Priceline Hotel: 4* Bidding help Skokie/Niles/Evanston

[spederson]

Hi, apologies in advance for the LONG post! I am trying to get a room in Evanston for a wedding on Sat 1 Sep. As i understand it, there is only one 4* in that area (the Hotel Orrington), and that is what we would like to get (we will actually be arriving on Fri 31 Aug, but I think I have found the Orrington on Hotwire for that night for $65).

The hotel's own web site is showing no availability for 1 Sep, and I can't find any availability on any other web site either. But when I phoned the reservation line this morning, the (cranky) woman told me she does have two types of room available on that night, for $209 and $$239 (we didn't think we were going, so missed booking their block, which is now full).

Last night I tried making a couple of Priceline bids, for $110 and $120, with no luck. I screwed up the re-bidding process--I added Midway to get 2 tries at it, but I know I could have done it differently to get more than 2 (was not really hopeful that there were any rooms available at all, so didn't research it as thoroughly as I should have--I have done it a few times before but am a little rusty).

So, my questions are:

1) Do you think I have any hope of getting a Priceline room for this night, or should I just go ahead and book the room directly from the hotel? I'm pretty sure they have a cancellation charge which is either $25 or discretionary, and i don't want to get burned. But even if I could save a little bit of money on Priceline, it would be nice.

2) If you think it's worthwhile trying for a Priceline room, what strategy should I take?

We would really like to stay in Evanston both nights so we don't have to change hotels. Our other, much cheaper, option for the second night would be to get a room at the Renaissance North Shore, which is very close to the reception venue. But we don't really want to have to move. Everyone else is staying in Evanston and it just sounds more interesting than the suburb further north. We won't have a car, and would need to get to a park in Wilmette for a BBQ on Sunday. Plus, the wedding is a ways south of Evanston, so having to move further north and come back again wouldn't be too helpful. We'd be getting a hotel in downtown Chicago on the Sunday night, and getting on the train Monday afternoon. So Evanston would be good for public transport for getting downtown. But I don't want a lower star hotel in Evanston, as I've heard they are not great at all. If we can't get the 4* in Evanston, then we'll move to the north shore.

I did my two attempts at about 10:30pm last night, so assume I am locked out till then (unless I can re-open another browser window?).

Thank you in advance!

Sue

[AaronJB]

"the (cranky) woman told me she does have two types of room available on that night"...

Yeah, they've gotten some rather poor reviews for service at the Orrington. Sad, because it's a nice looking hotel and Evanston needs a top-notch hotel aside from the Hilton Garden Inn a few blocks away. The HGI is a nice (well, nice as HGI's go), newer HGI, and the HGI is actually closer (by a couple of blocks) than the Orrington to public transit. The HGI is also across of a beautiful multiplex, as well. The HGI is available on the 31st, but unfortunately it appears to be booked on the 1st.

The bad hotel in Evanston is the Best Western University Plaza, an old BW that used to be a Holiday Inn.

If you stayed at the Renaissance NS, you would take the shuttle to the Glencoe Metra station and take that South - or take the 213 bus South - to Evanston. The Metra would be the nicer, quicker option, but the issue is that the Metra only comes every 2 hours on Sundays. That Metra also goes downtown. The Metra trains are large, suburban commuter trains that look like low-key versions of Amtrak superliners, and are meant for much shorter distances.

I'm not seeing the Orrington on Hotwire for 8/31-9/2 and downtown seems awfully expensive for these dates.

Another thought is the renovated Doubletree in Skokie, which is about 20-25 minutes by bus West of Evanston. The Doubletree is, I believe, right across from Old Orchard Mall. There are busses (although it depends on the day/schedule) that run both from Old Orchard to Davis St Evanston (2 blocks from the Orrington) and from Old Orchard to Wilmette (although not sure exactly where in Wilmette you need to be.) The problem with the busses is that they do not run late and they aren't as nice as taking the train.

Moving from the Renaissance to the Orrington is a move, but not too tough. You'd just have to get the shuttle to the train.

There is really nothing next to the Renaissance aside from offices and I think a furniture store. There's a pizza place (barnaby's) that's been there for decades and decades and, while not outstanding, is pretty good. If you are up for a little walk over the highway, the Chicago Botanic Gardens (which are beautiful, especially late in Summer) are in Glencoe, a burb that starts on the other side of the expressway from the Renaissance. Evanston's very nice, as well - it's a college town with great restaurants and shops (The Spice House - which is a husband/wife run herb/spice store - and Dave's Rock Shop and Museum, for example). The suburbs North of it - Wilmette, Glencoe, Highland Park and Winnetka - are prettier and more upscale, but offer less to see and do.

This would be a crazy idea, but you could rent a car and stay a bit further out at the 3.5* Hotwire in Northbrook (I'm guessing the Hyatt or Hilton) for $69 that's showing for 8/31-9/2. You can rent a car at Union Station downtown, I believe.

Additionally, I'd highly recommend Homer's Ice Cream in Wilmette; an extremely popular ice cream store that has been there since the

[spederson]

(sorry for the uninformative post title, BTW--i should have put dates and full place name in, but I don't think I can change it now)

I just booked the Orrington on Hotwire for $64 (woo hoo!) for Fri 31 Aug, so that's taken care of. It's just the Saturday 1 Sep that's the bugbear--it looks very busy in Evanston (even the Best Western is charging $229 for the Saturday night, yikes).

Thank you for the transit info and quick reply! Basically we're coming into Glenview Amtrak on Friday night, then the wedding is Saturday afternoon south of Evanston, then the reception is near the Renaissance NS later that afternoon/evening. They're putting on a shuttle to and from Evanston for the reception, which would be helpful to reduce taxi costs, etc. I guess if we did move to the north shore, we could get the Orrington to hold our bags, go to the wedding, then get the bags, go up to the Renaissance NS and check in, then go the reception...but it would be a faff and I'm not sure that it's worth it, even for saving $100-150. We don't have that much time there, and I don't really want to spend a lot of precious child-free time roaring around with suitcases when we could be visiting and drinking :)

I've sent an email to the bride asking for her area recommendations for downtown on Sunday 2nd, so will be researching possibilities today too...will post that separately to keep things clearer!

thanks a lot in advance!

Sue

[AaronJB]

If you want to be near the Glenview Amtrak station, the Radisson Northbrook and Hilton Northbrook are about 3-4 miles North of there and I think both hotels offer shuttle service.

If you stay at the Renaissance on Saturday, then Sunday you can get them to take you to the Glencoe Metra station. Take the Metra all the way downtown to Ogilvie Transit Center, then walk across the street to Union Station, where the Amtrak trains arrive/depart. If you stayed at the Orrington, then Sunday you would just walk the couple of blocks to the Metra station (same line as the Glencoe stop) and take that downtown.

Happy to help & if you have any area questions, just ask.

Another hotel recommendation just to toss out an idea W/NW of the Renaissance is the Courtyard Marriott (800 Lake Cook Road) and Residence Inn (530 Lake Cook), which are both further away, but also within a few blocks of a Metra station at 601 Lake Cook.

The 601 Lake Cook/Glenview Metra Line is a different line from the Glencoe/Evanston line and the 601 Lake Cook/Glenview line does run to Union Station downtown.

[AaronJB]

Also, are you coming in on the Empire Builder Amtrak? If so, then Glenview is fine. If you are coming in from the South, I'd take the Metra from downtown to Evanston, instead of heading to Glenview. The only way from Glenview to Evanston off the top of my head is taxi.

Even if you are taking the EB, you could still head downtown and then head back North to Evanston on the Metra. Longer trip, but you could just relax on the train the whole time anyway, which is cheaper than taxi.

[spederson]

We are arriving on the Empire Builder and thought that it might be easier to get off at Glenview than go into Union and come back. We've taken that train once before, and it was so incredibly late that I'm not sure that I'd want to risk going into town and depending that public transport would still be running (it is supposed to get in around 7pm, I think--it was at least 4 hours late on our honeymoon and missed our connecting sleeper train to New York--oh well, we leaned on them and they put us up for the night at a big hotel downtown and gave us food money, so we got a day in Chicago, which was great!).

It isn't really that important for us to be near Glenview station, as I'll be coming back from Union so we can have a bit of time down in the city proper on Sunday/Monday, plus I have the Orrington booked now for the Friday night anyway. I figured we would need to take a taxi from Glenview station to a hotel anyway, so that's not a big deal. Given that there is a shuttle being put on for the wedding, and what sounds like easy public transit from Evanston to the ceremony, I don't think renting a car would be necessary--I suspect we'll probably be able to get a lift from someone on the Sunday to the park. If we got a car, we'd have to pay parking in most places, so a taxi or 2 would probably be cheaper.

From your very helpful advice, it sounds like the Renaissance on the second night certainly wouldn't be logistically impossible, but my husband is leaning much more towards staying put in Evanston if at all possible.

So, I guess the only question is, given that only the hotel's reservation line is showing any availability at all for Saturday night, whether it is worthwhile giving Priceline a go at all, or if I should just bite the bullet and get the $209 room. Have you heard of this before? (i.e. a hotel's web site showing no availability, but the reservation line still having something? it seems rather odd, but the cranky woman insisted it was so). If you think there's any chance whatsoever that I would get a Priceline room there for cheaper than $209, then I'll have a go tonight---if so, it would be great if you could recommend a bidding strategy.

I am looking forward to trying the ice cream place!!

Sue

[thereuare]

We have seen priceline wins while the hotel was otherwise sold-out... it's more the exception than the rule, but it does happen.

Is the rate when calling the hotel direct cancellable?

[AaronJB]

Homer's Ice Cream in Wilmette: http://www.homersicecream.com/history.htm

Would be a fun place to host a little get together for some guests. Maybe it's close to the park that the BBQ is in?

[spederson]

I tried again today and got another 2 failed bids--using the Savingsbarn link--for $160 and then $180. I missed the reservation line before it closed for the day, but will phone them tomorrow and just book it. If it turns out to be cancellable, I'll probably try Priceline again, but if not, I'll just leave it. The deal I got for the previous night averages both nights out quite reasonably.

thanks for all your help and I'll post to the thread with a final outcome!

Sue

[spederson]

Homer's Ice Cream in Wilmette: http://www.homersicecream.com/history.htm

Would be a fun place to host a little get together for some guests. Maybe it's close to the park that the BBQ is in?

Looks like it's only about 1.5 miles away; we will have to check it out!

Sue

[spederson]

Dang it, this is what i get for not calling reservations yesterday morning. They say they're full up now, but I should keep trying back every other day to try for a cancellation. I guess I'll alternate Priceline bids with phoning, and hopefully something will turn up! If we don't get into the Orrington, then I'll need to get something on the North Shore.

Nothing like living dangerously...!

Sue

[AaronJB]

I'd suggest the Doubletree in Skokie, or the Renaissance. You may also want to try to call the HGI to see if they have anything.

The problem with the North Shore is that there is not much in Evanston (3 hotels, 1 lousy) If you have to stay by Evanston, your only options are to either stay in Skokie (a good 20-25 minutes by bus) or to stay out in Northbrook at the Renaissance or the Courtyard on 1505 Lake Cook. There are a lot of other hotels in Northbrook and nearby Deerfield/Glenview, but they are further out West.

[spederson]

I'd suggest the Doubletree in Skokie, or the Renaissance. You may also want to try to call the HGI to see if they have anything.

Yeah, there isn't much, especially at this late date! The Garden Inn was full last week, so I booked a cancellable room at the Renaissance this morning, and will keep trying for something at the Orrington before we leave. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky! I'll post if and when I do, and will use the Savingsbarn link.

Thanks again!

Sue

[AaronJB]

If you have a free moment, early in the morning, I'd strongly recommend heading to the Botanic Gardens, which are across the highway from the Renaissance. Chicagobotanic.org is the website. Free admission for walk-ins. There's a beautiful cafe in the gardens that serves a nice breakfast, as well. Dundee Road, which is the next intersection North of the hotel, is the street that the walk-in entrance is on. You head East on Dundee and go over the expressway, and it's just a short distance further, on the North side of the street. Walk through the gates and you'll stroll a bit before coming to a bridge, which heads into the Prarie section, which is the South end section of the Gardens.

Just a thought if you're looking for something to do in the AM.

[spederson]

Thanks for the Botanic Garden info; it sounds very nice!

The Orrington's web site started to show space again, so I booked a cancellable room for the Saturday night for $199 and cancelled the Renaissance. I may try my luck with Priceline later in the weekend, just to see if I can get the Orrington any cheaper. It hasn't showed up on Hotwire again (although there was a mystery 3* property in S/N/E there tonight that isn't on the list).

I have a question, though--if you have a Hotwire/Priceline room the first night at a hotel and then a rack rate room at the same hotel the next night, would you tell them about both rooms when you first check in, or go down and check in again in the morning? Are you likely to get stuck in a smaller room for two nights, or a better room for two?

Sue

[thereuare]

Let them know when you check-in that you have separate reservations for continuous nites and if they can block the room for the remaining nites of your stay... you'll usually have to go to to the front desk some time on 'switch day' and offically check-out/check-in again, but won't have to change rooms.