Hotwire Hotel: Wedding in Chicago 7/16-7/21

[epiphany1998]

So right now I am busy working with 6 family members trying to work out a hotel situation in Chicago for my brother's wedding. My mom is driving me crazy because she has all these demands for the room.

We are dealing with check in on Wednesday 7/16 and checkout on Monday 7/21

1. 4 Star hotel for $140 or under. Or a 5 star hotel for $200 or under.

2. Her first choice is the Hyatt Regency downtown.

3. The rooms must have 2 queen beds, flat screen TV, (preferrably Microwave & Fridge), be near restaurants, have a bar and on the view side.

4. A total of 3 rooms are needed

5. The 3 rooms are going on 3 separate credit cards (not sure how this will affect me, just thought I'd throw it out there).

Please help to quickly end my pain and suffering.

Thanks in advance.

[AaronJB]

<<4 Star hotel for $140 or under. Or a 5 star hotel for $200 or under.>>

A 5* for $200 in Chicago is not even close to being realistic, and a 4* for $140 is stretching it considerably, especially in the Summer.

<<3. The rooms must have 2 queen beds, flat screen TV, (preferrably Microwave & Fridge), be near restaurants, have a bar and on the view side. >>

There's very few hotels in the city that have microwave/fridge. You are limiting your choices majorly with that aspect. All hotels are near restaurants in the city, but few have a view due to the fact of how tight together buildings are downtown.

<<The rooms must have 2 queen beds, >>

So that means Priceline isn't an option, given that 2 beds aren't guaranteed via Priceline.

<<5. The 3 rooms are going on 3 separate credit cards (not sure how this will affect me, just thought I'd throw it out there).>>

The problem with this is that if you do use Hotwire, there is the possibility that you could purchase one room and then come back and find that that was the last room in inventory for that hotel on that date. Hotwire doesn't even have any 4*'s under $140.

To be honest, your mom is being unrealistic with expectations, given the budget and how expensive Chicago hotels are in the Summer. It's the busy season, and $140/$200 for a 4/5 is just too little to expect a view, etc.

________________________________________

Hotels.com has the Swissotel for 50% off on these dates ($139) for a deluxe room. The problem - there's only 2 rooms left at that price. You could get one lakeview room for $164.50 and two deluxe rooms at $139.50. The deluxe rooms still have views, they just don't look directly at the lake. Expedia.com also has rooms at the Swiss for the same price, but I believe they share inventory with Hotels.com (although I could be wrong on that) so they may not have much either.

Another recommendation would be the Ambassador East for $127 via Orbitz.com. No view, no refrigerator - but you get a legendary restaurant (the Pump Room - http://pumproom.com/history) and there's a number of bars and restaurants right there and that Gold Coast area has a lot of nightlife. It's also a few blocks from Michigan Ave. and the beach. Orbitz has limited inventory left, but Expedia/Hotels.com also have rooms.

In your price range, the Swiss deal (which I doubt is going on for long, so if you are interested I would try to book it quickly) would be the best option, followed by the AE. There's really nothing else in that price range.

Just North of your price range would be the Hotel Sax ($160, Expedia or Hotels.com), which is the former House of Blues Hotel. The House of Blues itself is still there, there's a wine bar (Bin 36) next door and a sleek, upscale bowling alley right there with full bar as well. Great restaurant area. No refrigerator and while a view room is possible at the Sax, it's probably not likely.

[AaronJB]

Additionally, 2 queens is another problem, as few city hotels have 2 queens (most are two doubles) and the hotels that do are over $200 (and in some cases $250-300)

Please use the site's links to Hotels.com, Expedia.com or Orbitz.com if you decide to book one of the ideas above.

[epiphany1998]

Thanks so much AaronJB, I really appreciate the feedback. I ended up booking 3 deluxe rooms at the Swissotel for $164.00. They wanted the lakeview rooms and I explained the microwave, fridge situation and they were understanding.

Thanks

[thereuare]

How did you book these rooms... PRICELINE, HOTWIRE, some other 3rd party, or directly with the hotel website?

[epiphany1998]

How did you book these rooms... PRICELINE, HOTWIRE, some other 3rd party, or directly with the hotel website?

I used this sites link to Hotels.com

[thereuare]

Thank you for doing so :)

[AaronJB]

Awesome deal for these dates. There's a Giordanos Pizza a few blocks away on lake (I believe it's 135 E. Lake) if everyone wants to head over for pizza.

You didn't mention where the wedding was, so not sure how close the Swiss would be to it.

The same rooms at the Swiss are $327 for these dates on Orbitz.