Priceline Hotel: Downtown Chicago 3/8/14-3/16/14 help

[meggoev]

Hi there,

I'm new to the boards but not completely new to the Priceline name your own price. I'm looking for some general advice prior to me bidding on hotels or deciding to go a different route.

I'm noticing that hotel prices are pretty reasonable up until the weekend 3/15 and 3/16. Is this due to St. Patty's day? If I do a Priceline name your own price bid (using the appropriate links of course) would I hinder my possibilities by including those two nights? I've never done a name your own price for this long of a stay and I'm not sure whether or not it helps or hurts my chances of getting a great deal. Is it worth me waiting to book until closer to the actual check-in day?

I'll be attending a seminar at the Gleacher center, so would like to be in the vicinity. I'm open to taking a cab or walk (weather permitting) there and back if the hotel and price are right. I'd like 4* and above.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

[AaronJB]

Hi there,

I'm new to the boards but not completely new to the Priceline name your own price. I'm looking for some general advice prior to me bidding on hotels or deciding to go a different route.

I'm noticing that hotel prices are pretty reasonable up until the weekend 3/15 and 3/16. Is this due to St. Patty's day? If I do a Priceline name your own price bid (using the appropriate links of course) would I hinder my possibilities by including those two nights? I've never done a name your own price for this long of a stay and I'm not sure whether or not it helps or hurts my chances of getting a great deal. Is it worth me waiting to book until closer to the actual check-in day?

I'll be attending a seminar at the Gleacher center, so would like to be in the vicinity. I'm open to taking a cab or walk (weather permitting) there and back if the hotel and price are right. I'd like 4* and above.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

St Patty's Day is usually pretty low-key for hotels. I think the issue in this case is that the Housewares Show falls during the 3/15-18 period this year and that it one of the bigger/est conventions of the year in Chicago.

If you do run into a situation where a couple of days are noticeably worse than the whole stay, I'd recommend splitting the stay into 3/8-14 and then 3/14-16. If you tried to bid for the entire stay together, it's not that you would not still possibly be successful as much as it may cost more than if you split your stay up. That definitely may, however, mean switching hotels.

What would be your desired budget per night for this stay? The Gleacher Center is in a highly central location right by the river. You could bid in the River North-NMA area, but then it becomes being willing to stay anywhere within the desired zone and the zone does go fairly far North, with the Public Hotel being the furthest North possibility. Still a reasonable cab ride, but that would be a possibility. March is usually okay in Chicago, although it's been a pretty lousy Winter so far.

With HOTWIRE, you could go for a hotel within the Mag Mile-River North zone, which would be the lower half of the River North-NMA area on PRICELINE and increase your chances of being closer/close/very close to Gleacher.

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

[meggoev]

Thank you! This is very helpful.

My budget is around $140 nightly, ideally much lower. The conference I'm going to has a group rate of $140 at the Embassy Suites, breakfast included. The place looked a little boring and the reviews aren't the best, so I was hoping to mix it up and stay somewhere nicer for hopefully a lot less. I realize breakfast wouldn't be included anywhere if I go the Priceline route, so I'd need to go a bit cheaper nightly to compensate. Do you think that's a reasonable goal?

Maybe I'll be able to go lower during the week, then move on Friday and fork out a bit more, so overall it averages to around $140 nightly. Just thinking out loud here. I hadn't realized the hotwire regions were split out differently, good point. That could be helpful in terms of finding a place that's much closer to the center. My conference actually ends on Friday, so Friday night and Saturday night I can really stay wherever. Just tacked those days on to explore Chicago a bit. Do you have any favorite hotels?

I should add, I've never been to Chicago and I'm from Southern California so I'm fairly clueless on all of this. Especially the weather! Yikes! Thanks again!

[AaronJB]

I'll do a little further research, but from what I've looked at so far you should have no problem staying under $100, at least for the longer 3/8-14 period, but the 14th-16th are probably going to be moderately over.

Both Embassy Suites properties in the city are nice examples of the chain, but they are nothing you wouldn't expect from a city ES, as well. Plus, if your rate is $140, I'd definitely recommend staying for cheaper and then just getting breakfast anywhere - and there are plenty of options (please let me know if you need recommendations - if you do, please provide likes/dislikes and any other information - once you do get a hotel, I'd be happy to provide more specific recommendations convenient to your hotel.)

Based on what I'm seeing, if you decided to bid, I think you're probably looking at $75-85 for a 4* in the River North-NMA area for the 3/8-14 period, then a 4* for the 3/14-16 period may require around $105-115 +/- a few dollars (there is a 4* in the Gold Coast for $125 for the 3/14-16 time period, as well as a 4.5* in the Gold Coast for the 3/14-16 period that would appear to be the Thompson, which was Sutton Place Chicago before it was close for several months and revamped last year - it opened as the Thompson in October.)

If you're flexible, you may want to stay in the Gold Coast area for the additional nights you are not at the conference to experience a different area. Or, you could stay in the Loop instead. If you stay in the Gold Coast, that is a very nightlife/restaurant heavy area, plus it's reasonably close to Lincoln Park Zoo (free) and Old Town (which has the Second City theater.) If you stay in the Loop, you're closer to museums.

If you would like to go with HOTWIRE for the whole stay or part of the stay, let me know if there is a listing of interest.

ALSO:

For the 3/8-14 period, there's a number of regular rate options that I think are compelling, too - the MileNorth (which used to be the Affinia) is $104 for sale on Expedia. That would be a larger room in an AWESOME location. That would be - I think - walkable to where you need to be and great in terms of being right in the center of the Michigan Ave area.

In fact, if you'd rather go for a "known", the MileNorth deal for $104 is a really nice option to consider for the 3/8-14 period. The cheapest 4* I'm seeing for 3/8-14 on HOTWIRE is $96, so not a substantial difference.

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

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

[meggoev]

Great suggestions, this is incredibly helpful! Can't thank you enough!

I liked your idea of the MileNorth, plus, it is cancellable which is nice in case I decide to try my luck at a better deal and bid instead later on. Good thinking! The hotel also has great reviews, interesting that it's so much cheaper than others. Any breakfast spots you recommend in that area? I won't have much time in the mornings for sit down breakfasts, but I love coffee shops and bakeries that are unique to the area. Anything on the way to the Gleacher center would be ideal.

I also like the idea of staying in the Gold Coast area over the weekend. Looks like a unique and fun area, and I'm quite the foodie so restaurants are a big plus! I'll have a friend joining me for the weekend so I'd like to go a bit more "all out", if that's even possible at these prices :) The Thompson looks like a great hotel. Any other interesting properties in the Gold Coast area?

Anyway, can't thank you enough. This is really more help than I could have asked for. I'll do a bit more thinking but will likely end up bidding on something in the Gold Coast area for the weekend. Will keep you posted!

[AaronJB]

The Gold Coast area is a small area that's a short walk (a few minutes at most) from the North end of the NMA area. HOTWIRE's definition of the area is different, but the South border of the area is Oak Street, which has a set of very high-end boutique stores. On HOTWIRE, some of the hotels in the service's "Gold Coast" area are more just at the top end of the NMA area.

The Gold Coast has a variety of restaurants, as well as a fair amount of nightlife options. The show "Giuliana and Bill" on cable channel E! often shows the Gold Coast as they live there and have a restaurant (and I think the second one has either opened or is opening soon) in the River North area.

If it's a nice day out (and you never know with Chicago), it's a pleasant walk up to the Zoo from the Gold Coast area and the Old Town area is right on the way. Old Town has one of my favorite stores in the city, The Spice House, a beautiful little husband/wife-run store that sells herbs/spices, including "themed" blends that are named after neighborhoods. Some of the city's best chefs shop there and it's quite a feast for the senses when you walk in. (http://www.thespicehouse.com/info/chicago-spice-store.html)

The MileNorth is on a side street right off Michigan Ave. close to the center of the Michigan Ave. shopping area. You could walk down Michigan Ave. to Gleacher, but you could also walk down St Clair, which is nice and less busy/crowded. Both West Egg Cafe and Yolk are options on the way to Gleacher (although Yolk is a LITTLE bit out of the way to the East, but still essentially on the way.) Over the river (so somewhat out of the way, but not bad) is Wildberry, which is a very popular (I haven't eaten in the one downtown, but I've tried one of the locations outside the city) breakfast mini-chain (there are a few locally) and it's a good, traditional (eggs, pancakes, etc) option.

There is a Corner Bakery about a block South of the MileNorth. That is a chain and not uniquely Chicago, but it's a good, quick option for breakfast/lunch/dinner. In fact, I recommend it as sort of a "room service alternative" for the hotels right around it (the MileNorth and the Hyatt Mag Mile.) In the Gold Coast area, there's the highly popular Original Pancake House and then there's other options if you go up to Lincoln Park (Anne Sather, with its giant cinnamon rolls; or La Fournette near Old Town.) Or, things like Xoco (a casual option from Frontera chef Rick Bayless) and Doughnut Vault (which is cash only and sells 'till they run out) in River North.

MileNorth really puts you square in the center of the Michigan Ave. area. If you stayed there, I wouldn't cab it to Gleacher unless the weather was just really bad (and, really, I can't see it being that bad in mid-March, or at least as bad as it has been lately.) Plus, able to be cancelled (although do check the fine print for details.) If you stayed at the MileNorth and then did the Thompson for the additional days, it would be an easy walk from the MN (over to popular Rush Street, then a few minutes North) to the Thompson.

Also, it's an easy walk from the MileNorth to the Red Line subway at State and Chicago.

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

[meggoev]

Alright, so I'm back at it again. I've had a *slight* change of plans which is leading me to reconsider my original plan. Bottom line - the MileNorth I booked for Saturday March 8 through Friday March 14. However, I really need a room through that Friday night, checking out on Saturday the 15th. Turns out I'll be staying with a friend on the 15th so I won't need a second hotel for the whole weekend.

Expedia makes it difficult to add on an additional night, plus, the MileNorth seems to no longer be available for that Friday night (at least through Expedia). For convenience and reimbursement purposes at work, I'd prefer to have just one hotel that I stay at Sat March 8 - Sat March 15. So, assuming the Expedia MileNorth booking is free to cancel (which I'm 99% sure it is, but will double and triple check before making any moves), would the Thompson be another option? I've been looking at HOTWIRE, particularly the 4.5 star hotel in the Gold Coast. I do realize this is farther and might make it difficult to walk to and from my seminar...however I'm willing to either attempt to walk depending on weather, or take a cab. I'm fairly certain this is the Thompson, which looks like a great hotel with lovely reviews in a fun area. Since I'm not familiar with the area, I was looking for some expert advice...? MileNorth or Thompson? Price differential is not significant. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[meggoev]

Another quick note - the price on the hotwire secret hot rate hotel (presumably the Thompson) has been fluctuating. I would not make this switch unless it's goes back to around 105 a night (As it was yesterday). At this exact moment it looks to be around 116. I've watched it go up and down a few times now, so I'm not too concerned about that.

Thanks again!

[AaronJB]

The Thompson is probably a 5-10 minute walk (10 absolute tops) North of the MileNorth. It's an easy, straightforward walk. You can walk a few blocks NW of the Thompson and grab the the subway a couple of stops South to the Grand/State station and then walk East or take a taxi.

Switching hotels is understandably not the best option, but nearby hotels such as the Thompson are an easy walk away and maybe if you call in advance and let them know they could work with you regarding holding luggage or even early check-in.

If the weather is nice (well, for Chicago in March - I hope it will be better by then, it's been the worst Winter in years), the walk from the MileNorth or even the Thompson is a pleasant and easy one. If you stayed at the Thompson, you could just walk South on Rush and then cross over. If you stay at the MileNorth I'd walk South on St Clair.

Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches (or our Expedia link if you purchase thru that service).