Priceline Hotel: Chicago 4* 6/11-6/14

[roaming_jane]

Bummer. Just tried to score a 4* in Chicago on Priceline with no success. I may have done my research a bit poorly though.

I first checked to see if there are any conventions during this period. There were none, but the Blues Festival ends on June 11th, 2006. Should I have taken that into consideration and split my stay?

Here's my bidding process:

Millenium Park Zone 4*: $65 rejected

NMA 4*: $75 rejected

Midway 4*: $95 rejected

Skokie 4*: $115 rejected!

Now there are no more areas that don't have 4*'s to choose. Do I have to wait only 24 hours to begin again? And at what dollar point should I begin. I did see some $120's on the board.

Thanks so much.

[thereuare]

How firm are your plans for these dates?

Jun 12-14

NeoCon

[roaming_jane]

50,000 delegates?! I hope they are 10 to a room, or it's Stable-city! My plans are firm as the airfares are purchased and these days in Chicago follow a wedding in lower Michigan. So.....should I jack the price and lower the stars?!

Thanks.

[thereuare]

Just how high are you willing to go to stay in the city?

You can probably get the first nite of your stay somewhat reasonably and stay in the city, but the last two nites of your stay are extremely steep. You could stay out near ORD (for all or part of your stay) for about $100/nite at a 2.5*ish hotel.

What are your thoughts?

[roaming_jane]

Thanks for your responses. I would be willing to go as high as $200 per night to stay in the city. We won't have a car, so staying by the airport seems like a drag. Can I try priceline again 24 hours after my last rejected bid?

Thanks.

Jane

p.s. How did you find out about the convention? I used the link that was in a prior user's post, but it was invalid so I went to google and typed in chicago conventions 2006, but nothing listed for that time period.

[thereuare]

I too saw the link was broken so i found the correct link and edited the Chicago Conventions thread accordingly.

You may not be successful up to $200 although we will suggest a strategy to try, but before we do, would you want to SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID to get at least the first nite for under $200 (which i think is do-able). Would you be willing to stay at a different hotel each nite or splitting once is the maximum?

[roaming_jane]

What awesome attention one receives on this site! Thanks for updating the link. Splitting once would be the most we'd want to do. Feeling a little panicked, I went through savingsbarn.com to Expedia and see that they are offering Ramada Inn Lake Shore 2* for $139 a night. On Lake Michigan, 6 miles from downtown, but includes a free shuttle service. The hotel got mixed reviews from users (mostly unfavorable)....but I'm wondering if that might actually be a deal worth considering. Is that giving in too soon?!

Thanks.

[thereuare]

I'd give them a call to first see how often the 'scheduled' service runs.

I'd hate to throw in the towel, but this may not be such a bad deal given that the Ramada itself is already showing sold-out (so this is probably part of a block of rooms that Expedia bought and still has availability)

I suppose it depends what you're looking for? Then the other question is do you try for a sole nite (or two) via Priceline/Hotwire and then just "fill in" with this Ramada?

There are a few board members who are local to the area so hopefully they'll see this thread and give their thoughts on this property.

PS- please use our own Expedia link if you go this route :)

[AaronJB]

While it's not an optimal suggestion, one suggestion is staying in Evanston. It's a very nice college town (Northwestern) on the North border of Chicago. There's three hotels there (The Orrington, as well as a Hilton Garden and a Best Western) and there's both a Metra (metrarail.com) and CTA "L" (transitchicago.com) station right nearby, allowing you two different ways to get downtown or back (and both do head to different places downtown.

The Best Suggestion:

On 6/11, EasyClickTravel has what is very likely the Palmer House (4.5*, Loop area, $189.71), one of the service's off-the-record listings.

Hotwire.com doesn't really have anything for the 12th, but has what *appears* to be the poorly reviewed Tremont for $125, the nice W Lakeshore for $263 or the fine Radisson for $284 for the night of the 13th.

877chicago.com has the Travelodge Downtown for $135 for 6/12-6/13. That's not very far (only a few blocks South) from the Palmer House. A basic hotel, but not far from the Palmer and still downtown within reasonable walking distance of the museums.

Finally, for the night of June 13th, EasyClickTravel also offers what is very likely the Hilton Towers Chicago for $189.71. The Hilton is an off-the-record 4.5* in the Loop area.

The Hilton is only a few blocks South of the Travelodge.

So, kind of a complicated plan, but it would at least have you be downtown and in the same general area (Palmer first night, Travelodge 2nd, Hilton 3rd). The three hotels are within a few blocks of each other.

Just trying to think up some better options than the Ramada.

[thereuare]

AaronJB, nice work. :)

[AaronJB]

Thanks!

Hopefully the original poster will see this before one or more of these hotel deals on these sites are gone. Three different hotels probably isn't optimal, but you can't get much closer than these three. Plus, if they end up not being fond of one, there's a different one the next night. And, I'd rather stay at three different hotels downtown than that Ramada.

[roaming_jane]

Thank you so much for all of the great advice. I will certainly take it into consideration. What a great tool this site is!

[nick5]

Let is know what you end up doing. "wandering minds want to know"

Aaron, kudo's nice job casing out the dates and places.

I'm just starting my chicago planning for a weekend get away. I'll report what I come up with once priceline bids are firm. :)

later friends.

ps,, just took my first none priceline trip in years. Went to Disney and stayed on-site. T'was nice.

Cheryl

[lowballer]

There are a few board members who are local to the area so hopefully they'll see this thread and give their thoughts on this property.

My first thought was that you're screwed. But after careful consideration, I'll let you sleep on my conveniently located Gold Coast couch for $300/night.

Seriously, unless you're spending all your time in Hyde Park that Ramada's location is terrible. The L doesn't go there, I wouldn't want to learn bus schedules, walking can easily get you stuck in a dangerous neighborhood and if you drive, for the love of God stay off the Dan Ryan. Enjoy.

[roaming_jane]

Thanks again, for everyone's inputs......but I do feel fairly screwed because I ended up booking the Ramada Inn Lake Shore for $139 on Expedia via betterbidding. My lushie travel companion would find it worse to move around hotel to hotel each day. Hopefully, we'll only be in the hotel to sleep, and with the extra money we saved......limo rides to and fro?! Sometimes when you are expecting the worst, you can find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Now....please tell me it won't be absolutely impossible to score Cubs tickets on Tuesday 6/13 7:05pm vs. the Astros. I know it's sold out, but is there an insider tip about where to go near the field where we might score a pair?

Thanks insiders. I'm not a travel Jedi yet. So much to learn.

[lowballer]

Cubs tickets are the least of your problems. The market has become VERY soft. I am trying to sell several games myself (not that date) and it is difficult to get much, if anything, over face for common games.

Mentioning specific Web sites is apparently frowned upon here, so I won't say anything further.

[AaronJB]

Oh well. :)

[AaronJB]

If you still want to reconsider the Ramada, the original plan I had is no longer available, but you could do:

June 11: Whitehall (a block from Michigan Ave. shopping, great location) - $160, EasyClickTravel

June 12: Gold Coast Hotel (not great, but very nice location in Lincoln Park by the Zoo, not *that* far from the Whitehall and just about the only thing available on that day) - $119, Orbitz

June 13: Whitehall - $160, EasyClickTravel

Avg Price: $146

Much Better Location(s): Priceless.

While I know your friend doesn't want to move hotels, I thought I'd try one last time to come up with an alternate plan that would put you in a **much** better location than that Ramada. The Gold Coast hotel isn't great (a hotel to sleep in, essentially), but lovely neighborhood, the Zoo's right across the street and Michigan Ave. shopping is not that far away. At the 4* Whitehall, you're literally a block from shopping and not that far from Navy Pier, etc. Plenty of good transit and dining options near each, as well........ Additionally, you wouldn't have to rely on the Ramada shuttle (or pricey taxi rides) to take you the fairly long distance in & out of the city.

I hope you reconsider. :)

[ClaireCrowe]

How about the Cass Hotel? We finally booked the Cass for 7/25-7/27 and 7/29-7/31 after bidding up to 120 (I think) for a four star in downtown Chicago with no success. We can still cancel the Cass without penalty if we find something better before we get there, but the location, from what I understand, is swwwweeeeet! And we're only paying $105 a night after searching quite extensively for the best rate from different sites. CTA is practically on our doorstep, actually just several blocks away (very walkable). It's barebones as motels go :) , but it is a place to sleep so that we can spend our time exploring and eating. Who wants to spend their time in a gorgeous, hopping city in their hotel room??? Any input on the Cass from our resident Chicago experts? Oh yeah, the address of the Cass is 640 N. Wabash, two blocks from the Magnificent Mile.

[AaronJB]

Haven't been in it, but certainly a great location a couple of blocks W of Michigan Ave. On a bad set of dates (very busy), if you can get the Cass, it's certainly worthwhile.

[ClaireCrowe]

Thank you AaronJB. I guess then that I had better be content that I've gotten the Cass and leave well enough alone. I will report back on my impressions of the Cass, even though I don't think it is a Priceline Hotel, if anyone is interested. I'm just glad to be downtown, especially with the Venetian Night and all of the other activities going on!!