Hotwire Hotel: Chicago Help

[Puddinhead]

Our family is pretty inexperienced at travel, but we'll be taking the City of New Orleans from our home in NOLA up to Chicago. I've got a 2.5* hotel in Museum Campus-McCormick Place-Soldier Field offered at Hotwire for $135. One, is that reasonably convenient to get to from the Amtrak station, and Two, any clue as to which hotel(s) it might be? Thanks in advance.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Few questions first...

How many of you are traveling?

How many rooms do you intend to get?

What are the actual dates of your stay?

What is your maximum budget (per nite per room before taxes and fees)

What is your minimum star rating?

Let us know the above and we'll be in a better position to advise.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[Puddinhead]

It will be my wife and I, along with my 18-year-old and 14-year-old sons. We'd figured on just staying in the one room with two beds; not planning on spending too much actual time in the room itself. We'll be leaving NOLA via Amtrak July 25th and arriving Chicago the following day, and leaving Chicago on the 31st...unfortunately, the train doesn't leave Chicago until 8pm on the 31st, so I don't know if we'll end up having to book an additional day, check out at noon and have to babysit our luggage until that night, or if the hotel will allow us to leave the luggage somewhere on the premises until that evening. Or if Amtrak allows baggage checkin in the early afternoon for a night departure. We've never taken the train before, so I have no experience there.

As I mentioned, we spotted the 2.5* hotel in the Museum Campus-McCormick Place area on Hotwire for $135 per night, which seems like about the price range we can handle. We certainly aren't looking for the amenities that we could find for twice the rate, just something with a pool and idealy a microwave/fridge type setup, although that's perhaps asking a lot downtown at that price. I saw something out in Schaumberg listed, but it was approximately the same rate, and 30 miles from downtown...and we'll be relying on public transportation to get around.

[thereuare]

The Museum Campus- zone is a bit South of where you really want to be... ideally you want to be in the Loop, North Michigan Avenue (NMA), or River North area.

PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy so if you're looking for one room you are probably better off with HOTWIRE which will allow you to search up to quad occupancy (unless you want to take the risk with PRICELINE)

If you search HOTWIRE (7/26-8/1) for 3adults/1child or 2adults/2children there is a 3* in the Mag Mile-Streeterville zone for $143 with Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Laundry icons. This is a match for the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza so that would be our best guess.

Woudl this work for your needs?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[Puddinhead]

That very well might work out. So that would be better for the Aquarium and so forth? I'll discuss with my wife which of those amenities are really important to her. Most important to me is probably the accessibility factor--how easy will we be able to get to the Aquarium, the Planetarium, and the other attractions we'd like to visit while there. Thanks a bunch.

The other accessibility question is that a Chicago native told us that there's a Six Flags park maybe an hour north of downtown that you can get to via one of the trains leaving downtown. I've yet to find out which train.

[thereuare]

The Planetarium and the Aquarium are both next to each other, not too far from the Northern section of the Museum Campus-McCormick Place zone... but this about that is there other than the convention center. The "heart" of the city is more North, in the 'main' part of the loop and North Michigan Ave (where you'll find Sears Tower, Hancock Building, etc). There are busses that go up/down North/South Michigan Avenue so i don't see any problem with mass transit (or a taxi shouldn't be expensive either) to the Aquarium/Planetarium and i think you would be better off staying in the heart of the city than to be close to the Aquarium/Planetarium.

AaronJB (or anyone else) may chime in as well as he's local to the area.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[AaronJB]

Essentially, what I'd recommend based upon what I've read is this:

1. I'd stay in the Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park area. It will be closer to Union Station and to the Museum Campus. If you were able to get something cheaper in the River North/NMA area, that would be fine, too.

2. I wouldn't book another night - I'd have your hotel hold your luggage, which they should be able to do for an additional cost.

3. If you're going to stay in the suburbs, you do have to be careful that you are getting a hotel near public transit, as quite a few are too far from public transit to walk.

4. The Six Flags is far North of the city in Gurnee. I believe you can take the train out to Gurnee and then take a bus from the station the rest of the way, but it would be a long trip each way. Let me research this and see what I can find.

5. The train is a lot of fun - I haven't taken that particular route, but I've had good experiences on Amtrak and find it an enjoyable way to travel. My recommendation would be to take a lot of snacks and magazines - really make sure you have everything you need to be comfortable throughout the ride.

6. You are running up against what appears to be a convention on the first two days, as prices on those dates are considerably higher.

7. Would you be against breaking up your trip? When you search for two adults and two kids on HOTWIRE in Chicago for 7/25-27, there is a 4* in the Loop for $159 that appears to be the Palmer House Hilton. If you search for 7/27-30 in Chicago with 2 adults/2 kids, you will see a 3.5* in the Mag Mile/Streeterville area for $113 (the prices you see may vary slightly.) So, this would average out to about $131.40. While this would mean changing hotels mid-stay, you would be able to see both parts of the city - the first two days you'd be in the Loop, closer to the museums. The last three days, you're closer to the Michigan Ave. area. When you're in the Michigan Ave area, you're not that far of a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo, which is just North of the downtown area, in Lincoln Park. Plus, with this situation, you're at least staying in some higher-end hotels.

8. Union Station is a nice place to wait for a train - there are both waiting rooms and a large Great Hall with benches. There's also newsstands and restaurants, although not sure how late the restaurants stay open.

9. Definitely don't stay in the Museum Campus zone on Hotwire. While it is close to the museum campus, there's not a lot right near the Museums, and the area where those hotels are is definitely quiet at night.

10. Do get to the station about 45-60 minutes before departure out of NOL and about an 45-60 before departure in Chicago, so you can get an idea of which track, so you can get in line, gather your things, etc. Essentially, get there early so you're not frantically trying to find where you have to be.

Please use the site's link to HOTWIRE (click the HOTWIRE) if you do decide to book. If you have any questions, please ask. Once you do book hotel/s, I'd be happy to provide more specific directions around the city based upon where you're starting from.

[AaronJB]

Additionally, keep in mind that Chicago is rather compact as big cities go. The two main sections (the Loop, which is South of the River - and the River North/North Michigan Ave. area North of the River - are not massive, and they are right next to one another. Walking from the top end of the North Michigan Ave. area to the South end of the Loop is maybe 35-45 minutes. It's not like walking from Midtown in Manhattan to Battery Park. There's also a lot of public transit in Chicago, as well, although I really don't think it's necessary unless you're in a hurry.

Metra to Six Flags -

http://www.metrarail.com/DayTrips/sixflags.html