Hotwire Hotel: 3* Chicago (Mag Mile-Streeterville) Hilton Garden Inn

[voodoodoodoo]

I'm going to piggy-back onto this thread with a very similar question -- I'm seeing Hotwire $92/night for 8/24-8/28 in Magnificent Mile Area - Streeterville. 5 amenities are:

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

Pool(s)

So I'm guessing either Hilton Garden Inn or the City Centre. When I first looked at it earlier today, I saw the TripAdvisor listing that made me think it was the Hilton (my preferred choice) due to the # of reviews and the rating. Now, I'm checking again and I see what looks like the same hotel (though it's a $1 more now), but there's no TripAdvisor info listed at all. Do they sometimes remove it from listings or do some not have it? Now I'm a little worried that it will be the City Centre.

Thanks for the great board and I'll be sure to use the HOTWIRE link when I purchase...

[AaronJB]

voodoodoodoo, please create a separate thread and we would be happy to help.

[thereuare]

I've moved the above post(s) to its own topic...

What is the star rating of the HOTWIRE property you're seeing above?

[voodoodoodoo]

Oh, ha, sorry - I forgot the most important part! It's a 3 star property. Basically, we're looking to stay in the Magnificent Mile area for, hopefully, $100 or less. The official wedding hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn, so that'd be nice if we end up there. Of course, the special block rate there is a mere $189...

Just checked again and the listing is now $95 and, again, does not include the TripAdvisor info.

Thanks for your help!

Mark

[AaronJB]

Out of curiosity, what about the trip advisor rating previously made you think it was the HGI?

Right now, it is only showing amenities, and given the price and lack of tripadvisor rating, I would definitely lean towards the CC. Which, really, isn't terribly far from the HGI.

The new Hotel Sax is $159 on Expedia; that's closer.

The Amalfi is $175 on Expedia; that's a couple of blocks away and offers free breakfast.

The Hilton Garden Inn's cheaper on Expedia than the wedding rate. Hampton Inn a block from the HGI is also under the wedding rate price, if not much.

The City Centre is showing a $139 discounted rate on Expedia.

[thereuare]

With only the amenities list it could be other one, and i agree with AaronJB that the more likely outcome is the City Center Hotel... it appears much more frequently than the Hilton Garden Inn and the retail price (which i do not recommend using to identify hotels as it is frequently inaccurate) also matches that of the City Center.

Please use this HOTWIRE link to begin any purchases you make.

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[AaronJB]

Odd that the wedding party did not appear to get a discount from the HGI beyond rates available to the public. The most expensive it appears to be during these four dates is $189 (24th-26th), which is the non-refundable rate (versus $209, so not much difference.)

The Westin River North is $199 for those same dates. The Amalfi is $202 for these dates, but at least there you get breakfast and evening cocktails. Both of these hotels are within a few blocks of the HGI. The Intercontinental's $200; they could have a reception in one of the incredible ballrooms there. The Hampton Inn a block from the HGI is $189 and they offer free breakfast.

If you search for the 24th-28th instead of 24-26, you get largely cheaper rates, including a cheaper Hilton Garden Inn rate ($161/$179).

This is not anything against the planning for the wedding (and nothing against the HGI, which is a very nice HGI), I just have thought at times that I'd be good at planning hotels for wedding parties (a "wedding hotel planner", taking into account different budgets and needs and placing people in hotels near the wedding that would be a right fit for them) in downtown Chicago and I'm just seeing other deals here at 4*'s for only a few dollars more.

[voodoodoodoo]

Thanks again for your help. To answer your questions Aaron, the original tripadvisor rating was ... 3.5 i think. it has had the # of reviews that was similar to what was on tripadvisor. maybe i was wrong though. I know you say you can't rely on the tripadvisor info, but I was browsing through some of the other possibilities and it seems like you can make some guesses -- ie, if Hotwire says it has 180+ reviews and you look at one of the possibilities on the TripAdvisor site and that hotel only has 60 reviews, it's not going to be that one. Does that make sense?

Not sure who booked the Hilton Garden Inn -- it's pretty central to some of the wedding stuff. I might actually call again about their group rate, maybe the person I was talking to was mis-informed. I'll let you know if I decide upon something on Hotwire. Now I'm pondering whether to get some nicer for maybe around the same price on Priceline and just stay wherever we end up. As you guys have pointed out, things are pretty compact in that area.

cheers,

Mark

[AaronJB]

A TA rating of 3.5/5 would be a match for the CC. The HGI has held a 4 or 4.5 (currently 4.5) for some months now.

[AaronJB]

If you bid for a 4* in the River North/NMA area for these dates, the *possible* 4* furthest away from the HGI (the Drake) would be about a 15-17 minute walk. The furthest 4* potential win away from the HGi in the Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park area would be the Hilton Towers, which is about a 32-35 minute walk to the HGI. However, lets say you bid Millennium Park 4* and got the Hilton - you could walk the few blocks from the hotel to a Red Line station, catch the Red Line and take it 4-5 stops North to Grand. The HGI is next to (literally, the stairs leading down to it are out front) that station.

So really, worst case scenario in either zone, you aren't horribly far from the HGI, and there's plenty of public transit options.

[voodoodoodoo]

Woo! With a little sleuthing and patience I was able to get the hotel I wanted at a great price!

I kept looking over the last few days and would inevitably see a 3* in NMA for $90-$95 that matched the amenities of the Hilton Garden Inn and the City Centre. I was hoping for HGI because that's the "official" hotel of the wedding we'll be attending. As I described in the previous post, the first time I looked, there were tripadvisor ratings that made me guess HGI, but every search after the first had a 3* without any tripadvisor info. Per the suggestions, it seemed like it was more likely the City Centre.

But I just checked this evening and I got a $89 quote. When I looked at the details, the TripAdvisor info was back! 4 out of 5 stars and 120+ reviews. I looked at Tripadvisor and HGI currently has 121 reviews, while City Centre only had around 70. So I figured it _had_ to be the HGI or perhaps a new place. And as luck would have it, I paid and it's the Hilton.

Thanks for this great resource - I used the board's HOTWIRE link to purchase. Consider me another success story -- saving $100 per night off the $189 "special" price they quoted me when I called the hotel.

Oh, one note -- after I first posted the previous thread our dates shifted by one day to 8/23-8/27. That didn't seem to affect what came up on Hotwire though. Until tonight!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to hear it worked out well for you (could it be any better?) and you were able to get the hotel you wanted at a very deep discount!

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and for using our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

Enjoy your stay and have fun at the wedding.