Hotwire Hotel: 4* Mag Mile Streetervile, 4*NMA

[jch1]

Looking to book thru Hotwire for NYE. both have same amenities (fitness, restaurant, business, high speed).

mag mile-139 (4.0/5 on Tripadvisor, 140+ reviews)

NMA- 146. I'm thinking this one is the Millenium? (3.5/5 on tripadvisor, 220+).

Also, is there any specific way I can fudge the entry to get the James? I currently entered 2 adults 0 children, 1 night and 1 room.

And I guess I should ask all at the same time, what is the 4.5 star mag mile? international? and any ideas on how i could get the 4.5 star that is in NMA?

Thanks for any responses and let me know if you need any more details!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

The Mag Mile hotel is a match for the Westin River North while the NMA hotel is a match for the Westin Mich Ave so that would be our best guess for each.

Can't take a guess as the 4.5* property since you didn't include the amenities.

There is no way to 'make' HOTWIRE show you a specific property... changing the occupancy levels can sometimes get a different hotel to appear, but other than that you can only work with what they offer (by system, HOTWIRE shows the least expensive property available for your dates at each star level in each zone)

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

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[jch1]

Thanks for those two hotels. I should have made myself more clear... I saw in another post that if the occupancy was changed to 3 adults, 1 child, the Raffaello would be the hotel that came up. I tried and the price did change to reflect what that individual had paid for the Raffaello. I was wondering if there was a way to do that and get the James hotel.

Also, the details on the 4.5* Mag Mile are: fitness, restaurant, business, high speed internet.

[jch1]

also, any comments on either of those two Westins?

[AaronJB]

Different hotels appear on different dates. There is no way to make the James appear if it didn't make HOTWIRE inventory available for these dates.

Out of the two Westins, I definitely favor the Westin River North, which to me feels more like a 4* (beautiful lobby/public areas at the RN; the Michigan Ave location feels a little dated in terms of the exterior and the lobby/public areas are a bit underwhelming) than the Westin Michigan Ave. The River North location was formerly a Hotel Nikko, and the lobby area kept the Japanese style.

[slick_gd]

The 4.5* looks to be the Inter-Continental. The amenities also match what has been seen for the Conrad and Hard Rock but HOTWIRE states a tripadvisor traveler rating of 4/5 based on 280+ reviews, which matches the IC's 4/5 on 295 reviews.

Changing the amount of adults and children in your stay is a way to see if a different hotel will show up on HOTWIRE. It is not a way to get a specific hotel to show up but more to possibly increase your choices when making a decision. Note that changing the amount of adults and children does not always bring up a different hotel and can sometimes limit your hotel choices. Think of it as just another tool to use when searching on HOTWIRE, but the main tenets of HOTWIRE, where you never know which hotel is going to be offered still stands.

Also, keep in mind that sometimes by adding adults and children the hotel may stay the same but the price will go up. This is to be expected as most hotels charge extra for more than 2 people per room.

As for commenting on the Westin's, I'll leave that to AaronJB who knows Chicago better than anyone else on the board.

[jch1]

Thanks for all the replies! My final question is: Are the rooms that you are paying for the most basic room? or do you sometimes get an upgraded or more expensive one?

Thanks again!

[slick_gd]

Typically the hotels will give you the most basic rooms they have. There are people on the board that have been successful in getting upgraded rooms when they are checking-in, some by being polite and asking if there are any upgrades available (I did this at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago and was given one of the few lake/Pier view rooms) and others that have used the $20 trick. If you have a specific request you could also call in advance (i.e. want a king room instead of queen) and see if the hotel will oblige (although they are not required to).

You can read a little more about tipping at hotels in this thread Tipping at Priceline and Hotwire Hotels

[AaronJB]

Do not go in expecting to be upgraded. That, in my opinion, is one of the main aspects of PRICELINE and HOTWIRE that one has to keep in mind if they are going to use the service. If you do get upgraded, terrific. If not, at least you're likely paying far less than the person in line behind you.

I have read some people's hotel reviews saying that they were "just shocked" when the hotel refused to upgrade their PRICELINE / HOTWIRE reservation, which is just a ridiculous complaint when that person is paying substantially less than full price.

Given the kind of discount that you are paying off of full price, it's understandable that hotels would rather sell upgrades to those willing to pay full price for them. Some hotels will let you pay the difference between a regular and upgraded room. At the Westin River North, I paid an extra $40 for a river view room on a high floor and it was well worth it. Other upgrades in the city haven't been worth it, but I think the average 4* room in downtown Chicago is nice enough that I really don't consider paying another $25-50 unless I'm getting bonuses (breakfast) or view. If I'm not getting bonuses or view, then I don't think it's worth it at the Chicago 4*'s.