Priceline Hotel: 4* Chicago (Millenium-Loop-Grant Park) Hyatt Regency

[daffyd]

Hi!

I'm visiting a friend in Chicago for a couple of days in February (arriving Feb 19, departing Feb 21).

My priority is ease of transport - I'll be a tourist by myself some of the time and would like to be able to meet up with my friend easily. I don't need fancy but a brief glance at HOTWIRE and a couple of non-opaque providers suggests a 3* may not be significantly less (if at all) than a 4*.

Hotwire options:

$75 - 4-star hotel in North Michigan Avenue - Water Tower - Gold Coast (Customer Favourite)

Fitness Centre, Restaurants, Business Centre, High-speed Internet Access

[Matches 4 hotels]

$89 - 4-star hotel in Chicago Loop

Fitness Centre, Restaurants, Business Centre, High-speed Internet Access

Matches Palmer House Hilton - this is where I stayed the last time I was in Chicago and was fine for my needs.

$92 - 4-star hotel in Magnificent Mile Area - Streeterville (Customer Favourite)

Fitness Centre, Pools Restaurants, Business Centre, High-speed Internet Access

Matches Intercontinental Chicago & Sheraton Chicago

In terms of less-opaque availability, EasyClickTravel's reverse lookup shows me The Whitehall for $125 pn and Hilton Towers Chicago and Hilton Palmer House for $132 pn.

I would greatly appreciate any help and advice someone more familiar with the local area can give on which priceline areas are more likely to be safe to bid to enable me to get around easily (I hear it's cold out there so close to trains sounds like a good idea to me). I've used this board before so am aware there are no guarantees about the precise location you end up in - any advice most welcome.

Based on the above, my maximum bid is below $89 (possibly even $75 if the North Michigan Avenue hotels are likely to suffice from a transport perspective). I hope we can do better than that - any thoughts on where to start the bidding?

Thanks,

David.

[AaronJB]

Chicago is very easy to get around by foot; it is a much more compact city than New York, for example. While it can be brually cold in February, it really isn't as cold in Chicago as it was 10, 15 years ago. It could be very cold in Feb, but it may not. You cannot predict Chicago weather. Heck, it could be a warm Feb. You just don't know.

The Palmer House Hilton is certainly close to trains. The Intercontinental is a very similar, grand, old-world hotel located directly on Michigan Ave. It is a little bit of a walk to the train from the Intercontinental, but there is a lot more to do right there - it's a wonderful location.

The $75 looks to be the Ambassador East, which is a few minutes North of the North tip of North Michigan Ave. by foot. It's not as centrally located as the other two, but it's a very nice area.) Depending on where you have to meet your friend, this could be a good location or out-of-the-way. A subway is a few blocks W.

Personally, I like the Intercontinental. I think it's a very historic, beautiful hotel in a terrific location. The Palmer House is still undergoing some renovation, but it may be done by Feb, as it's been going on for a while now.

The Ambassador East is also a very nice choice too (another very historic hotel - a scene from "North by Northwest" was filmed there, and the Pump Room restaurant is a legendary celebrity hangout - there is a wall of signed photos outside it), but the location may or may not be inconvenient, depending.

[thereuare]

Does the above help you decide to go with one of the HOTWIRE offerings or, if you'd like to bid on priceline, which zones are you willing to accept... we'll then be able to suggest a strategy for you to follow.

[AaronJB]

I apologize for not being more definite in my recommendation, but really, if you took the Palmer House, Ambassador East or Intercontinental, really can't go wrong with any of those three. I personally think that the Intercontinental has the neatest history (one of the first public pools on a higher floor, and the gorgeous pool hasn't changed much since the late '20's) and best location. However, the others wouldn't be bad at all, either (although the Ambassador East's location may or may not work for you depending on where you need to be, exactly.)

[daffyd]

Does the above help you decide to go with one of the HOTWIRE offerings or, if you'd like to bid on priceline, which zones are you willing to accept... we'll then be able to suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Thanks for your thoughts, Aaron. I think I'll sleep on it.

I decided to throw some low-ball bids out there. For the benefit of anyone else looking around these dates and also for reference if I decide to pursue a bidding strategy further

Millenium Park-Loop-Grant Park $45

rebid (Midway) $50

NMA-River North $45

rebid $50

Millenium Park-Loop-Grant Park + NMA-River North $55

rebid $60

No bites. Although last year may well not be representative of this year's market, it's possible the Hyatt Regency hasn't yet opened up much inventory yet (or, of course, won't at all).

I'll have another think in the morning.

Oh, and the references to cold are all relative - I'm in Melbourne, Australia so, while it's currently cooled down a little temporarily, I can expect it to be in the 80s or 90s a few weeks before I get to Chicago. Ah well, a week in England and a couple of weeks around NYC should toughen me up!

Thanks again,

David.

[daffyd]

Had another go at low-balling them, not expecting any success as hotwire prices have been higher than I posted above the last few days.

Bid $60 Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area

Counteroffer $17 more

rebid $66

Counteroffer $17 more

Bid NMA $60

rebid NMA $65

Bid NMA + Loop $70

Accepted

Hyatt Regency Chicago - Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area

Bid through savingsbarn.com PRICELINE link.

Thanks for your help, Aaron with locations in particular. This location looks just fine for my needs and the price seems pretty reasonable.

Regards,

David.

[thereuare]

Congratualtions on your win!

It's always nice when lowball bids get accepted... makes you happy you took the time to give it a try.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and for using the PRICELINE links at SavingsBarn.com to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.