My guess is that they did a significant revamp of the look and feel of the property but given all of the reports about small rooms in this hotel they may have left the original room sizes (it was an older property - I walked by it as a budget hotel when it was announced that it was going to be revamped as the Felix and I wasn't even sure if it was still operating, it didn't seem to be) as is.

I like the location (at least) a lot - it's (I think, personally) an easy walk to Michigan Ave. shopping and not a far walk from River North restaurants and nightlife. I see other options at the 4* level of interest - I see (at least when looking this afternoon) what is potentially the Public for $82, what may be the Hard Rock for $81. Do you need to be in a particular area/have plans where you need to be near a certain area? The Public would be further North at the very top end of the Gold Coast area. However, the Gold Coast area is nice and there's a subway nearby.

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

[jnemmons]

I was also looking at the Chicago Loop-Theater area as well. I did see the 4* on there for $80. I was thinking (or hoping) that may be the Hard Rock as well. We are coming to town for Valentine's weekend and then going to the Justin Timberlake concert at the United Center so we would like to be near that area. Thanks so much for all of your help!

[thereuare]

What are the amenities associated with the 4* Loop property?

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[AaronJB]

I'm not seeing what appears to be the Hard Rock anymore - I am seeing what I'm guessing is the Crowne Plaza Metro, which would be highly convenient (still cab, but real quick) to the concert, but the problem is that it would not be convenient to really anything else in terms of tourist activities.

Otherwise, I'm seeing:

The potential Public (very hip, trendy boutique redo of a historic property from a legendary hotel designer. Inconvenient to the concert, but very popular area. Subway nearby.)

I'm actually seeing what appears to be the Sax instead of the Felix this morning. It could still be the Felix, but the 4/5 tripadvisor rating on the detail page would lead me to lean towards the Sax. Check to see that you are also seeing 4/5.

I'm seeing the Intercontinental for $96. Great location on Michigan Ave by the river. Widely varied rooms - you may get one on the small side, you may not.

Are you looking for something in particular in terms of hotel? Let me know more what you are looking for and I'd be happy to make more specific recommendations.

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

[jnemmons]

Thanks so much!!

I have stayed at the Sax and I do like it quite a bit. I am looking for a place with a little bit larger room. I really do not have to be really close to the concert. I would rather be close to everything and then just cab over to the United Center. The only thing I worry about is the type of bed. I am a larger guy so a king would be ideal but I know with using Hotwire, it can be a crap shoot. I know once I make a decision I need to call them to verify bed type as it is not guaranteed.

I checked out the Public and it does look really nice. I also checked out the Swissotel as well and it looked nice as well. I will look at the options here shortly and see what is out there and post when I find some that look great. I would like to try and stay under $100 a night with a 4* if possible but just want to avoid the Felix and the Allerton. Thanks again!!

[AaronJB]

I think it's an excellent idea to have the longer cab ride to the concert but stay closer to everything else.

The Public used to be the Ambassador East, which was a historic hotel that used to be THE celebrity hangout (Sinatra, Bogart, Bacall and in years after, Paul Newman, Bill Murray, Robert Redford and others) years ago. I don't know if the Public still has this, but under the Ambassador East, there were suites named after frequent celeb guests. The issue with the Public is that it's at the North tip of the Gold Coast area, which is a little walk North of the NMA area. If you are looking for nightlife, it's a great/trendy/popular area with restaurants and more.

Unfortunately, with Chicago it's city rooms, so your average new hotel is probably 275-350 square feet, although some city hotels are going to have smaller rooms, particularly a few of the boutiques and older properties like the Palmer. As for beds, King is an upgrade at some properties in the city, although it depends (and you can always ask.) A couple of hotels that have above-average (as Chicago goes) sized-rooms are the Hyatt Mag Mile (the one on St Clair) and the Westin River North, although neither of those hotels are seen that often as wins.

Let us know what you decide and if you have questions about additional listings.

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

[jnemmons]

I ended up pulling the trigger on a 4* Mag Mile - River North for $78 and got the Hotel Sax. Below are the amenities. Please keep in mind that HOTWIRE actually listed the last booking on there as the Hotel Sax so I thought I would go ahead and pull the trigger on it. It had a 90% Recommended on it.

Amenities:

Boutique Hotel Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center

Restaurant(s) Business Center Internet access

Accessible for the blind Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility

Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

Thanks so much for all of the help!! I appreciate it!

James

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

This is a very nice deal for the Sax, which is in a superb location right by the river. Quite close to the restaurants and nightlife of the River North area. Let us know if you have any city-related questions.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[jnemmons]

Hello again,

I just wanted to make everyone aware that if you made reservations at the Sax before February, I would call them and confirm your reservation. They have now transitioned to the Marriott Hotel Chicago. I gave them my HOTWIRE confirmation number and the reservationist had to connect me to the front desk so they could find it in their old system. Not a huge deal but to save confusion I would go ahead and give them a call. Thanks again for the help!!

James

[AaronJB]

Thanks for the note!

Interesting to see that this is no longer a Thompson hotel. Thank you for letting us know so that we can update the site's Hotwire Hotel List.