Priceline Hotel: 4* North Michigan Ave for 5/4-5/6. Bid suggestions?

[farrelljennings]

Looking for good advice on starting bid for a 4* in North Michigan Ave - River North Area. Checking in on Friday, 5/4. Checking out on Sunday, 5/6.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

What is your maximum bid for this stay... we wouldn't want to suggest a strategy that was higher than you were willing to pay.

As well, is the Loop zone also acceptable? Many users bid both zones in order to increase the number of bidding opportunities available.

Let us know the above and we'll suggest a strtegy for you to follow.

[farrelljennings]

Thank you! It is hard to specify a maximum bid - our goal is to get the best price we can, and still stay within walking distance of Michigan Ave. shops, and the museum district. Would the Loop meet this goal?

If we can stay for $100-$150 per night, that would be great. Thank you!

[thereuare]

I've walked it, but it can depend upon how much you like to walk.

You can see our Priceline Map for this area, see some of the hotels in the Loop area, and then you can determine if this is a close enough area for you.

I did take a quick look and rates do seem high for these dates, so including the Loop in your bidding may help you get a better price, but if it doesn't meet your needs than it's obviously not worth staying there. I did find the Whitehall Hotel for $147/nite... it's not a 4* hotel but at least that might be able to be used as a back-up or a "deal to beat".

Board member AaraonJB knows this area well and will likely (hopefully) comment regarding the Whitehall once he sees this thread.

Let us know your thoughts on adding the Loop or not and we'll then take it from there.

[farrelljennings]

That is really helpful. With the Whitehall as a backup at $147 - I'd like to try bidding on a 4* without including the loop. Thanks for your thoughts!

[AaronJB]

The Whitehall is "location, location, location." It's half a block from Michigan Ave and at that point of Michigan Ave. is the Hancock Tower/Observatory, Water Tower Mall and other malls/shopping. The hotel is an older property that has a bit of wear and tear (and some rooms may be better than others), and the reviews can be very mixed. However, they are apparently doing some updates right now. The great thing about the easyclicktravel.com rates is that they're usually somewhere in the neighborhood of about $100 off the retail price (and sometimes more.)

The Loop to Michigan Ave can be as much as a 30 minute walk if you're walking from the South end of the Loop (the Chicago Hilton/Towers). However, the Swissotel on the river is about a 5 minute walk from Michigan Ave. shopping and I've seen (a lot of) people (and this stuns me as someone who's lived here all my life) complain that that is too long a walk.

The problem is that this is a busy weekend (two big conventions start on the 6th and a lot of that traffic arrives on the 5th, it appears), so you may have to push towards your limit to get another 4*.

Essentially, the Loop is closer to museums, but a good portion of the loop area can be very quiet at night, as once the workers head home, that area closes up. The Michigan Ave. area is further from museums, but offers more shopping and stays open later.

[farrelljennings]

This is great. Thank you very much!

[AaronJB]

The 4th would be an easier day than the 5th. I don't see anything reasonable for the 4-6th on Hotwire, but there is a 4* in the Loop for $119 (fitness/business/restaurant/internet) for the 4th that I'm guessing is the Palmer House. The Loop may not be where you want to stay and I'm guessing you don't want to switch hotels if you're only going to be here for 2 days, but thought I'd throw this out as a deal you could combine with something else for the next day.

What appears to be the James Hotel is showing for $219 (4* Mag Mile/Streeterville) on HOTWIRE for the 5th. That's right in Michigan Ave. shopping. You could spend 1 day in the loop at a historic hotel (if the HOTWIRE $119 is the Palmer, the Palmer's the oldest continually operating hotel in North America; it's a huge hotel with a grand lobby) close to the museums and you could spend the second day at a sleek, newer (The James, which renovated an existing hotel, is one of the newest hotels in the city) hotel in the middle of the Michigan Ave. shopping area.

Just tossing out ideas.