Hotwire Hotel: 4* Chicago (Magnificent Mile Water Tower) $146

[somerday33]

FULL AMENITIES: Smoke-free rooms, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower

 

Not seeing any similar matches on the list. Any ideas which hotel this could be? Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

 

A property with this amenity set has not yet been reported to the board.  I'm not certain, but my guess would be either the Millennium Knickerbocker or the Whitehall.

 

AaronJB is local to this area and very knowledgeable about the hotels here... is there something in particular that you're looking for and what is your maximum budget (per nite before fees/taxes) for this trip?

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

 

[somerday33]

Thanks, thereuare! 

 

I'm looking for something right downtown or near the Wrigleyville area. Budget is around $150-$200 a night, though cheaper is obviously fine. I've been restricting my search to four stars and better.

 

I've also been looking at this Lake View - Lincoln Park - Wrigleyville 4-star hotel for $159/night. I believe this is the Hotel Lincoln:
FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby, Tennis nearby, Accessible for hearing impaired, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower
 

Any recommendations among these two, or maybe something else?

 

Thanks for the help!

[AaronJB]

I do like Wrigleyville/Old Town/Lincoln Park a lot. I don't go downtown that much anymore at this point, but there is a tremendous (and very long) walking route that I used to take from Belmont all the way to Michigan Ave (and winding through Lincoln Park and Old Town.) Michigan Ave is fine enough for a stroll but a lot of it you can find elsewhere cheaper. Navy Pier (which I've often not recommended over the years) is hopefully going to improve considerably with the revitalization effort going on that is apparently intended to update it and make it of greater interest for locals (it - at least in my opinion - was really a tourist trap.) Navy Pier used to be listed as a top tourist trap under "tourist trap" on Wikipedia and I couldn't agree with that more. 

 

Chicago does have great museums, with the Art Institute, Field and Shedd being highlights, as well as the Museum of Science and Institute south of the city. 

 

All that said, the issue that I have with staying in Lincoln Park is this: there's really very few hotels in the area, including the Lincoln, the Best Western, Days Inn and a few boutiques. Usually this results in less of the way of deals in Lincoln Park and better deals downtown. However, I'm guessing something's going on downtown for these dates as downtown is fairly expensive, with a couple of options comparably priced to the Lincoln, but the majority are mildly/moderately more expensive.

 

I do see the 4* in Lake View w/Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness, Smoke Free, Free Internet, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Golf, Tennis, Deaf Accessible, Room Accessible, Bathroom Accessible, Roll-in Shower, Pet Friendly.

-- This would likely be the Hotel Lincoln.

 

If you are going to be heavily in Wrigleyville/LP/Old Town, can't do better than the Lincoln. 

 

Downtown I'm seeing the potential Whitehall (Smoke Free, Blind Accessible, Deaf Accessible, Travel Accessible, Room Accessible, Bathroom Accessible, Roll-in Shower, 4* Mag Mile -WT), but there isn't much else. If this is the Knickerbocker, that would be fine. If the Whitehall, that is a a great location but a so-so property.

 

Once you start getting towards $200 downtown, I'd look at the Lincoln from the standpoint of I can walk from the Lincoln to the Gold Coast within a reasonable time frame (a trek, but a pleasant one that's not major) and at that point, it's not much longer to North Michigan Ave.

 

Let me know if you have any questions before booking (city or otherwise)

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

 

 

 

[somerday33]

Thanks, Aaron! I really appreciate all the information.

 

We'll be attending several games at Wrigley, so it makes sense to stay nearby, though it's not an absolute necessity. We're also interested in visiting art museums (the Art Institute is a must) and art house movie theaters, but it seems like transportation to those areas should be easy from the Wrigleyville area. (The CTA 7-day pass seems like the best bet for getting around. Do you think so, or is there a better option?)

 

It's Lollapallooza during those dates, so I'm guessing that's the reason for the more expensive downtown rates.

 

I'm leaning toward going with the (presumed) Hotel Lincoln. 

 

Do you have any other areas you recommend for a first-time visitor? Not so interested in the typical tourist stuff, though I imagine we'll do some of it. 

 

Thanks again for your help!

[AaronJB]

Lollapalooza is a problem and takes place during 3/4 nights.

 

The other listing that I find noteworthy in the around $175ish and under category is a 4* in Navy Pier-Millennium Park area for $180 w/Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower. 

-- This is a possible match for the Hard Rock. I think that would be a very good option in terms of offering a central location for the city as a whole. 

 

"art house movie theaters"

 

Music Box near Wrigley is the first and main thing that comes to mind.  Unfortunately, what classic movie theaters were left downtown are pretty much long gone - the Fine Arts (a small 4-screen art house theater near the Art Institute) fell somewhat into disrepair and was closed years ago. The Esquire (which was a classic theater that was split into smaller theaters) was closed - sadly - more recently and that became retail. There was another theater called McClurg Court with a glorious, 800 seat THX auditorium that was movie-going perfection, but that closed when a megaplex opened a couple of blocks away. The theater where critics view movies is actually in a random building downtown and is a nice facility. The main things left downtown really are a megaplex and a smaller multiplex a few blocks West.

 

In terms of classic theaters, Chicago really doesn't have anything for movie going anymore like the Zigfield in NYC (and even that is no longer a movie theater.) In terms of art house fare, there is art house fare at the megaplexes, but the Music Box is really an instance where you are getting a unique movie going experience. The Gene Siskel Film Center (http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/calendar) is the other key art house option and that's in the Loop.

 

"Do you have any other areas you recommend for a first-time visitor"

 

I think the issue with these dates is that with Lollapalooza, you have to figure that people are going to go for hotels in the Loop/near Millennium Park, because they're going to want to be close to Lollapalooza. The issue with Chicago is that once you get further out beyond Lincoln Park, there's pretty much nothing until you get into the suburbs. I like the suburbs, they are cheaper  and have some sights of their own (including the Ravinia Music Festival and the Chicago Botanic Garden), but the problems: it's a trek from the burbs downtown, the last train out is around midnight (if you are at a night game and miss the last train....) and if you aren't driving, it's too difficult to begin to get around most suburbs.

 

The Old Town area is quite nice and includes one of my favorite places in the city, the Spice House (http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-spice-house-chicago). Famed theater Second City is also in Old Town. The area to the West of the Loop is a bit out of the way, but is developing rapidly into a larger dining scene with restaurants like Girl and the Goat and Next, among a number of others. With a new hotel now (the Soho House), the area will likely continue to develop. River North (which is an easy walk from Michigan Ave) also has a number of great restaurants. Chinatown is also pretty easy to get to on the Water Taxi.

"We'll be attending several games at Wrigley"

 

I'm guessing that includes some night games, so in that case i'd say not the suburbs. 

 

"We're also interested in visiting art museums (the Art Institute is a must)"

 

I'm not as crazy about the Museum of Contemporary Art (I actually kind of liked it better in its former home), but it's okay. I'd focus on the Art Institute and looking for gallery shows of interest. 

 

Transportation is easy in Chicago and I don't think that walking from the Lincoln to the Gold Coast is that difficult. However, it is a bit of a walk at night from a CTA station to the Hotel Lincoln. During the day, there's also plenty of bus routes going past and heading to downtown. 

 

So the Lincoln would be a nice, less expensive option - if you could talk your way into a room with a view of Lincoln Park, that would be fantastic. Or the potential Hard Rock would be a more central location in the city as a whole.

 

Let me know if you have any questions before booking.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.